Drupal and Nix similarities

I've been a Drupal Developer since 2008 and have worked on countless Drupal projects as a Freelancer and Consultant, and agency and in-house staff.

No two Drupal websites are the same.

Every one has its own content types, fields, user roles and other configuration.

Each uses a different combination of modules and themes.

Some use Layout Builder and some use Paragraphs, Layout Paragraphs or the core Block system.

Almost every Drupal website has its own custom theme and a number of custom modules.

I've been using Nix and NixOS for three years, and they are similar in this way.

A lot of people post their configuration files online for others to read and take inspiration from (including mine).

From reading a number of these, I think no two Nix configurations are the same either.

They range from simple to very complex configurations, some managing multiple devices including personal computers, servers and homelabs - and even mobile phones!

Most use flakes, but some use wrappers like flake-utils or flake-parts.

Here's the thing

Whilst it can be confusing initially, when joining a Drupal project or reading a Nix configuration, I like to learn how different people solve problems.

Because people can solve problems in different ways shows how flexible these tools are.

They provide building blocks that people can use to achieve a specific result and build what they need.

With tools like this, the possibilities are endless.