thruster VS kubernetes-the-hard-way

> One JSON/YAML file too uwieldy? Generate it using jsonnet/CUE/dhall/your favourite programming language. Or just talk directly to the Kubernetes API. You don't have to use Helm - in fact, you probably shouldn't be using Helm (as the whole idea of text templating YAML is... thoroughly ignorant in understanding what Kubernetes actually is).

Agreed 99%, but there is one useful thing that Helm provides over Kubectl+structured templating (Nix/dhall/whatever): pruning objects that are no longer defined in your manifest.

However, that's solvable without taking on all of Helm's complexity. For example, Thruster[0] (disclaimer: an old prototype of mine) provides a pruning variant of kubectl apply.

[0]: https://gitlab.com/teozkr/thruster

As I delved into the world of Kubernetes, I opted for what seemed like the scenic route—until reality hit. With determination and a sprinkle of naivety, I plunged into crafting a Kubernetes cluster from scratch. Little did I know, I was in for a wild ride of commands, configurations, and complexities. But fear not! With the guiding light of a course based on the notorious "Kubernetes The Hard Way" GitHub repository, albeit customized for AWS instead of Google Cloud, I embarked on my journey to build my digital fortress, one step at a time.

Another resource that I found pretty helpful was "Kubernetes the Hard Way" by Kelsey Hightower despite its complexity.

https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way

I recently published Kubernetes the Harder Way, a guide loosely based on Kelsey Hightower's Kubernetes the Hard Way, but lenghtier, more explanatory, broader in scope, and - most importantly - harder, by targeting a local machine instead of Google Cloud Platform.

How about this? It will setup a kubernetes cluster on GCP with 3 worker nodes?

https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way

Some costs here but click on the google cloud calc as it seems to have gone up since he wrote this:

If you wanna go all in: https://github.com/kelseyhightower/kubernetes-the-hard-way

Oh, and both: "Kubernetes up and Running" and "Production Kubernetes" are great books.

Using Kubernetes The Hard Way is a great way to learn it deeply and quickly.

If you wanna learn it deeply and quickly, Kelsey Hightower's Kubernetes the hard way is fantastic!