github.com/anth0d/nomad@v0.0.0-20221214183521-ae3a0a2cad06/website/content/docs/job-specification/hcl2/functions/encoding/csvdecode.mdx (about) 1 --- 2 layout: docs 3 page_title: csvdecode - Functions - Configuration Language 4 description: The csvdecode function decodes CSV data into a list of maps. 5 --- 6 7 # `csvdecode` Function 8 9 `csvdecode` decodes a string containing CSV-formatted data and produces a 10 list of maps representing that data. 11 12 CSV is _Comma-separated Values_, an encoding format for tabular data. There 13 are many variants of CSV, but this function implements the format defined 14 in [RFC 4180](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4180). 15 16 The first line of the CSV data is interpreted as a "header" row: the values 17 given are used as the keys in the resulting maps. Each subsequent line becomes 18 a single map in the resulting list, matching the keys from the header row 19 with the given values by index. All lines in the file must contain the same 20 number of fields, or this function will produce an error. 21 22 ## Examples 23 24 ```shell-session 25 > csvdecode("a,b,c\n1,2,3\n4,5,6") 26 [ 27 { 28 "a" = "1" 29 "b" = "2" 30 "c" = "3" 31 }, 32 { 33 "a" = "4" 34 "b" = "5" 35 "c" = "6" 36 } 37 ] 38 ``` 39 40 <!--- 41 ## TODO: revamp this section 42 43 ## Use with the `for_each` meta-argument 44 45 You can use the result of `csvdecode` with 46 [the `for_each` meta-argument](https://www.terraform.io/docs/configuration/resources.html#for_each-multiple-resource-instances-defined-by-a-map-or-set-of-strings) 47 to describe a collection of similar objects whose differences are 48 described by the rows in the given CSV file. 49 50 There must be one column in the CSV file that can serve as a unique id for each 51 row, which we can then use as the tracking key for the individual instances in 52 the `for_each` expression. For example: 53 54 ```hcl 55 locals { 56 # We've included this inline to create a complete example, but in practice 57 # this is more likely to be loaded from a file using the "file" function. 58 csv_data = <<-CSV 59 local_id,instance_type,ami 60 foo1,t2.micro,ami-54d2a63b 61 foo2,t2.micro,ami-54d2a63b 62 foo3,t2.micro,ami-54d2a63b 63 bar1,m3.large,ami-54d2a63b 64 CSV 65 66 instances = csvdecode(local.csv_data) 67 } 68 69 resource "aws_instance" "example" { 70 for_each = { for inst in local.instances : inst.local_id => inst } 71 72 instance_type = each.value.instance_type 73 ami = each.value.ami 74 } 75 ``` 76 77 The `for` expression in our `for_each` argument transforms the list produced 78 by `csvdecode` into a map using the `local_id` as a key, which tells 79 Packer to use the `local_id` value to track each instance it creates. 80 Packer will create and manage the following instance addresses: 81 82 - `aws_instance.example["foo1"]` 83 - `aws_instance.example["foo2"]` 84 - `aws_instance.example["foo3"]` 85 - `aws_instance.example["bar1"]` 86 87 If you modify a row in the CSV on a subsequent plan, Packer will interpret 88 that as an update to the existing object as long as the `local_id` value is 89 unchanged. If you add or remove rows from the CSV then Packer will plan to 90 create or destroy associated instances as appropriate. 91 92 If there is no reasonable value you can use as a unique identifier in your CSV 93 then you could instead use 94 [the `count` meta-argument](https://www.terraform.io/docs/configuration/resources.html#count-multiple-resource-instances-by-count) 95 to define an object for each CSV row, with each one identified by its index into 96 the list returned by `csvdecode`. However, in that case any future updates to 97 the CSV may be disruptive if they change the positions of particular objects in 98 the list. We recommend using `for_each` with a unique id column to make 99 behavior more predictable on future changes. 100 -->