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CI/CD & Version-Control Fundamentals

CI/CD & Version-Control Fundamentals

Use this page to revise pipeline and artefact vocabulary for firmware repos.

What CI/CD means

CI/CD is Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (or Deployment). A typical sequence is lint → test → build (and sometimes deploy). Firmware deploy may mean "publish a .bin" rather than flash every robot.

Pipeline structure

Definitions are usually YAML: jobs, steps, reusable actions. Reading a log means finding the first failing step.

Artefacts and secrets

A build artefact is the image you would flash. Secrets (tokens, Wi-Fi passwords, signing keys) never belong in git. Runners that flash hardware are a separate, rarer design.

Starting Points

Key Points

  • You can explain CI/CD and a sensible stage order for a firmware repo.
  • You can read a pipeline log to identify the failing stage.
  • You can explain what a firmware build artefact is.
  • You can explain why secrets and compiled binaries should stay out of git.
  • You can explain why flashing hardware is not always part of the student CI job.