What Is Salesforce DX?
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
- Explain what Salesforce DX is and the problem it solves
- Recognize the shift from "org as source of truth" to "code as source of truth"
- Connect this to Module 14's Git fundamentals lesson
Prerequisites: Module 39: "Project: Payment Gateway"
The older model: the org as source of truth
Historically, Salesforce development often happened directly in a live org — changes made through Setup or the Developer Console, with the org itself being the only "true" record of what the application actually looked like. This makes Module 14's Git workflow (branching, committing, reviewing) genuinely difficult to apply: there's no file-based source to commit in the first place.
The DX model: code as source of truth
Salesforce DX inverts this: every piece of metadata — Apex classes, custom objects, page layouts — exists as actual files on disk, in a Git repository, exactly like the Apex classes this course has written throughout. An org becomes something generated from that source, rather than the source itself.
Why this connects directly to Module 14
Every Git habit from Module 14 — branching, meaningful commits, code review, pull requests — only becomes fully practical for Salesforce development once the actual metadata lives as trackable files. This module is genuinely the missing piece connecting Module 14's general Git discipline to Salesforce-specific development in practice.
Exercise
As a comment, explain why Module 14's Git workflow is difficult to apply when an org itself is the only source of truth.
Show hint
Think about what you'd actually be committing to Git in that model.
What Is Salesforce DX? Quiz
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Summary
Salesforce DX (SFDX) is a set of tools and a development model treating source-controlled code — not a live org — as the true, authoritative version of an application.