Getting started with ARM templates
ARM templates are becoming a hot topic. Infrastructure as code (IaC) is becoming the standard when working in the cloud. The Azure team is already helping us a lot by providing a possibility to export existing recourses as ARM templates.
It looks very handy, but it does include a lot of extra fields and values. That contains mostly just default values. To properly start building ARM templates we can use Visual studio code with some awesome extensions.
Visual Studio Code
I’m confident to say that Visual Studio Code is one of the best tools to create, build, and modify ARM templates. The simplicity and the variation of extensions make it a great IDE tool to develop various applications in. Also, it’s very lightweight so it works fine in all modern workplaces.
Extension: Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Tools
This is a must-have extension. It contains all the most needed functionality: snippets, language support, and resource auto-completion. It’s a great extension and it contains all the proper functionality to get you started. The link can be found at the end of the article.
Extension: ARM Template Viewer
Another great extension. It gives a quick overview of all the resources in a nice diagram. If you’re used to having a nice GUI, then this will be a great solution for you. It also has some nice extra features to give you extra information. The link can be found at the end of the article.
Extension: ARM Params Generator
IT people are usually lazy. What is to be a good thing, because if you’re lazy you end up with great solutions that take little to less effort to perform. This extension generates a parameter file for your ARM template. It’s easy to use and it works great. The link can be found at the end of the article.
Summary
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