Should You Use Typescript To Write Terraform? (The Terraform CDK)

Recently, Terraform dropped an interesting new extension to their Terraform toolchain: the Terraform CDK. The new CDK allows you to write Terraform using TypeScript and Python — neat! But is the CDK as good as it seems?

Terraform Written In The CDK

I wanted to jump in to uncover the truth and understand whether writing Terraform in TypeScript really is the future, or whether it’s just another fad.

By the end of this article you’ll understand what the Terraform CDK is, how it works, and ultimately help answer the question: should you use it? 

Cloud Native Software Engineering Newsletter #14 (July 2020)

Hello again cloud friend,

It’s that time again, to go through another month of cloud news, topics and interesting articles. So grab yourself a coffee (or whatever), and let’s dig in.

Cloud Native Software Engineering Newsletter Banner

To begin I must note that this months newsletter is a little behind schedule. Tardiness is definitely not something I will be making a habit from. That being said, the world is in an odd place right now and I’m definitely not the only one feeling the impacts.

However, the silver lining of the delay is that this months newsletter is packed with curious happenings, of which I’m quite excited to share. The newsletter this month is a real mixed bag, from high profile outages up to new communities popping up.

A Philosophy For Effective Error Handling (Using JavaScript Examples)

Error handling can be a confusing topic — for a long time I struggled to understand error handling myself. I found the whole topic quite mystical and daunting. I ended up subscribed to the school of thought: “let the error throw and pray”. But, over time, I learned there are simple, easy to understand strategies for error handling that lead to noticeably better results than hope alone!

If, like I did, you also have difficulty understanding error handling then you’re in the right place. After years working with JavaScript, and speaking/working with other engineers, a style of applications layout for handling errors emerged in my own work. And it’s this philosophy for error handling that I want to share with you today.

By the end of the article you’ll understand how to structure an application to handle errors effectively, achieve more understanding of the application, deliver better error messages and have an easier time debugging.