Platform Engineering

Platform Engineering & IDPs

Build the paved road that developers actually want to use.

25 min read beginner 3 objectives

Status

Not started

What you will learn

  • Define platform engineering
  • Understand internal developer platforms
  • Treat the platform as a product

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The basics, in plain English

Platform engineering means building an internal toolset that makes life easier for your own developers. An IDP, or Internal Developer Platform, is that toolset: a set of self-service tools so developers can ship code without needing to understand every piece of the underlying infrastructure.

Platform engineering
Building internal tools that make your developers faster and happier.
IDP
Internal Developer Platform: the self-service toolset developers use to ship.
Self-service
Letting developers do things themselves without filing a ticket and waiting.
Abstraction
Hiding complex details so developers only deal with the simple parts.
Developer
The person writing application code, who is the customer of the platform.
Cognitive load
How much a developer must hold in their head; good platforms reduce it.
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Paved roads

Platform engineering builds an Internal Developer Platform that abstracts infrastructure behind golden paths, treating developers as customers.

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