Introduction 🚀

Jenkins Pipeline as Code offers a powerful way to define complex CI/CD workflows as code, providing flexibility and scalability in automating software delivery pipelines. In this article, we'll explore creating a multi-stage pipeline as code in Jenkins, demonstrating how to define and execute a pipeline with multiple stages using a Jenkinsfile.

Understanding Multi-Stage Pipeline

A multi-stage pipeline in Jenkins consists of multiple stages, each containing one or more steps. Multi-stage pipelines are ideal for complex CI/CD workflows where different tasks need to be executed sequentially, such as building, testing, and deploying applications.

Example Scenario: Gaming Leaderboard Update Pipeline

Let's consider a scenario where we have a gaming application where players compete to achieve high scores. We want to create a multi-stage pipeline to update the gaming leaderboard whenever a new high score is achieved.

Writing a Jenkinsfile for Multi-Stage Pipeline

To define a multi-stage pipeline as code, create a Jenkinsfile in the root directory of your project repository with the following content:

pipeline {
    agent any

    stages {
        stage('Check High Score') {
            steps {
                echo 'Checking for new high scores...'
                // Logic to check for new high scores
            }
        }
        stage('Update Leaderboard') {
            steps {
                echo 'Updating the gaming leaderboard...'
                // Logic to update the gaming leaderboard
                echo 'Congratulations! You have won the game!'
            }
        }
    }
}

Explanation of Jenkinsfile

pipeline: The pipeline block defines the entire pipeline.
agent any: Specifies that the pipeline can run on any available agent.
stages: The stages block defines individual stages within the pipeline.
stage('Check High Score'): Defines a stage named "Check High Score".
steps: The steps block contains the steps to be executed within each stage.
echo: Prints a message indicating the start of each stage.
Comments: Placeholder comments indicating where logic to check for new high scores and update the gaming leaderboard can be added.

Executing Multi-Stage Pipeline

To execute the multi-stage pipeline, follow these steps:

Create Pipeline Job: In Jenkins, create a new Pipeline job and configure it to use the Jenkinsfile stored in your project repository.

Run Pipeline: Trigger the pipeline job in Jenkins, and it will execute the steps defined in the Jenkinsfile, performing the check for new high scores and updating the gaming leaderboard accordingly. If a new high score is achieved, the pipeline will print the message "Congratulations! You have won the game!"

Check the Logs:

It will check for the new high scores, As we have mentioned in the 1st stage in our pipeline, Same as for the 2nd stage.

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Benefits of Multi-Stage Pipeline as Code

Sequential Execution: Multi-stage pipelines allow for sequential execution of tasks, ensuring that each stage is executed in order.
Modularity: By breaking down the pipeline into stages, the pipeline code becomes more modular and maintainable.
Flexibility: Multi-stage pipelines provide flexibility to define complex workflows with multiple stages, accommodating various CI/CD requirements.

Conclusion 🌟

Multi-stage pipelines as code in Jenkins offer a robust and scalable approach to automating complex workflows such as updating gaming leaderboards. By defining the pipeline logic in a Jenkinsfile, developers can ensure repeatability, consistency, and automation in their software delivery pipelines. Multi-stage pipelines are suitable for projects with multiple stages in their CI/CD process, providing a comprehensive solution for automating tasks in various domains. By leveraging Jenkins Pipeline as Code, teams can streamline their processes, automate repetitive tasks, and improve overall productivity.

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