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Chapter 5 - Terraform Language Basics

Intro to HCL

Terraform Configuration Syntax​

.tf 99% of the time .tf.json 1% of the time

These are called terraform configuration files or terraform manifests

Written in HCL - Hashicorp Language

image.png

left side is the identifier, the right side is called the expression. name = "myRG"

Comments are ## or // or /* multiline comment */

Terraform Arguments (Meta) and Attributes​

Arguments = inputs (required or optional) Attributes - Timeouts - allow you to specify a timeout for specific CRUD actions Import - resources that exist in the cloud that aren't managed by Terraform

Meta Arguments​

  • depends on
  • count
  • for_each
  • provider
  • lifecycle

Terraform Top level blocks​

Most of terraform's features are top level blocks.

  • Fundamental
    • terraform
    • providers
    • resources
  • Variable
    • input
    • output
    • local values
  • Calling/Reference blocks
    • data sources
    • modules

Demo Code for Blocks​

Look at the different types of the blocks in the Git 04 folder, and identify how many labels you have on each block. Some have 0, 1, 2 labels.

Multiple types of blocks Ctrl+Space will give you a list of them.

image.png

Get used to using Ctrl+Space to define your blocks: image.png

Required arguments will appear in the list and you can select them from the dropdowns.

There is an option to turn on prefill required arguments in the Hashicorp Terraform Extension settings. Try to use this whenever you can, but expect that it may not work all of the time.

You can use syntax highlighting by mousing over the specific parts and get tooltips.