Infrastructure as code

Taking concepts that we have discussed here and looking at them another way, we discover the concept of infrastructure as code. Meaning that we can write code or configuration files that represent the entirety of our infrastructure. This is powerful and liberating.

It is easy to confuse infrastructure as code concepts with state machine concepts because they will, in many cases, overlap quite extensively. There are critical differences, however.

Infrastructure as code can go hand in hand with state machines, but state machines do not allow for imperative system definitions. Infrastructure as code can be used to define state, also known as a declarative approach to infrastructure as code, or an imperative approach by which operations are defined rather than final state, making it feel much more like traditional systems administration where we focus on the means rather than the ends or the how rather than the goal.

Platforms and systems

Infrastructure...