How can you find the best DevOps platforms that integrate seamlessly with popular programming languages?

Devops have become a major software engineering model in the current cloud world. For finding the best match for the devops model, evaluating the requirements is a critical step. Below are some areas one should consider during this step -> Billing charged for the component in a cloud -> programming language -> Deployment model and complexity -> Complexity of the architecture of project

1. Researching programming languages(utilizing your experience) that your team uses and is comfortable using, most languages achieve the same thing, it’s a matter of your team members’ comfort and integrations or plugins for the languages you use, read, and follow the official documentation. 2. explore what people are talking about and question if needed to learn the pros and cons of languages you want to use. 3. Check for third-party integrations and plugins for extra support and configurations. 4. make sure your development workflow is convenient from test to prod. 5. make sure you are on track with the community(like GitHub). 6. Ensure you have enough exposure to traditional DevOps integration before going to advanced cloud-native.

Seamless continuous integration of source code,Automated build and testing with required quality gate in place,automated testing and package management and automated deployment and rollback with continuous monitoring DevOps platform(CI-CD-CT-CM)can work effectively irrespective of any programming language to fulfill any complex requirements of project

Start by clarifying what you need from DevOps platform.Consider the programming language of your team uses, the specific feature tou require like CI/CD pipelines, monitoring or automation capabilities, and the scale of your operations.

Azure DevOps is a DevOps platform by Microsoft that offers a range of tools for collaboration, version control, CI/CD, and project management. It is compatible with various programming languages and can seamlessly integrate with Azure services and third-party tools.

Understanding the requirements of your organisation or your project should always be given first priority while choosing a DevOps platform. Various factors like the size of the team, frequency of the services called and more such things should be taken into consideration

My approach based on my experience would be: Research and Evaluate: Start by researching popular DevOps platforms and their compatibility with various programming languages. Look for platforms that have good community support and positive reviews. Compatibility: Check the compatibility of the DevOps platform with the programming languages you use in your projects. Integration Capabilities: Look for platforms that offer robust integration capabilities with popular programming languages. This includes features such as built-in support for language-specific build tools, libraries, and frameworks. Scalability and Flexibility: Ensure that the platform can scale with your projects and accommodate the evolving needs of your development team.

Evaluate Needs: Define your requirements and objectives for DevOps integration, considering factors such as the programming languages used in your projects, CI/CD pipelines, deployment strategies, scalability needs, collaboration requirements, and budget constraints.

You need to make things as simple as they need to be, and as complex as they need to be, always. I found that using Docker, Git and bash scripts for small to mid-sized projects is most of the time just fine, but if you need more advanced orchestration and pipelines, you can opt for more advanced DevOps platforms like Kubernetes.

Research Options: Research DevOps platforms that are known for seamless integration with popular programming languages. Look for platforms that support a wide range of languages, frameworks, and technologies relevant to your projects.

There are many factors on which we can focus on for example - will it be compatible with different programming languages , if your team makes use of many languages what platform should you choose. - what are the CI/CD capabilities you require , do you just want to deploy your apps or also run tests , scan for vulnerabilities etc. - how is your infrastructure provisioned , if you have everything in AWS you can use cloudformation or else for multi cloud you can use terraform. - do you need to containerize your app , do you manage your own k8s cluster or use something like EKS . - what is the registry you use for your apps.

Allow me to simplify your research process a bit. 😊 Small to medium orgs (<250 devs): It's usually best to buy rather than build a custom solution. Start with evaluating Humanitec. Medium to large orgs (250-1000 devs): Assess whether developing a custom platform is truly necessary. Often, buying is more cost-efficient. If you decide to build, avoid developing everything from scratch. I've seen too many custom-built Rube Goldberg machines that could have been simplified using tools like Backstage and Crossplane. Large orgs (> 1000 devs): Your environment is likely too complex for a ready-made solution. Building a custom platform is the way to go. Ensure you involve all platform teams and avoid creating silos. Collaboration is key! 🚀

Look for DevOps platforms that support a wide range of popular programming languages and offer integration with the tools and services you already use or plan to use.

Although I do agree that putting efforts in research is the foremost things to do but I strongly feel no amount of research is useful, unless backed my some Proof of concept (POCs). This is actually where you will get to know of upcoming challenges,blockers and can tackle them early on

1. Language Compatibility: Ensure the DevOps platform supports multiple programming languages for diverse projects. 2. CI/CD Requirements: Determine if you need just deployment or also testing, security checks, and code quality maintenance in your CI/CD process. 3. Infrastructure Setup: Assess your infrastructure setup. Use CloudFormation if primarily on AWS, or Terraform for multi-cloud environments. 4. Containers: Decide if you'll manage containers with Kubernetes or use a managed service like AWS EKS. 5. App Registry: Choose a compatible app registry like Docker Hub or AWS ECR and ensure seamless integration with the DevOps platform.

Evaluate key features CI/CD Pipelines: How easy is it to set up and manage pipelines? Version Control Integration: Compatibility with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc. Automation: Support for scripting and automated tasks. Containerization and Orchestration: Integration with Docker, Kubernetes. Monitoring and Logging: Tools for performance monitoring, error logging.

