Add daily email for 2024-04-24

Testing topic branches in isolation

source/_daily_emails/2024-04-24.md

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+---
+title: Testing topic branches in isolation
+date: 2024-04-24
+permalink: archive/2024/04/26/testing-topic-branches-in-isolation
+tags:
+    - software-development
+    - git
+cta: ~
+snippet: |
+    Do you test topic branches in isolation?
+---
+
+I was recently asked about setting up different testing environments based on topic (a.k.a. feature) branches.
+
+When a feature or bug fix was finished, it would create a new environment for it to be tested.
+
+If it passed testing, the topic branch was merged and it would be included in the next release.
+
+But, there's no guarantee it still works once it's been merged.
+
+It could conflict with changes from a different topic branch and no longer work - even if it worked when it was tested in isolation on its own branch.
+
+To ensure it still works, it will need to be tested again.
+
+So, what is the benefit of testing it in isolation if it needs to be tested again once it's merged?
+
+This is why I prefer continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), as I always know all changes work together and not just in isolation.