At Dreamforce 2016, I was delighted to introduce a new, modern approach to developing apps on the Salesforce Lightning Platform that we call Salesforce DX (DX is short for Developer Experience). At its core, Salesforce DX has a number of core principles that we stay committed to today. Developers can:

• Drive all development from source code. Although you're not required to use version control for all your activities, we fully support it and even encourage it.
• Easily create (and delete) the environments you use for development and testing. Advances with scratch orgs, and some of the recent work that allows you to create sandboxes through the command-line interface, give you more control as a developer over the environments you use to build apps.
• Work better together as a team. Let's face it, having a bunch of people working together in one Sandbox or Developer Edition org can be difficult. We've focused on tooling and services to make it easier to let everyone work together in ways that don't impact your productivity and, in fact, improve it.
• Modularize your code (and even deploy it as a package, should you choose). This book goes into great detail regarding the many reasons why you might want to modularize your code.
• Use open standards and familiar tools for your development. We shifted away from using proprietary standards and tooling to make it easier for you to use tools and approaches you already know and use today.
• Easily implement continuous delivery. We know that there's a direct correlation between how often developers ship their code on the Lightning Platform and the long-term success they have. Salesforce DX makes it easier for developers to continually ship their code.

All of these principles come together to significantly change and improve the way developers can come together and build applications on the Lightning Platform.

Shortly before the launch of Salesforce DX, I bought a book called Force.com Enterprise Architecture by Andrew Fawcett. I hadn't yet met Andrew, but I knew of him through his reputation in the community. I planned to go through it from cover to cover, and apply everything Andrew wrote about in the context of the new tools and new approach to building applications on what was then the Force.com (now Lightning) Platform. Not only did I find it to be an excellent book, I learned a few things about the platform I didn't already know. I also found a bunch of issues with our tooling that I filed as bugs to be resolved before launch. Those who've built products know that one of the best gifts you can get is reproducible bugs. Finding and squashing bugs is a delightful process! (Incidentally, I use Trailhead today the same way, using new trails as opportunities to test our tooling and continually looking for ways to improve.)

I first met Andrew during a panel for analysts at the TrailheaDX Conference in June 2017. Adrian Kunzle (EVP of Platform at the time) and I spoke to analysts about the transformative nature of Salesforce DX. Some of our key pilot and launch partners joined us to share their own stories and insights. At the time, Andrew was the CTO for FinancialForce, a great partner that provides ERP and other products on Salesforce as well as an active participant in our early previews and pilots. I gained several insights from that panel that I believe are worth sharing.

First, there is no question that Andrew is the author of the definitive book on how to approach enterprise architecture with Salesforce. His depth of expertise and familiarity with building on the platform are unequaled. All the analysts and Salesforce employees were impressed by Andrew's ability to walk through the implications of Salesforce DX in the context of building apps.

Second, there's no one more passionate about the power of app development using the Lightning Platform. Having known Andrew now for several years, I've found there are two things that get him incredibly excited. The first is Lego, particularly if there is any kind of robotics or automation involved. The second is building apps on the Lightning Platform. Andrew literally gets giddy when it comes to explaining, teaching, and coaching people on how to build apps on the Lightning Platform. This passion and excitement comes through in this book and will inspire you with what you can build.

And finally, when I met Andrew, I knew I wanted to work with him. While you can't choose your family, you can often choose the people you work with. Andrew not only had the experience needed to continue to evolve and modernize the Lightning Platform in the years to come, but I knew he had the passion and commitment to be an amazing champion of our customers and partners along the way. And I have to say that it's been one of the great pleasures of my career to work with Andrew for the last couple of years.

What you have in your hands is an amazing learning resource that has evolved over the years. With its recent updates and improvements, it's become an essential tool to successfully build enterprise apps on the Lightning Platform. I'm confident that you'll be building amazing applications in no time by learning from Andrew's experience, and the recent updates that incorporate the tools and approaches made available by advances in Salesforce developer tooling.

Wade Wegner

SVP of Product at Salesforce