"Continuous Integration (CI) is a development practice that requires developers to integrate code into a shared repository several times a day. Each check-in is then verified by an automated build, allowing teams to detect problems early."
The idea behind CI is that by having all developers continuously tracking (pulling down changes from)- and incrementally integrating their branch/feature code into- a "master" branch (or some common branch that facilitates CI of all other branches), problems that stem from incompatible or "not easily merge-able" features surface at the first detection of incompatibility, as opposed to at the end of feature branch development when any incompatibilities are magnified, and result in time-consuming redesign efforts to make things merge and interoperate cleanly.
In short, CI is used to nip potential integration problems in the bud.
The idea behind CI is that by having all developers continuously tracking (pulling down changes from)- and incrementally integrating their branch/feature code into- a "master" branch (or some common branch that facilitates CI of all other branches), problems that stem from incompatible or "not easily merge-able" features surface at the first detection of incompatibility, as opposed to at the end of feature branch development when any incompatibilities are magnified, and result in time-consuming redesign efforts to make things merge and interoperate cleanly.
In short, CI is used to nip potential integration problems in the bud.
