Introduction

Introduction to GitHub Actions for Automated Workflows:

GitHub Actions is an integrated automation platform allowing developers to define, customize, and automate workflows within their GitHub repositories. Using YAML files, developers can automate tasks like building, testing, and deploying software, simplifying complex processes with reusable actions.

Benefits of using GitHub Actions for setting up and maintaining MyShuttle:

1. Seamless Integration: GitHub Actions seamlessly integrates with GitHub repositories, eliminating the need for external CI/CD systems.
2. Workflow Customization: Highly customizable workflows can be adapted to specific project requirements, events, and branches.
3. Collaboration and Community: Leverage a rich ecosystem of pre-built actions from the GitHub Marketplace, fostering collaboration and saving development time.
4. Scalability: GitHub Actions scales effortlessly, making it suitable for projects of all sizes, from small open-source initiatives to large enterprise applications.
5. Visibility and Monitoring: Centralized dashboards and detailed logs provide visibility into workflow runs, aiding in monitoring and troubleshooting.
6. Cost-Efficiency: GitHub Actions offers cost-effective pricing for private repositories, ensuring affordability and flexibility for projects with varying scales and budgets.

Configuring GitHub Actions

Create a new workflow file in the .github/workflows directory: 

To set up GitHub Actions for your MyShuttle project, start by creating a new workflow file. In your GitHub repository, navigate to the .github/workflows directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, create it. Within this directory, add a new YAML file that will define your workflow. This file is the blueprint for the automation tasks you want GitHub Actions to perform.

Define the workflow, specifying triggers and jobs:

In the workflow file, you’ll define the sequence of actions GitHub Actions should execute. Specify triggers to determine when the workflow should run, such as on push events, pull requests, or scheduled intervals. Define jobs within the workflow, each representing a set of related actions. These jobs can run in parallel or sequentially, depending on your requirements.

Configure environment variables for sensitive information (database credentials, API keys):

For security reasons, avoid hardcoding sensitive information directly into your workflow file. Instead, use GitHub Actions’ built-in secret management to store sensitive data like database credentials and API keys. Define these secrets in your repository settings on the GitHub website.

In your workflow file, reference these secrets using the secrets context. For instance, if you have a secret named SQL_PASSWORD, ‘ you can use it in a step like this:

This way, you keep sensitive information secure, and changes to the secrets won’t require modifying the workflow file.

Workflow Steps

Creating an effective GitHub Actions workflow for building and testing the MyShuttle application ensures that your codebase remains robust and error-free. The following workflow steps guide you through setting up an automated process that builds the application and runs tests on every push to the main branch.

Checkout the Repository:

This step checks out the latest version of your codebase into the GitHub Actions runner’s workspace, providing access to the application source code.

Set Up JAVA Environment:

Here, the workflow sets up the Java environment needed for building and testing the MyShuttle application. This example specifies the adoption of OpenJDK 11.

Package MyShuttle:

This step executes the build process for MyShuttle using Maven. It includes compilation and unit tests.

Archive the Build Artifacts:

Uploading build artifacts in a CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) workflow is a common practice to store and share the output files generated during the build process. This ensures that these artifacts are easily accessible and can be used for deployment or further analysis.

Publish Unit Test Results:

The action, mikepenz/action-junit-report, is a third-party GitHub Actions action that automates the process of publishing JUnit test results. It takes the JUnit XML files generated by your unit tests and presents them in a readable format in the GitHub Actions interface.

Step Summary for JUnit Tests:

This GitHub Actions workflow step leverages the actions/github-script action to create a summary for JUnit tests by reading and processing the content of JUnit XML files.

The unit test results will be displayed in the build summary of the workflow, as shown below:

Conclusion

Implementing Continuous Integration (CI) for the MyShuttle application through GitHub Actions offers a streamlined and automated workflow that enhances the development process. By integrating CI practices, developers can ensure the early detection of issues, improved code quality, and a more efficient deployment pipeline.