Comment by photonthug

Presentation is a separate matter though, just like with git diffs ideally you could choose a wall of text or a side by side ui, see things at a high level or drill down to line by line. A tag layer plus custom validation between plan/apply gives you an automatic way to short circuit things. But none of it can work without a plan as a first class object.

Thing is the plan/apply split isn’t even primarily for users necessarily, it’s just good design. It makes testing easier, and leaves open the possibility for plugging in totally different resolution strategies without rewriting the whole core. The benefits are so big there that I’d strongly prefer that more software is using it more often, even if I’m going to shut my eyes and auto apply every time without glancing at the plan.