Dax Raad, expert in building serverless applications on AWS using the SST framework, discusses the benefits of SST in simplifying AWS infrastructure with TypeScript. He compares AWS CDK and SST, and explores the decision-making process between Terraform and Pulumi for infrastructure management. The podcast also covers local development in a cloud environment and the complexity of parenthood in the industry.
SST offers high-level primitives for common serverless components, providing a seamless development experience.
SST utilizes a fake function and local development environment to achieve fast feedback loops.
SST enables AWS professionals to leverage their existing knowledge while accelerating the development process.
SST offers testing utilities for accurate verification of serverless application behavior and functionality.
Replica simplifies the process of syncing data from the back-end to the front-end, resulting in fast and responsive user experiences.
Deep dives
SST: An AWS Framework for Building Serverless Applications
SST is a framework designed to simplify the process of building serverless applications on AWS. It offers high-level primitives for common serverless components such as serverless functions, APIs, databases, queues, and static sites. SST focuses on providing a seamless development experience by enabling local development in a cloud-like environment. This approach allows developers to mirror their production setup and significantly reduces the feedback loop during development. The framework also includes testing utilities, allowing developers to write tests for their serverless applications by hitting real resources created during deployment. SST aims to eliminate the financial barriers to accessing serverless knowledge by being an open-source framework, providing developers with a code-first approach and the ability to explore and leverage the full range of AWS services if needed.
SST's Approach to Local Development in the Cloud
SST offers a unique approach to local development by utilizing a fake function that runs in the cloud and forwards requests to the local machine. This allows for fast feedback loops, bringing down the response time to the speed of the local machine. SST ensures that the local development environment closely mirrors the production environment, providing developers with a realistic testing experience. The framework's local development capabilities are widely regarded as valuable, significantly reducing development time and increasing productivity.
The Value of SST for AWS Pro Users
For AWS professionals, SST provides a level of abstraction and simplicity that allows them to leverage their existing AWS knowledge and experience while accelerating their development process. SST's opinionated structure ensures that developers adhere to best practices and recommended patterns while still allowing for flexibility and customization when needed. While SST primarily focuses on the common AWS services and use cases, it offers the flexibility to break out of the high-level abstraction and utilize any AWS service through direct integration with CDK. By providing a smooth onboarding experience and an extensive community-driven ecosystem, SST empowers AWS experts to build scalable and efficient serverless applications.
Testing with SST and the Testing Philosophy
SST offers testing utilities that enable developers to write tests for their serverless applications. By utilizing integration testing and hitting real resources created during deployment, developers can verify the behavior and functionality of their applications accurately. SST emphasizes the importance of integration testing and snapshot testing for infrastructure-as-code projects, ensuring that changes to the codebase do not unintentionally affect critical infrastructure components. While SST provides testing capabilities, it is important to note that not all infrastructure-as-code projects require extensive testing, and developers should evaluate the specific needs and requirements of their projects when implementing tests.
Building local-first applications with Replica
Replica is a powerful tool for creating local-first applications. It simplifies the process of syncing data from the back-end to the front-end, resulting in fast and responsive user experiences. With Replica, changes are made locally and then synced to the server, making updates instant and optimistic. This approach is ideal for applications that have a network of nodes syncing data with one authoritative server. Replica's architecture and features make it a top choice for local-first development.
Flame AI: Upgrading React Native with AI
Flame AI is a CLI tool designed to assist with upgrading React Native using artificial intelligence. Developed by Jaman Holmgren, the creator of Ink framework and a member of the React Native community, Flame AI handles the complexities of React Native upgrades, offering smart recommendations and guidance. By automating the upgrading process, Flame AI saves time and ensures that React Native developers can easily keep their projects up to date with the latest versions.
Dark Matter: A CMS for Astro Sites
Dark Matter is a powerful CMS designed specifically for Astro sites. Built by Aaron Boodman, the creator of Greasemonkey, Dark Matter simplifies content management by providing a focused and user-friendly interface for editing Astro sites. With its seamless integration and intuitive features, Dark Matter makes it easy to create and manage content in Astro, bringing a superior editing experience to developers working with the framework.
The Heat It: Instant Relief for Mosquito Bites
The Heat It is a compact and innovative device that provides instant relief for mosquito bites. By applying heat to the affected area, the proteins causing itchiness are broken down, providing immediate relief. The Heat It conveniently plugs into your phone and activates a heat treatment with the push of a button. This clever solution solves a common problem and offers a user-friendly experience for combating mosquito bites.
Building intentional companies with SST
SST (Serverless Stack Toolkit) is a powerful framework for building serverless applications on AWS. Its unique features and architecture allow developers to create scalable, reliable, and cost-effective applications. With SST, developers can focus on building their applications with an intentional and deliberate approach, understanding how each component fits into the overall business model. By using SST, AWS users can harness the full potential of serverless technology and build successful and efficient companies.
This week we talk with Dax Raad about SST, a framework for building serverless applications on AWS. SST is a typescript framework that makes it easy to build serverless applications on AWS. It's built on top of the AWS CDK, but provides a much nicer developer experience. ax also presents a critique of cloud service providers and a call for more open source knowledge.
