Subtree merge of ansible-docs

1 files changed, 95 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/docsite/rst/YAMLSyntax.rst b/docsite/rst/YAMLSyntax.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..25be062a17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docsite/rst/YAMLSyntax.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+YAML Syntax
+===========
+
+This page provides a basic overview of correct YAML syntax, which is how Ansible
+playbooks (our configuration management language) are expressed.  
+
+We use YAML because it is easier to read and write for humans than other common 
+data formats like XML or JSON.  Further, there are libraries available for reading
+and writing YAML in most programming languages.  
+
+You may also wish to read :doc:`playbooks` at the same time to see how this
+is used in practice.
+
+
+YAML Basics
+-----------
+
+For `ansible`, nearly every YAML file starts with a list.   
+Each item in the list is a list of key/value pairs, commonly
+called a "hash" or a "dictionary".  So, we need to know how
+to write lists and dictionaries in YAML.
+
+There's another small quirk to YAML.  All YAML files (regardless of their association with
+`ansible` or not) should start with ``---``.  This is just a YAML
+format thing that means "this is the start of a document".
+
+All members of a list are lines beginning at the same indentation level starting
+with a ``-`` (dash) character::
+
+    ---
+    # A list of tasty fruits
+    - Apple
+    - Orange
+    - Strawberry
+    - Mango
+
+A dictionary is represented in a simple ``key:`` and ``value`` form::
+
+    ---
+    # An employee record
+    name: John Eckersberg
+    job: Developer
+    skill: Elite
+
+Dictionaries can also be represented in an abbreviated form if you really want to::
+
+    ---
+    # An employee record
+    {name: John Eckersberg, job: Developer, skill: Elite}
+
+.. _truthiness:
+
+Ansible doesn't really use these too much, but you can also specify a 
+boolean value (true/false) in several forms::
+
+    ---
+    knows_oop: True
+    likes_emacs: TRUE
+    uses_cvs: false
+
+Let's combine what we learned so far in an arbitary YAML example.  This really
+has nothing to do with Ansible, but will give you a feel for the format::
+
+    ---
+    # An employee record
+    name: John Eckersberg
+    job: Developer
+    skill: Elite
+    employed: True
+    foods:
+        - Apple
+        - Orange
+        - Strawberry
+        - Mango
+    languages:
+        ruby: Elite
+	python: Elite
+	dotnet: Lame
+
+That's all you really need to know about YAML to get started writing
+`Ansible` playbooks.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+   :doc:`playbooks`
+       Learn what playbooks can do and how to write/run them.
+   `YAMLLint <http://yamllint.com/>`_
+       YAML Lint (online) helps you debug YAML syntax if you are having problems
+   `Github examples directory <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/tree/devel/examples/playbooks>`_
+       Complete playbook files from the github project source
+   `Mailing List <http://groups.google.com/group/ansible-project>`_
+       Questions? Help? Ideas?  Stop by the list on Google Groups
+   `irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
+       #ansible IRC chat channel
+