Key points

• AWS SAM defines Lambda functions, event sources, permissions, and related serverless resources as infrastructure code.
• A SAM deployment still follows CloudFormation stack lifecycle and should keep environment values parameterized.

Best-known use cases

• Define Lambda functions, event sources, and permissions as infrastructure code.
• Package and deploy repeatable serverless data pipelines.

What candidates often confuse it with

• SAM adds serverless-focused syntax and tooling; CDK synthesizes code-defined constructs and CloudFormation is the underlying declarative model.

Key takeaway

Choose SAM to package and deploy repeatable serverless data pipelines with their triggers and permissions.

Relevant exam tasks

• D1.4 — Task 1.4: Apply programming concepts
• 1.4.6 — Use AWS SAM to package and deploy serverless data pipelines (for example, Lambda functions, Step Functions, DynamoDB tables).
• 1.4.8 — Use infrastructure as code (IaC) for repeatable resource deployment (for example, AWS CloudFormation and AWS CDK).

Learn more

• DEA-C01 in-scope services
• DEA-C01 Domain 1: Data Ingestion and Transformation