Effortless Cloud-Native App Development Using Skaffold

A practical guide to solving inner development loop problems in cloud-native applications by automating build, push, and deploy boilerplate using Skaffold
Key Features

Learn how to build and deploy cloud-native applications quickly with Kubernetes
Create a production-ready continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline for cloud-native apps
Discover ways to create a GitOps-style CD workflow for cloud-native applications

Book Description

Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration, drastically improving how we deploy and manage cloud-native apps. Although it has simplified the lives of support professionals, we cannot say the same for developers who need to be equipped with better tools to increase productivity. An automated workflow that solves a wide variety of problems that every developer faces can make all the difference!

Enter Skaffold – a command-line tool that automates the build, push, and deploy steps for Kubernetes applications.

This book is divided into three parts, starting with common challenges encountered by developers in building apps with Kubernetes. The second part covers Skaffold features, its architecture, supported container image builders, and more. In the last part, you'll focus on practical implementation, learning how to deploy Spring Boot apps to cloud platforms such as Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using Skaffold. You'll also create CI/CD pipelines for your cloud-native apps with Skaffold. Although the examples covered in this book are written in Java and Spring Boot, the techniques can be applied to apps built using other technologies too.

By the end of this Skaffold book, you'll develop skills that will help accelerate your inner development loop and be able to build and deploy your apps to the Kubernetes cluster with Skaffold.
What you will learn

Overcome challenges faced while working in an inner development loop using Skaffold
Accelerate your development workflow using Skaffold
Understand Skaffold's architecture, internal working, and supported CLI commands
Build and deploy containers to Kubernetes using the Skaffold CLI and Cloud Code
Deploy Spring Boot applications to fully managed Kubernetes services such as Google Kubernetes Engine using Skaffold
Explore best practices for developing an app with Skaffold
Avoid common pitfalls when developing cloud-native apps with Skaffold in Kubernetes

Who this book is for

Cloud-native application developers, software engineers working with Kubernetes, and DevOps professionals who are looking for a solution to simplify and improve their software development life cycle will find this book useful. Beginner-level knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes, and the container ecosystem is required to get started with this book.
Table of Contents

Code, Build, Test, and Repeat – The Application Development Inner Loop
Developing Cloud-Native Applications with Kubernetes – A Developer's Nightmare
Skaffold – Easy-Peasy Cloud-Native Kubernetes Application Development
Understanding Skaffold's Features and Architecture
Installing Skaffold and Demystifying Its Pipeline Stages
Working with Skaffold Container Image Builders and Deployers
Building and Deploying a Spring Boot Application with the Cloud Code Plugin
Deploying a Spring Boot Application to Google Kubernetes Engine Using Skaffold
Creating a Production-Ready CI/CD Pipeline with Skaffold
Exploring Skaffold Alternatives, Best Practices, and Pitfalls