Scripting with variables and loops in Azure - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

Azure CLI Loop Variable Behavior

Consider this Azure CLI script snippet that loops to create resource groups with variable names. What will be the name of the last resource group created?

Azure

for i in {1..3}; do az group create --name myResourceGroup$i --location eastus; done

A myResourceGroup3

B myResourceGroup1

C myResourceGroup4

D myResourceGroup0

💡 Hint

The loop runs from 1 to 3 inclusive, appending the loop variable to the name.

The loop variable i takes values 1, 2, and 3. The last iteration creates 'myResourceGroup3'.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Azure ARM Template Loop Variable Usage

In an Azure ARM template, you want to create 3 storage accounts with names 'storageacct1', 'storageacct2', and 'storageacct3' using a loop. Which of the following 'copy' loop configurations correctly sets the storage account names?

A "copy": { "name": "storageLoop", "count": 3 }, "name": "storageacct${copyIndex()}"

B "copy": { "name": "storageLoop", "count": 3 }, "name": "storageacct[copyIndex()+1]"

C "copy": { "name": "storageLoop", "count": 3 }, "name": "storageacct[copyIndex()]"

D "copy": { "name": "storageLoop", "count": 3 }, "name": "storageacct${copyIndex()+1}"

💡 Hint

copyIndex() starts at 0, so add 1 to start names at 1.

copyIndex() returns 0,1,2. Adding 1 produces 1,2,3 for the names as required.

❓ Architecture

advanced

Automating VM Creation with Azure CLI Loops

You want to create 5 Azure virtual machines named vm1 to vm5 in a loop using Azure CLI. Which script snippet correctly uses a loop and variable to create these VMs with the name pattern?

A for i in {1..5}; do az vm create --resource-group myRG --name vm$i --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser; done

B for i in $(seq 1 5); do az vm create --resource-group myRG --name vm$i --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser; done

C for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do az vm create --resource-group myRG --name vm$i --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser; done

D for i in 5 4 3 2 1; do az vm create --resource-group myRG --name vm$i --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser; done

💡 Hint

Use brace expansion {1..5} for a simple loop from 1 to 5.

Brace expansion {1..5} loops from 1 to 5 inclusively, creating vm1 to vm5 as desired.

❓ security

advanced

Looping Over Secrets in Azure Key Vault

You have a script that loops over a list of secret names to retrieve their values from Azure Key Vault. Which approach correctly uses variables and loops to fetch and print each secret's value securely?

A for secret in secret1 secret2 secret3; do az keyvault secret show --vault-name myVault --name $secret --query value -o table; done

B for secret in secret1 secret2 secret3; do az keyvault secret show --vault-name myVault --name "$secret" --query value -o json; done

C for secret in secret1 secret2 secret3; do az keyvault secret show --vault-name myVault --name $secret --query value -o tsv; done

D for secret in secret1 secret2 secret3; do az keyvault secret show --vault-name myVault --name $secret --query value -o json; done

💡 Hint

Use -o tsv to get raw secret value without extra formatting.

Using '-o tsv' outputs the secret value as plain text, suitable for secure handling in scripts.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Efficient Variable Use in Azure CLI Loops for Resource Tagging

You want to tag multiple Azure resources in a loop with a variable tag value that changes each iteration. Which script snippet correctly updates the tag value variable inside the loop and applies it to each resource?

A tagValue="env"; for i in {1..3}; do az resource tag --tags environment=$tagValue$i --ids /subscriptions/xxx/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/vm$i; done

B for i in {1..3}; do az resource tag --tags environment=env$i --ids /subscriptions/xxx/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/vm$i; done

C for i in {1..3}; do tagValue=env$i; az resource tag --tags environment=$tagValue --ids /subscriptions/xxx/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/vm$i; done

D for i in {1..3}; do tagValue="env$i"; az resource tag --tags environment=$tagValue --ids /subscriptions/xxx/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/vm$i; done

💡 Hint

Assign the variable inside the loop with quotes to handle the string correctly.

Assigning tagValue="env$i" inside the loop ensures the variable updates each iteration and is used correctly in the tag command.