DevOps.com

  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Features
    • Most Read
    • News
    • News Releases
  • Topics
    • AI
    • Continuous Delivery
    • Continuous Testing
    • Cloud
    • Culture
    • DataOps
    • DevSecOps
    • Enterprise DevOps
    • Leadership Suite
    • DevOps Practice
    • ROELBOB
    • DevOps Toolbox
    • IT as Code
  • Videos/Podcasts
    • Techstrong.tv Podcast
    • Techstrong.tv Video Podcast
    • Techstrong.tv - Twitch
    • DevOps Unbound
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming
    • On-Demand Webinars
  • Library
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • On-Demand Events
  • Sponsored Content
  • Related Sites
    • Techstrong Group
    • Container Journal
    • Security Boulevard
    • Techstrong Research
    • DevOps Chat
    • DevOps Dozen
    • DevOps TV
    • Techstrong TV
    • Techstrong.tv Podcast
    • Techstrong.tv Video Podcast
    • Techstrong.tv - Twitch
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • Sponsor
  • AI
  • Cloud
  • Continuous Delivery
  • Continuous Testing
  • DataOps
  • DevSecOps
  • DevOps Onramp
  • Platform Engineering
  • Low-Code/No-Code
  • IT as Code
  • More
    • Application Performance Management/Monitoring
    • Culture
    • Enterprise DevOps
    • ROELBOB

Home » News » GitHub Actions Advances Automation Strategy

GitHub Actions Advances Automation Strategy

Avatar photoBy: Mike Vizard on August 9, 2019 1 Comment

GitHub Actions, a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) through which DevOps tools can automate workflows, is now available in beta.

Recent Posts By Mike Vizard
  • Five Great DevOps Job Opportunities
  • Atlassian Extends Automation Framework’s Reach
  • GitLab Strengthens Remote DevOps Management
Avatar photo More from Mike Vizard
Related Posts
  • GitHub Actions Advances Automation Strategy
  • GitHub Previews Free CI/CD Migration Tool Due in 2023
  • Buildkite Tightens CI/CD Integration With GitHub
    Related Categories
  • Blogs
  • DevOps and Open Technologies
  • DevOps Toolbox
  • News
    Related Topics
  • API
  • application programming interface
  • automation
  • DevOps processes
  • github
  • GitHub Actions
  • open source
Show more
Show less

Previewed last year at the GitHub Universe event, GitHub Actions is intended to provide not only a way to automate responses to events occurring within a GitHub Repository but also share those workflows across multiple DevOps teams, said Max Schoening, senior director of product design for GitHub.

TechStrong Con 2023Sponsorships Available

Actions are based on YAML files, which makes it possible to write them in JavaScript or other programming languages or package them up as a set of containers. In either instance, they are designed to interact with the full GitHub API and any other public API.

In addition, higher levels of automation enabled by GitHub Actions should make it more feasible for DevOps teams to test multiple versions of a project in parallel as workflows written in code replace manual processes, said Schoening.

As more manual processes become automated, the number of IT teams who are intimidated by DevOps processes today should begin to decline. Organizations also should be able to apply best DevOps practices more consistently across multiple teams. Too often today the DevOps practices within the same organization tend to vary widely. Schoening also noted that given the open source history of GitHub, organizations will be able to see how workflows have been created for popular open source projects and then copy them.

In addition, Schoening said the arm of Microsoft will continue to invest in analytics that will surface workflow recommendations that can be applied to any project regardless of the language employed or the platform on which it’s destined to be deployed.

On one level, DevOps is all about a ruthless commitment to automation. But when automation goes wrong at scale, it can be extremely problematic. Rather than relying on “black box” approaches to automating processes, a truly open source approach to automation makes it possible for DevOps teams to see how a process is being automated and then extend it if they so choose, said Schoening. To help address the concern, GitHub Actions also provides access to live logs to provide real-time feedback as builds run, which Schoening said makes it easier for DevOps teams to debug automations created using GitHub Actions.

It’s too early to say just how automated DevOps processes will get. There’s an emerging school of thought that contends the goal is to make it feasible for developers to spend 100% of their time writing business logic. It’s not clear whether that goal is achievable anytime soon, but progress is made with each update to continuous integration/continuous development (CD/CD) platforms. As complementary advances in machine learning algorithms and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI)—otherwise known as AIOps—occur, it’s apparent many manual DevOps processes will fall by the wayside.

In the meantime, the workflows that make up any DevOps process should become increasingly sophisticated as advances in automation span everything from hybrid cloud computing environment to internet of things (IoT) deployments. The issue soon may not be how cumbersome any DevOps workflow is, but rather the potential limits of the imagination applied to automating them.

— Mike Vizard

Filed Under: Blogs, DevOps and Open Technologies, DevOps Toolbox, News Tagged With: API, application programming interface, automation, DevOps processes, github, GitHub Actions, open source

« Embracing the Product Development Cycle
VMware Looks to Accelerate App Migration to the Cloud »

Techstrong TV – Live

Click full-screen to enable volume control
Watch latest episodes and shows

Upcoming Webinars

Moving Beyond SBOMs to Secure the Software Supply Chain
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 - 11:00 am EST
Achieving Complete Visibility in IT Operations, Analytics, and Security
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 - 11:00 am EST
Achieving DevSecOps: Reducing AppSec Noise at Scale
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 - 1:00 pm EST

Sponsored Content

The Google Cloud DevOps Awards: Apply Now!

January 10, 2023 | Brenna Washington

Codenotary Extends Dynamic SBOM Reach to Serverless Computing Platforms

December 9, 2022 | Mike Vizard

Why a Low-Code Platform Should Have Pro-Code Capabilities

March 24, 2021 | Andrew Manby

AWS Well-Architected Framework Elevates Agility

December 17, 2020 | JT Giri

Practical Approaches to Long-Term Cloud-Native Security

December 5, 2019 | Chris Tozzi

Latest from DevOps.com

Let the Machines Do It: AI-Directed Mobile App Testing
January 30, 2023 | Syed Hamid
Five Great DevOps Job Opportunities
January 30, 2023 | Mike Vizard
Stream Big, Think Bigger: Analyze Streaming Data at Scale
January 27, 2023 | Julia Brouillette
What’s Ahead for the Future of Data Streaming?
January 27, 2023 | Danica Fine
The Strategic Product Backlog: Lead, Follow, Watch and Explore
January 26, 2023 | Chad Sands

TSTV Podcast

On-Demand Webinars

DevOps.com Webinar ReplaysDevOps.com Webinar Replays

GET THE TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Most Read on DevOps.com

What DevOps Needs to Know About ChatGPT
January 24, 2023 | John Willis
Microsoft Outage Outrage: Was it BGP or DNS?
January 25, 2023 | Richi Jennings
Optimizing Cloud Costs for DevOps With AI-Assisted Orchestra...
January 24, 2023 | Marc Hornbeek
Dynatrace Survey Surfaces State of DevOps in the Enterprise
January 24, 2023 | Mike Vizard
Deploying a Service Mesh: Challenges and Solutions
January 24, 2023 | Gilad David Maayan
  • Home
  • About DevOps.com
  • Meet our Authors
  • Write for DevOps.com
  • Media Kit
  • Sponsor Info
  • Copyright
  • TOS
  • Privacy Policy

Powered by Techstrong Group, Inc.

© 2023 ·Techstrong Group, Inc.All rights reserved.