What is the function of AWS Cloud9 when it comes to collaborative coding in TypeScript

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

AWS Cloud9 is an integrated development environment (IDE) that runs in the cloud and enables you to write, run, and debug your code with just a browser. One of its main features is its ability to facilitate collaborative coding, which is especially useful for teams working on software projects, including those written in TypeScript.

With AWS Cloud9, collaborative coding is supported through shared environments. Team members can be given access to the same development environment, allowing them to pair program and track each other’s mouse cursor, which helps in real-time collaboration. You can see live edits made by others, communicate through built-in chat, and even share terminal sessions. This collaborative aspect is facilitated through the aws.cloud9.EnvironmentEC2 and aws.cloud9.EnvironmentMembership resources.

The EnvironmentEC2 resource is used to create and configure a Cloud9 environment hosted on an EC2 instance, while the EnvironmentMembership resource is used to manage access to this environment, granting or restricting permissions to other AWS users.

Below is a Pulumi TypeScript program that demonstrates how to create a Cloud9 environment suited for collaborative coding in TypeScript:

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

// Create an AWS Cloud9 EC2 Environment for TypeScript development.
const cloud9Env = new aws.cloud9.EnvironmentEC2("myCloud9Environment", {
    instanceType: "t3.small", // Choose the instance size suitable for the task.
    // Define other optional properties as needed.
});

// Grant access to a team member by creating an EnvironmentMembership.
// Replace 'userArn' with the ARN of the AWS user you want to grant access to.
const teamMemberAccess = new aws.cloud9.EnvironmentMembership("teamMemberAccess", {
    environmentId: cloud9Env.id,
    userArn: "<team_member_user_arn>", // Specify the team member's user ARN.
    permissions: "read-write", // Provide read-write access to the environment.
});

// Export the Cloud9 environment ID and the URL to open the IDE in the browser.
export const cloud9EnvironmentId = cloud9Env.id;
export const cloud9EnvironmentUrl = cloud9Env.environmentId.apply(id => 
    `https://${pulumi.getRegion()}.console.aws.amazon.com/cloud9/ide/${id}`
);

Explanation:

We import the necessary modules, pulumi and aws, which include the classes and functions we’ll use.
We create an EC2-backed Cloud9 environment with new aws.cloud9.EnvironmentEC2, which will allow us to write TypeScript code in the Cloud9 IDE. The instanceType here is set to t3.small, which is a cost-effective choice for a development environment.
We then create an environment membership with new aws.cloud9.EnvironmentMembership. This is where you manage access, either read or read-write, to the Cloud9 environment for other AWS users. Replace <team_member_user_arn> with the actual ARN of your collaborator.
Lastly, we export two important values: the Cloud9 environment ID and the URL to it. These allow access to the environment and enable you to share it with your team.

This program sets up a Cloud9 environment for collaborative TypeScript development, allowing team members to work together on coding projects in real-time.