What is the role of version control in Continuous Integration?

Version control records the history of code changes, serving as the foundation for Continuous Integration (CI). It ensures code consistency in collaborative development and supports automated processes. Its importance lies in efficiently tracking modifications, enabling rollbacks, and facilitating parallel development across multiple branches, which is crucial for ensuring software quality.

The core functions are: 1) Trigger mechanism: Commits to the version repository automatically trigger CI pipelines (builds, tests); 2) Isolation and merging: Isolating development work through branching strategies (such as GitFlow) to ensure code is validated before merging into the mainline; 3) Baseline management: Clearly providing the exact version of code that has been tested and deployed. This enables rapid iteration and fast feedback loops.

Its application value includes: improving efficiency - automated building/testing reduces manual intervention; ensuring quality - each commit is validated, exposing issues early; enhancing traceability - precisely linking build results to code versions, facilitating auditing and rollbacks, ultimately accelerating the delivery of reliable software.