Language

Terraform vs ClickOps

Source: doonops-curriculum/iac-fundamentals--terraform-vs-others.md

Doonops lesson

Understand why Terraform beats manual console work — in words you can explain to a friend.

ClickOps = clicking AWS buttons every time. Terraform = writing a recipe once and re-running it. Same recipe gives same kitchen (cloud) result.

Declarative IaC with plan/apply; multi-provider; state tracks mapping. CloudFormation is AWS-only; Terraform workflow is portable.

Ordering food by phone call every day (ClickOps) vs using the same written order form (Terraform).

Deep explanation

Layman words first, then technical detail — read slowly

ClickOps = manual changes in AWS console. Fast for one fix, terrible for teams: no history, hard to repeat, easy to forget a step.

Terraform = you describe what should exist; tool calculates diff and applies. Git stores who changed what.

You are not "learning AWS less" — you learn AWS better because you see resources as connected building blocks.

Modern HCL — names are examples, not from any third-party course

Example HCL

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = { source = "hashicorp/aws", version = "~> 5.0" }
  }
}

Terraform runs on your computer — copy this HCL into a folder, then follow the local lab steps below.

Full implementation folder — copy all files, then run terraform commands

Copy every file below into one folder — same as a real repo module. Then run the local lab steps.

Suggested folder: Suggested path: ~/doonops-terraform/01b-providers/

versions.tfSee file purpose in the code below

terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.9.0"
}

2–3 quick questions before the next module

Quick check — did this module stick?

1. IaC mainly helps with…

2. ClickOps means…