Learn in the textbookContinuous Improvement and Automation of Development and Operations
DefinitionCI is the practice in which developers frequently merge small source code changes into a shared repository (the place where the team keeps its common code), and each merge automatically triggers a build (assembling a working program from source code) and tests.
ExplanationIf everyone's changes are merged together only near the end of development, conflicts surface all at once, and tracking down which change caused a problem takes a lot of effort. CI shortens the gap between merges and returns automated test results every time, so when a defect turns up, the range of possible causes is already small.
AnalogyIt is like a large group writing one anthology: each time someone finishes a page, it is bound in right away and the whole thing is read through, so mismatches in the story get fixed on the spot.
Memory hookC stands for Continuous (going on without a break) and I for Integration (bringing things together into one).