Infrastructure as Code
// Definition
Defining servers, networks, and cloud resources in version-controlled configuration files (Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation) instead of clicking through dashboards. Brings code review, repeatability, and rollback to infrastructure changes.
// Related terms
Pipeline
An automated, ordered sequence of stages — typically build, test, scan, deploy — that code passes through from commit to release. Enforces quality gates between stages.
Deploy
The act of releasing a built artifact to a target environment (staging, production). Modern teams aim to deploy as often and as automatically as possible.
Containerisation
Packaging an application together with its dependencies into a portable image (typically Docker) that runs identically on a developer laptop, CI, and production. Eliminates 'works on my machine' and underpins modern test environments.