Policy as Code

Chapter 9. jsPolicy and Kubernetes

In Chapter 1, I introduced the idea of selecting PaC solutions based on factors and criteria, and I gave you a scorecard to help with PaC selection. The first three selection criteria of that scorecard are used for organizational alignment. In this chapter, I focus on matching a solution’s underlying technology, such as policy language, to organizational capabilities, strategies, and standards. Aligning technology to organizational capabilities minimizes negative disruptions that a new solution might introduce.

jsPolicy leverages JavaScript to write Kubernetes policies that are effective while being easy to understand and maintain. That’s why I chose to write about jsPolicy in this book. JavaScript is everywhere. Sure, it started in the web browser and still is an integral part of web user experiences, but it also runs on servers, like Node.js.

JavaScript and the languages that compile or transpile to JavaScript, such as TypeScript, are used by many organizations, across many industries. I started using JavaScript more than 20 years ago, and I still find it easy to pick up when I need to. Choosing a PaC solution that leverages that kind of common knowledge and experience helps organizations avoid the learning curve of a new language syntax. Moreover, you are more productive and faster when you can avoid steep learning curves. That is the promise of jsPolicy, a project introduced and still supported by Loft Labs. The following links will help ...