@ -42,6 +42,24 @@ A dictionary is represented in a simple ``key: value`` form (the colon must be f
job: Developer
skill: Elite
More complicated data structures are possible, such as lists of dictionaries, dictionaries whose values are lists or a mix of both::
# Employee records
- martin:
name: Martin D'vloper
job: Developer
skills:
- python
- perl
- pascal
- tabitha:
name: Tabitha Bitumen
job: Developer
skills:
- lisp
- fortran
- erlang
Dictionaries and lists can also be represented in an abbreviated form if you really want to::
---
@ -58,6 +76,20 @@ Ansible doesn't really use these too much, but you can also specify a boolean va
likes_emacs: TRUE
uses_cvs: false
Values can span multiple lines using ``|`` or ``>``. Spanning multiple lines using a ``|`` will include the newlines. Using a ``>`` will ignore newlines; it's used to make what would otherwise be a very long line easier to read and edit.
In either case the indentation will be ignored.
Examples are::
include_newlines: |
exactly as you see
will appear these three
lines of poetry
ignore_newlines: >
this is really a
single line of text
despite appearances
Let's combine what we learned so far in an arbitrary YAML example.
This really has nothing to do with Ansible, but will give you a feel for the format::
@ -74,9 +106,13 @@ This really has nothing to do with Ansible, but will give you a feel for the for
- Strawberry
- Mango
languages:
ruby: Elite
perl: Elite
python: Elite
dotnet: Lame
pascal: Lame
education: |
4 GCSEs
3 A-Levels
BSc in the Internet of Things
That's all you really need to know about YAML to start writing `Ansible` playbooks.
@ -115,6 +151,8 @@ In these cases just use quotes::
YAML Lint (online) helps you debug YAML syntax if you are having problems