HCL: the declarative syntax Terraform and Packer templates are written in. Despite the initials, it has nothing to do with VMware's hardware compatibility list.
Also called HCL.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains HashiCorp Configuration Language in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Declarative syntax
Defining infrastructure by describing the final state wanted instead of the steps needed to reach it. ARM templates and Bicep files take this approach.
- Terraform
HashiCorp's open-source tool for describing infrastructure declaratively in HCL. For Azure it relies on four providers: AzureRM, AzAPI, AzureAD and AzureDevops.
- HashiCorp Packer
Open-source tool for producing machine images. You describe builders and provisioners in a JSON or HCL template; on Azure it spins up temporary resources, customises a VM from a source image and then saves the result as a new image.
- HCL
Hardware compatibility list, nowadays found in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide with the vSAN HCL database. vLCM consults it before it upgrades or remediates.
Related terms
- Azure Export for Terraform
Also known as aztfexport, this generates Terraform HCL code and state from Azure resources you already have, so they can be managed by Terraform. Point it at a single resource, a whole resource group or the results of a Resource Graph query, and target either azurerm or AzAPI.