What is a primary goal of infrastructure as code?

A primary goal of infrastructure as code is to allow for the programmatic configuration of resources, which enables you to manage and provision infrastructure through code rather than manual processes. This helps in maintaining consistency, reduces the risk of human error, and allows for version control similar to software development. Through programmatic configuration, users can define their infrastructure in a declarative manner and utilize tools like Terraform to automate the deployment and management of their infrastructure resources.

While automation is indeed a critical component of infrastructure as code, and it overlaps significantly with programmatic configuration, the emphasis is on the ability to define and manage infrastructure resources using code. This capability not only enhances deployment speed but also supports practices such as continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) in the DevOps paradigm, leading to improved infrastructure management and agility.