Quick Summary
PaaS provides a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, letting developers focus on code rather than infrastructure.
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with the complexity of building and maintaining infrastructure.
PaaS Components
- Operating systems
- Programming language runtime environments
- Databases
- Web servers
- Development tools
- Middleware
Popular PaaS Providers
| Provider | Best For |
|---|---|
| Heroku | Easy deployment, prototyping |
| Google App Engine | Google Cloud integration |
| AWS Elastic Beanstalk | AWS ecosystem |
| Vercel/Netlify | Frontend deployment |
| Firebase | Mobile and web apps |
PaaS vs IaaS vs SaaS
- IaaS: You manage everything above virtualization
- PaaS: You manage application and data only
- SaaS: You just use the software
Benefits of PaaS
- Faster time to market
- No infrastructure management
- Built-in scalability
- Built-in services (databases, caching)
- Easy team collaboration
- Multiple language support
Key Points
- Platform for app development
- No infrastructure management
- Includes runtime, databases, tools
- Faster development cycle
- Heroku, Google App Engine
- Between IaaS and SaaS