The Rise of the Declarative Data Stack

The blog post explores the evolution and future potential of data stacks, emphasizing a shift from monolithic systems to modular, open, and declarative data stacks. This transition is driven by the increasing adoption of software engineering best practices in data workflows, moving towards code-first, Git-based, and CLI-centric processes. The text highlights the advantages of declarative systems, such as ease of use and abstraction, which allow users to focus on the desired outcomes rather than technical implementation details. It compares declarative and imperative approaches, illustrating how the former simplifies complex data management tasks by abstracting the 'how' and emphasizing the 'what.' The post also delves into the historical context of declarative systems, the role of languages like YAML in simplifying configurations, and how a declarative data stack can integrate various components of the data engineering lifecycle, from ingestion to visualization. The discussion underscores the potential of declarative methods to democratize data engineering, enabling non-programmers to manage sophisticated data systems while maintaining best practices. The post concludes by setting the stage for further exploration of "BI-as-code" and practical implementations of declarative data stacks in subsequent parts of the series.