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Notepad++ vs Terraform: What are the differences?
Key Differences between Notepad++ and Terraform
Notepad++ and Terraform are two different tools that serve different purposes in the world of software development. Here are the key differences between the two:
Functionality: Notepad++ is a text and source code editor that provides basic functionalities for editing and manipulating text. It supports various programming languages but lacks specialized features for infrastructure provisioning and configuration management. On the other hand, Terraform is a powerful infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that enables users to define and provision infrastructure resources across multiple cloud providers. It allows for the automated provisioning and management of cloud-based resources.
Focus: Notepad++ primarily focuses on text editing and source code manipulation. It provides features like syntax highlighting, code folding, and search and replace options. However, it does not have the capabilities to provision infrastructure resources or manage infrastructure in an automated manner. Terraform, on the other hand, is specifically designed for managing infrastructure resources. It allows users to define infrastructure configurations in a declarative language and handles the provisioning and management of resources accordingly.
Language: Notepad++ supports multiple programming languages and provides syntax highlighting and auto-completion features for different programming languages. However, it is not limited to any specific language and can be used with various file types. Terraform, on the other hand, has its own domain-specific language (DSL) called HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL). This language is used to define infrastructure resources and their configurations in a human-readable and easy-to-understand format.
Integration: Notepad++ can be easily integrated with other tools and plugins to enhance its functionality. Users can install additional plugins for language support, code snippets, and more. However, Notepad++ does not have built-in integration or direct mapping with cloud providers or infrastructure management platforms. On the other hand, Terraform provides native integration with various cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. It allows users to define infrastructure resources and their configurations using provider-specific syntax and APIs.
Version Control: Notepad++ supports basic version control functionalities like comparing and merging files. However, it does not provide built-in version control system integration. Terraform, on the other hand, is built to work well with version control systems like Git. It allows users to manage infrastructure code and configurations in a version-controlled manner, enabling collaboration and change tracking.
Scalability: Notepad++ is primarily designed for individual developers and small-scale projects. It is lightweight and can run on almost any system. Terraform, on the other hand, is designed for managing infrastructure at a larger scale. It is designed to handle complex infrastructure configurations and manage resources across multiple cloud providers efficiently.
In summary, Notepad++ is a text and source code editor for general-purpose use, whereas Terraform is a specialized infrastructure as code tool for provisioning and managing infrastructure resources.
Since communication with Github is not necessary, the Atom is less convenient in working with text and code. Sublim's support and understanding of projects is best for us. Notepad for us is a completely outdated solution with an unacceptable interface. We use a good theme for Sublim ayu-dark
Because Pulumi uses real programming languages, you can actually write abstractions for your infrastructure code, which is incredibly empowering. You still 'describe' your desired state, but by having a programming language at your fingers, you can factor out patterns, and package it up for easier consumption.
We use Terraform to manage AWS cloud environment for the project. It is pretty complex, largely static, security-focused, and constantly evolving.
Terraform provides descriptive (declarative) way of defining the target configuration, where it can work out the dependencies between configuration elements and apply differences without re-provisioning the entire cloud stack.
AdvantagesTerraform is vendor-neutral in a way that it is using a common configuration language (HCL) with plugins (providers) for multiple cloud and service providers.
Terraform keeps track of the previous state of the deployment and applies incremental changes, resulting in faster deployment times.
Terraform allows us to share reusable modules between projects. We have built an impressive library of modules internally, which makes it very easy to assemble a new project from pre-fabricated building blocks.
DisadvantagesSoftware is imperfect, and Terraform is no exception. Occasionally we hit annoying bugs that we have to work around. The interaction with any underlying APIs is encapsulated inside 3rd party Terraform providers, and any bug fixes or new features require a provider release. Some providers have very poor coverage of the underlying APIs.
Terraform is not great for managing highly dynamic parts of cloud environments. That part is better delegated to other tools or scripts.
Terraform state may go out of sync with the target environment or with the source configuration, which often results in painful reconciliation.
I personally am not a huge fan of vendor lock in for multiple reasons:
- I've seen cost saving moves to the cloud end up costing a fortune and trapping companies due to over utilization of cloud specific features.
- I've seen S3 failures nearly take down half the internet.
- I've seen companies get stuck in the cloud because they aren't built cloud agnostic.
I choose to use terraform for my cloud provisioning for these reasons:
- It's cloud agnostic so I can use it no matter where I am.
- It isn't difficult to use and uses a relatively easy to read language.
- It tests infrastructure before running it, and enables me to see and keep changes up to date.
- It runs from the same CLI I do most of my CM work from.
Context: I wanted to create an end to end IoT data pipeline simulation in Google Cloud IoT Core and other GCP services. I never touched Terraform meaningfully until working on this project, and it's one of the best explorations in my development career. The documentation and syntax is incredibly human-readable and friendly. I'm used to building infrastructure through the google apis via Python , but I'm so glad past Sung did not make that decision. I was tempted to use Google Cloud Deployment Manager, but the templates were a bit convoluted by first impression. I'm glad past Sung did not make this decision either.
Solution: Leveraging Google Cloud Build Google Cloud Run Google Cloud Bigtable Google BigQuery Google Cloud Storage Google Compute Engine along with some other fun tools, I can deploy over 40 GCP resources using Terraform!
Check Out My Architecture: CLICK ME
Check out the GitHub repo attached
Pros of Notepad++
- Syntax for all languages that i use104
- Tabbed ui60
- Great code editor56
- Fast and lightweight54
- Plugins38
- Nice GUI28
- Regex & Special Character Search & Replace26
- Fast startup16
- Application is free, and plugins are too9
- Themes9
- Free6
- Very Lightweight4
- 100% Free3
- Column selection2
- Awesome autocomplete1
- Easy edit on FTP servers (NppFTP)1
- Cos it's seck1
- Nice gui. are you kidding me?1
- Open Sourced1
Pros of Terraform
- Infrastructure as code121
- Declarative syntax73
- Planning45
- Simple28
- Parallelism24
- Well-documented8
- Cloud agnostic8
- It's like coding your infrastructure in simple English6
- Immutable infrastructure6
- Platform agnostic5
- Extendable4
- Automation4
- Automates infrastructure deployments4
- Portability4
- Lightweight2
- Scales to hundreds of hosts2
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Cons of Notepad++
- No default plugin manager3
- Can't install more advanced packets2
Cons of Terraform
- Doesn't have full support to GKE1