Is Continuous Integration important for a solo developer?

Question

I\'ve never used CI tools before, but from what I\'ve read, I\'m not sure it would provide any benefit to a solo developer that isn\'t writing code every day.

First

Answer 1

The basic concept of CI is that you have a system that builds the code and runs automated tests everytime someone makes a commit to the version control system. These tests would include unit and functional tests, or even behavior driven tests.

The benefit is that you know - immediately - when someone has broken the build.
This means either:

A. They committed code that prevents compilation, which would screw any one up

B. They committed code that broke some tests, which either means they introduced a bug that needs to be fixed, or the tests need to be updated to reflect the change in the code.

If you are a solo developer, CI isn't quite as useful if you are in a good habit of running your tests before a commit, which is what you should be doing. That being said, you could develop a bad habit of letting the CI do your tests for you.

As a solo programmer, it mainly comes down to discipline. Using CI is a useful skill to have, but you want to avoid developing any bad habits that wouldn't translate to a team environment.