Smooooth Operator: Configuring Your Architecture 🛠️

Summary

In this episode, Carl and Brandon dive deep into the world of configuration, exploring various methods for system, app, and user-facing config. Starting with hard-coded values and whether there is ever a time for hard-coding, weighing the benefits and drawbacks. The conversation then shifts to configuration files, including web.config, app.config, and various environment-specific files such as .env files for backend and frontend uses.

Carl and Brandon also explore feature flags, databases, and SaaS options for configuration, such as LaunchDarkly, and delve into DevOps patterns, including pipeline sourcing and configuration services like AWS AppConfig and Azure App Configuration. Finally, they cover secrets management with services like Azure Key Vault and AWS Key Management Service.

Links

• Make hard-coding your default choice | Enterprise Craftsmanship
• Shared library vs Enterprise development | Enterprise Craftsmanship
• The Pitfalls of Hard Coding: Why Config Files Are Essential in Data Science Projects
• AWS AppConfig
• AWS CloudHSM
• AWS Key Management Service
• Azure App Configuration
• Azure Key Vault
• LaunchDarkly