Linux.com

Like unit testing and automated builds, continuous integration is one of those development best practices that everyone can agree on, from the most extreme programmers to the most dogmatic of RUPistas. System integration - the moment when all of the different components of an application come together to produce a harmonious and pleasing whole - can be such a painful and difficult procedure that it's tempting to put it off until later. It's a lot of hassle, it takes so much time, there's always something missing and so… There you are on the eve of release, only to find that rather than software harmony, you've got massive discord and disaster.