Continuous Integration (CI)

Definition - What does Continuous Integration (CI) mean?

Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice in which each member of a development team integrates his work with that produced by others on a continuous basis.

In software engineering, CI is considered a form of quality control, where small pieces of effort are frequently applied, as opposed to the more traditional method of applying quality control after development has been completed. The integrations are verified by an automated build that is used to detect integration errors as quickly as possible and test the software.

Techopedia explains Continuous Integration (CI)

Development teams use the continuous integration approach to software development because it allows them to develop in a quicker and more efficient manner than if they work separately for longer periods of time.

Developers using this approach submit changes to a source code repository, at which time the existing code base changes and new code can be added along with other resources that look for potential coding conflicts. There are also commercial CI servers that development teams can use to facilitate the CI process.