Convert AWS VPC Network HCL to JSON

VPC Network Infrastructure

A VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) configuration typically involves multiple interdependent resources. Converting this to JSON demonstrates how cross-resource references and complex networking setups translate.

HCL Configuration

resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block           = "10.0.0.0/16"
  enable_dns_hostnames = true
  enable_dns_support   = true

  tags = {
    Name = "main-vpc"
  }
}

resource "aws_subnet" "public" {
  vpc_id                  = "aws_vpc.main.id"
  cidr_block              = "10.0.1.0/24"
  availability_zone       = "us-east-1a"
  map_public_ip_on_launch = true

  tags = {
    Name = "public-subnet"
  }
}

resource "aws_internet_gateway" "main" {
  vpc_id = "aws_vpc.main.id"

  tags = {
    Name = "main-igw"
  }
}

Cross-Resource References

In HCL, references like aws_vpc.main.id are expressions that Terraform evaluates at plan time. In the JSON conversion, these become string values since the converter handles structural translation, not expression evaluation.

Multiple Resource Types

The JSON output organizes resources by type:

• aws_vpc contains the VPC definition
• aws_subnet contains subnet configurations
• aws_internet_gateway contains the gateway

Each resource type can have multiple named instances. This structure matches Terraform's JSON configuration syntax.

CIDR Block Notation

CIDR values like 10.0.0.0/16 remain as strings in both HCL and JSON. Terraform's cidrsubnet() function for computing subnet ranges would appear as a string expression in JSON output.