Part 1: Getting Started: Learning the Fundamentals

The first part covers the fundamentals of Terraform for Google Cloud. We start with an overview of Infrastructure as Code and Terraform, then show four methods to authenticate Terraform with Google Cloud. We introduce the Terraform workflow and go in-depth into the Terraform state file, which is essential to understand how Terraform operates. Chapter 3 introduces some of the unique concepts of the Terraform language that help to write Terraform code. Chapter 4 introduces Terraform modules so you can reuse and share Terraform code and utilize public Terraform modules. There are two main methods of managing multiple environments such as development, testing, and production in Terraform. Chapter 5 details both of them and discusses the pros and cons of each approach.

Throughout Part 1, we use simple but realistic code examples to focus on the language concepts. After reading Part 1, you will have a thorough understanding of the Terraform language and its inner workings, so you can build complex deployments in Google Cloud using Terraform.

This part of the book comprises the following chapters:

• Chapter 1, Getting Started with Terraform on Google Cloud
• Chapter 2, Exploring Terraform
• Chapter 3, Writing Efficient Terraform Code
• Chapter 4, Writing Reusable Code Using Modules
• Chapter 5, Managing Environments