## PaaS ("Cloud Provider") PaaS, or Platform-as-a-Service, is a cloud computing service that provides a platform for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure, as opposed to IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) which provides raw virtualized hardware and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) which provides ready-to-use applications. Using PaaS, developers can leverage frameworks like Django for backend development and libraries like React.js for the front end, without getting bogged down by the OS, runtime environments, and server setup, storage, and management. This streamlining of the development process, enabled by PaaS, is pivotal to the evolution of web development, allowing developers to focus on coding, innovating, and rapidly deploying applications. PaaS is like getting a pre-setup computer over the internet. You don't have to worry about setting up the OS or the environment, you just push your code and the platform takes care of the rest. It's also worth noting that not all PaaS providers support every language or framework, so sometimes, developers may containerize ([[Containerize]]) their applications using Docker to make them more portable across different platforms. So, depending on your application's needs, you might still use containerization and orchestration tools in conjunction with a PaaS. **Examples:** - [[Vercel]] - [[Heroku]] - [[Netlify]] - Google Cloud Platform's App Engine Each platform caters to different needs and project complexities. Vercel and Netlify excel at deploying frontend applications and serverless functions, making them ideal for web developers focused on front-end and JAMstack architectures. Heroku offers a beginner-friendly environment tailored for a broader range of web applications, including both frontend and backend, with support for various databases and integrations. Google Cloud Platform's App Engine provides a scalable cloud environment that integrates deeply with other Google Cloud services, suitable for both simple and complex applications requiring robust infrastructure.