2. Basic Structure of .gitlab-ci.yml

A simple .gitlab-ci.yml file might look like this:

# Stages define the different phases of the pipeline
stages:   
  #  This is an example 
  - build   # First stage that compiles or builds your code
  - test    # Second stage that runs tests on your code
  - deploy  # Third stage that deploys your application

# This job belongs to the build stage computes the task defined in the 'script' section
build_job:   
  stage: build   
  script:     
    - echo "Building the application..."     
    - # Commands to build your application  

# This job belongs to the test stage computes the task defined in the 'script' section
test_job:   
  stage: test   
  script:     
    - echo "Running tests..."     
    - # Commands to run your tests  

# This job belongs to the deploy stage computes the task defined in the 'script' section
deploy_job:   
  stage: deploy   
  script:     
    - echo "Deploying the application..."     
    - # Commands to deploy your application

This file defines the following key components:

• Stages: The different phases of the pipeline, such as build, test, and deploy.
• Jobs: Individual tasks to be executed within each stage.
• Scripts: Commands to be run in each job.

These components help define the structure and behavior of your CI/CD pipeline in GitLab.

2.1 CI/CD Pipeline Implementation for the Research Publication Data Analysis Project

In the next lesson, we will learn how to create a .gitlab-ci.yml file for the “Research Publication Data Analysis” project. This exercise will demonstrate the practical implementation of CI/CD pipelines in GitLab using a mock project.

To start dicing into the project, first, we need to fork the repository to your GitLab account. Once you have the repository in your account, you can start creating the .gitlab-ci.yml file and configuring the pipeline stages and jobs.

In the next lesson you will find the step-by-step guide to create the .gitlab-ci.yml file for the “Research Publication Data Analysis” project.