[holoway]

Nope - I mean we make a 1:1 model of the real resource, and then let you propose changes to that data model. Rather than thinking of it like code in a file, think of it like having a live database that does bi-directional sync. The speedup in validating the change happens because we can run it on the data model, rather than on 'real' infrastructure.

Then we track the changes you make to that hypothetical model, and when you like it, apply the specific actions needed to make the real infrastructure conform. All the policy checking, pipeline processing, state file management, etc. is all streamlined.

[AOE9]

Ah okay thank you for clarifying!

Personally not my thing, I'd rather be testing on real infrastructure rather than a simulation.

[holoway]

For what it's worth, that means hitting the 'apply' button in System Initiative. It's a totally viable workflow - it's not either or, it's 'and'.

[stackskipton]

So you recreated Terraform/OpenToFu state?

[holoway]

Nope. Terraform/OpenTofu state has several big differences.

The first is that Terraform/Tofu can drift. This is why people suffer when a change gets made outside of IaC, and the statefile no longer tracks. That's because IaC tools are by design unidirectional - change should only ever flow from the IaC to the Infrastructure. In SI, this is fine - the resource state can update, and then you can decide if it was beneficial (at which point we just update the component side of the equation, and you're done) or not (at which point you would decide what action to take to revert the change.)

The second is how it gets generated. In Terraform/Tofu, it's a side effect of the 'apply' phase - basically a compile time artifact. In System Initiative it's the heart of the system - the code you write is operating on that model, not generating that model. This makes programming it much simpler. You can change the model through our Web UI, you can change it through an API, you can change it with an AI Agent, the resource can change because the underlying cloud provider changes it, and it all just works.