A buildpack is software that transforms application source code into runnable artifacts
by analyzing the code and determining the best way to build it.
A builder is an OCI image containing
an ordered combination of buildpacks and
a build-time base image, a lifecycle binary, and a reference to a runtime base image.
The lifecycle orchestrates buildpacks, then assembles the resulting artifacts into an OCI image.
It does its work in a series of distinct “phases”.
As you already know, Cloud Native Buildpacks (CNBs) transform your application source code into OCI images that can run on any cloud.
A composite buildpack, also sometimes called a “meta buildpack”,
is a buildpack that does not contain any ./bin/detect or ./bin/build binaries,
but instead references other buildpacks in its buildpack.toml via the [[order]] array.
This is useful for composing more complex detection strategies.
An image extension is software that generates Dockerfiles that can be used to extend base images for buildpacks builds.