Pipeline terms

Pipeline

A pipeline is a series of automated steps that perform a specific task or set of tasks

Stages

Stages are logical groupings of steps within a pipeline. They break down the pipeline into smaller, more manageable units. Each stage often focuses on a specific task, like building, testing, or deploying a particular component.

Steps

Steps are the individual actions that make up a stage. These can be anything from compiling code, running tests, building Docker images, or deploying applications to servers.

Triggers

Pipelines can be triggered by various events, such as pushing code to a version control system (e.g., Git push), merging a pull request, or scheduled execution at specific intervals.

Variables

Pipelines often use variables to store configuration details, credentials, or environment-specific values. This allows for flexibility and avoids hardcoding sensitive information within the pipeline code.

Conditions

Steps or stages can be configured to run conditionally based on certain criteria. For example, a pipeline might only run unit tests if changes were made to specific files.

Artifacts

Pipelines can generate artifacts which are files or data produced during execution. These artifacts can be used by subsequent steps in the pipeline or downloaded for later analysis.