What is a major outcome of the Continuous Integration practice in GitLab workflows?

The major outcome of the Continuous Integration (CI) practice in GitLab workflows is better overall code quality through testing. This process emphasizes the frequent merging of code changes into a shared repository, enabling automated testing to occur with each integration. By running tests automatically, CI helps to identify issues and bugs earlier in the development cycle, which can lead to a more robust and stable codebase. This not only ensures that the new code integrates seamlessly with the existing code but also reduces the likelihood of integration issues later on.

Continuous Integration encourages a shift-left approach to quality assurance, allowing developers to catch and address defects as soon as they introduce new code. This proactive testing environment contributes significantly to improving the overall quality of the software, making it a key benefit of CI practices in GitLab workflows. The focus is on maintaining high standards in code quality, which ultimately leads to more reliable software releases.