Jenkins has become a must-have in today’s world of Agile and DevOps for both Java programmers and DevOps experts. Using Jenkins, Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) pipelines can be built, decreasing software development and delivery risk.
It means that the development and deployment process will be simple. As soon as a change is made to a source control system like Git, Jenkins can begin creating artifacts and running unit tests, resulting in faster feedback. As a disruptive force in software development and operations, it ranks high on the fascinating technologies of the last decade.
Several top-rated Jenkins training providers provide courses coupled with Jenkins Certification to help you work smarter with Jenkins, whether you’re interested in learning Jenkins pipeline scripts or integrating CI with Jenkins into your DevOps strategy. Let’s find out which free resources are excellent for beginners to learn Jenkins.
What is Jenkins? Why do we need it?
Jenkins is a Java-based open-source automation platform with Continuous Integration plugins. Jenkins ‘ primary goal is to help developers incorporate changes into the project and assist users in getting a fresh build. Additionally, it allows you to keep delivering your product by interacting with a wide range of testing and deployment platforms.
Jenkins can help organizations speed up the software development process. For example, Jenkins may build, document, test, package (stage), stage (deploy), and perform static analysis.
You can achieve continuous Integration with the aid of plugins in Jenkins. Plugins allow for the Integration of various DevOps stages. When integrating a specific tool, you must first install the plugins for that tool. For instance, there’s Git, Maven 2, Amazon EC2, and HTML publisher.
Advantages of using Jenkins
Jenkins is run by a community that is quite welcoming. Public meetings are held once a month to solicit feedback from the general public on the development of the Jenkins project.
About 280 issues have been resolved, and the project releases a stable version every three months. As technology advances, Jenkins adapts to it. The plugins database of Jenkins now has roughly 320 published plugins. Jenkins is even more powerful and feature-rich than it already is with plugins.
Additionally, the cloud-based design of the Jenkins tool allows you to run Jenkins on cloud-based platforms. Jenkins’ popularity can be attributed to the fact that it was developed by and for developers.
Disadvantages of using Jenkins
- Even though Jenkins is a vital tool, it has its limitations.
- Its UI is outdated and unintuitive compared to current trends in user interface design.
- Many developers enjoy using Jenkins, but it isn’t easy to maintain because it operates on a server and requires some knowledge of server administration to keep track of its activities.
- The difficulty of installing and configuring Jenkins is one of the reasons why many people do not use it.
- It is prevalent for continuous integrations to fail because of a few minor configuration changes.
How do you get started with Jenkins?
- Official Jenkins documentation
This manual contains all data you need, from installation through deployment. Using this guide, you can set up Jenkins, build a pipeline, provide environment variables, and track test results. Also included are setup notifications and deployment.
- Jenkins The Definitive Guide
In this book, Jenkins is explored concerning Java or JVM projects. You’ll also learn how to use Jenkins for Continuous Integration. Grails, Ruby on Rails, and .NET will be covered in addition to Java development. Many features, including basic configuration, alerting, distributed builds, and security, are universally relevant even if you’re using a different programming language.
- Step By Step Jenkins Tutorial For Beginners
In this step-by-step guide for novices, you’ll learn how to download and install Jenkins for a continuous integration server. To become a DevOps professional, you must complete this Jenkins lesson and become proficient in Continuous Integration.
- Learning Jenkins with LinkedIn learning
This LinkedIn learning course is an excellent resource for those just getting started with Jenkins. Access to this course is only available to paid LinkedIn users. A free month of premium membership is required to access this course for non-premium members.
- Jenkins Video Tutorial (YouTube)
In total, there are 19 videos in this tutorial. This playlist of step-by-by-step instructions for learning Jenkins takes you from essential to intermediate levels in no time. On this page, you’ll learn how to get started with Jenkins on Tomcat, use the CLI, integrate Jenkins with GIT, use CAT LIGHT, and more.
- Jenkins Introduction to Developer
This course serves as an introduction to Jenkins for those just getting started with the tool. No prior knowledge of Jenkins is required to enroll in this course. From the ground up, you’ll learn how to use Selenium, Maven, Git, and Jenkins together as a complete system. Anyone who wants to understand these topics should take Jenkins, Continuous Integration, and DevOps.
- Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment By Microsoft
It’s an online course that’s free. This course teaches students how to use Visual Studio Team Services and Microsoft Azure to do Continuous Integration and Deployment. Learn how to use VSTS with open-source and third-party tools like Git and Jenkins.
- Jenkins The Definitive Guide
It will discuss Jenkins in the context of Java or JVM-related applications in this book. Jenkins in the Java World. It also lays the groundwork for Continuous Integration with Jenkins. Non-Java technologies covered in this course include Grails, Ruby on Rails, and.NET. Notably, many of the principles presented here are valid independent of programming language.
Wrapping up
When it comes to DevOps, Jenkins is a must-have. In only a few minutes, businesses may construct extremely complex build pipelines. Using this technology, you may significantly reduce the risks associated with the software development lifecycle.
Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines are being built with Jenkins in many different organizations. You may use the same technology on your computer as you do on your smartphone. The proper course will teach you how to build an automated continuous integration pipeline using Jenkins. It’s the best place to brush up on your DevOps knowledge.
