How do you use infrastructure as code (IaC) in cloud-native application development?

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) defines and manages infrastructure (such as cloud resources or Kubernetes clusters) through code files, ensuring consistency and repeatability. Its importance in cloud-native development lies in automating environment deployment, supporting agile iteration, containerized applications, and cost optimization, applied to cluster configuration and CI/CD pipelines.

Core components include version control tools (e.g., Git) and automation tools (e.g., Terraform or Kubernetes manifests), with features of auditability, repeatable deployment, and declarative definition. The principle is to match the actual state with the code declaration. In practical applications, IaC automates the creation of cloud infrastructure, drives the scaling of Kubernetes environments, and improves development efficiency, elasticity, and team collaboration.

Implementation steps include: 1. Define infrastructure as code (e.g., YAML files); 2. Integrate tools to deploy environments and perform automated testing; 3. Continuously iterate in CI/CD. A typical scenario is the rapid replication of development environments; business values include reduced operational costs, fewer human errors, and accelerated time to market.