Feature Flags That Actually Ship: Lessons From the Trenches

The article discusses how feature flags can be used as a powerful tool in software development to manage risk, enable continuous delivery, and facilitate experimentation. Here are some key points from the article:

1. Introduction of Feature Flags: The author introduces the concept of feature flags, explaining that they allow developers to control access to new features without changing code or deploying updates.

2. Use Cases for Feature Flags:

   • Operational Kill Switches: These are used to quickly disable a feature if it causes issues in production.
   • Release Flags: Used during the gradual rollout of new features to specific user groups before making them available to everyone.
   • Progressive Rollouts: Gradually exposing features to different segments of users based on criteria such as geographic location, user type, or custom attributes.

3. Technical Implementation:

   • The article provides examples using JavaScript and the LaunchDarkly SDK to demonstrate how feature flags can be implemented in a real-world application.
   • It explains how to integrate feature flags into an Express.js server and shows code snippets for various use cases such as operational kill switches, release flags, and targeted rollouts.

4. Common Objections:

   • The article addresses common concerns about

Read the full article at DEV Community

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