This is where we will start getting involved with the development of Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. All subsequent chapters will add additional concepts or enhance the concepts discussed in this chapter. As we know, ARM templates are configurations written as code and go through the same development life cycle as an application. ARM templates use JSON to declare Azure resources and their configuration. Although ARM templates are based on JSON, there are specific syntaxes, nuances, and grammar that needs to be followed for successful authoring and deployment.

In this chapter, we will start with the basics of ARM template and cover the high-level concepts that are essential for any ARM template.

In this chapter we will cover the following topics:

• Setting up development the environment for ARM templates
• Structure of ARM templates
• Creating your first ARM template
• Exploring different ways to deploy ARM templates on Azure
• Understanding and implementing parameters and variables

Although ARM templates are JSON-based and JSON can be written in plaintext using any text editor, to be more productive, it is important that a development environment or a development editor is used. There are multiple editors available that support the development of ARM templates; prominent among them is Visual Studio.