Frameworks, libraries, and programming languages shouldn't be a limiting factor—if they are, you've made a very wrong choice. It's essential to note that simply providing an artifact repository and CI/CD tools doesn't constitute a devops platform. A DevOps platform should at least include: - Self-services for dev tooling like CI tools and code quality scans, artifact repositories - A clear path for Continuous Deployment or GitOps. Without, it’s more appropriate to call it a Dev or CI Platform rather than a DevOps Platform. - Most importantly, tested templates, scaffolds, and blueprints These are just the minimum features required to be considered a DevOps platform. Anything less and it calling it a DevOps platform would me misleading. 🚀

Compare Features: Compare the features and capabilities of each DevOps platform, focusing on aspects like version control, continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery/deployment (CD), testing automation, monitoring, scalability, security, and collaboration tools.

Ensure that the DevOps platform supports the programming languages you use. Look for compatibility with languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, and others.

Test Integration: Test the integration of the DevOps platforms with your preferred programming languages. Evaluate how well the platform supports building, testing, deploying, and monitoring applications written in those languages. Ensure compatibility, ease of setup, and smooth workflow integration.

If you even need to test the integration capabilities with your programming language, you’ve made the wrong choice. Start over. This shouldn’t be an issue. The right platform should seamlessly support all common language's build process, testing frameworks, and deployment strategies without requiring additional testing on your part. If integration isn't smooth from the get-go, it's a clear sign to look for a better-suited platform.

Consider factors such as ease of integration with your existing tools and workflows, scalability to accommodate your growing infrastructure, support for automation and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD), and compatibility with cloud services or on-premises environments.

If possible, try out a few DevOps platforms to see how well they integrate with your programming languages and tools. Many platforms offer free trials or demo versions that you can use to evaluate their compatibility.

Check Language Support and Integration:       •     Ensure the platform supports your primary programming languages natively or via plugins.       •     Look for specific integrations with tools and libraries relevant to your stack (e.g., Node.js, Python, Java, etc.).

Consider the size and activity of the platform's community. This can really be helpful when it comes to valuable resources, plugins, and integrations that can help on DevOps workflow. Some good examples would be Jenkins, GitLab or AWS CodeCommit

You should not only read reddit articles but talk to your actual users. The difference between a platform and an ops silo is viewing yourself as a service rather than a compulsory requirement. It’s about being a product rather than an end in itself. Offering your users choices and engaging with their feedback is crucial. Without this engagement, you’re not doing platform engineering; you’re simply creating ops silos.

Seek Community: Engage with the DevOps community, forums, user groups, and online discussions to gather insights, recommendations, and real-world experiences with different platforms. Learn from others' experiences and best practices to make informed decisions.

Evaluate the strength of the community and availability of resources like forums, documentation, and tutorials. Check the responsiveness and availability of support.

Consider Support: Consider the level of support, documentation, tutorials, and training resources provided by each DevOps platform. Evaluate the responsiveness and expertise of their support teams, as reliable support can be crucial for addressing issues and optimizing platform usage.

Support is a very important point to consider, especially when your use-case is a complex and you are trying to implement something new ,that's not yet in the market. An active support forum, helps you when you are blocked at something.For eg-Sonarqube,JIRA have such forums. Also, some products have ongoing Stackoverflow threads ,where common problems can be asked and get answered.

Security -- Choosing a platform which provides security features, which could integration with encryptions, access control features, testing, vulnerability scanning. This is good for the protection of your data.

Seleccionar las herramientas adecuadas es una parte crucial del éxito de las iniciativas DevOps. Al considerar las necesidades específicas de los proyectos, así como la compatibilidad con los lenguajes de programación actuales, los DevOps pueden tomar decisiones informadas que impulsen la eficiencia y la calidad en todas las etapas del ciclo de vida del desarrollo de software. Al seguir estrategias como evaluar la compatibilidad con lenguajes de programación, analizar el ecosistema CI/CD, examinar las capacidades de monitoreo y gestión de infraestructura, y considerar la flexibilidad y la escalabilidad, los DevOps pueden encontrar las herramientas adecuadas para sus necesidades únicas.

1. Scalability:Make sure the DevOps tool you choose can grow with your project. You don’t want to switch tools every few months. 2. Learning Curve: Check how easy it is for your team to learn and use the tool. If it’s too complicated, it might slow things down. 3. Cost: See if the tool fits your budget. Some tools might be too expensive for what you need. 4. Features: Look at what each tool offers. You want one that has all the stuff you need, like good documentation and support from the community. 5. Security: It's super important to keep your data safe. Choose a tool that has features to protect your work, like encryption and access control.

Evaluate each platform based on its features, documentation, community support, and user reviews to determine which one aligns best with your requirements. Some examples of DevOps platforms known for seamless integration with popular programming languages include GitLab, Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI, and GitHub Actions.

Consider these important for sure- 1. Scalability for long-term use. 2. Also, analyse the learning curve involved for your team. 3. Additionally, also assess what would it roughly cost, to use that DevOps tool and whether it fits well in your budget.