When working with AWS CloudFormation, many of the resource properties we reference in our stack template will not be available until the stack is built and creation of that particular resource has been initiated. For example, suppose we're declaring an ECS service called MigrateDatabaseService to run and maintain a task based on the MigrateTask task definition. One of the required properties of the AWS::ECS::Service resource is a string containing the Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the task definition (including the revision number) that we want to run on the cluster. The problem is that the task definition is declared in the same template, but the ARN will not be available until run time. So, how do we specify a run time value at design time? CloudFormation provides eleven built-in, or intrinsic, functions that we can use to assign values to properties that are not available until run time. The intrinsic function we need to use to populate the TaskDefinition propert
It’s Time to Embrace the Student Who Learns Differently Last in a series. In my last two posts I’ve written about enhancing the student and instructor experience in the AST’s BBST courses by focusing on updating the Fieldstones and making BBST courses more accessible by identifying some of the more common obstacles to BBST participation, and then working collectively to find ways to lower or remove those obstacles. In this post, I want to discuss the third and final area I would like to concentrate on if elected to the Board of Directors: researching and establishing alternate approaches to teaching that better suit different learning styles. As members of the AST, we have access to some of the best information and training available in the field of software testing. The AST hosts the Conference of the Association for Software Testing (CAST) each year, providing full-day tutorials, keynotes, and track sessions. They also offer four separate BBST courses: Foundations, Bug