What is a potential outcome of not using continuous integration?

Not using continuous integration can lead to a higher risk of integration issues and bugs. Continuous integration (CI) involves automatically testing and integrating code changes into a shared repository frequently, ideally multiple times a day. This practice helps to identify and address problems early in the development process, making it less likely that significant errors will accumulate over time.

When CI is not employed, developers may work in isolation for extended periods before merging their code. As different team members develop their features or fix bugs, the likelihood of conflicting changes increases. When these changes are eventually merged, it can result in integration challenges, where the combined codebase contains errors or functionality that does not work as intended. Moreover, issues that could have been caught early during regular integration and testing might go unnoticed until the later stages of development, making them more complex and costly to resolve.

In contrast, continuous integration fosters a culture of frequent testing and feedback, which is essential for maintaining software quality and stability. By facilitating a more streamlined integration process, CI reduces the odds of bugs slipping through and complicating the deployment of the software.