docs: Enhance YAML reference with null syntax and type tags

[osterman]

what

• Added comprehensive section on YAML explicit type tags (!!str, !!int, !!float, !!bool) as an alternative to quoting
• Expanded null values documentation with detailed explanation of ~ tilde shorthand
• Added prominent warning explaining the semantic difference between null and "" empty string
• Updated quick reference table to include null and type tag entries
• Added practical use case for overriding inherited values to null

why

The YAML reference guide was missing documentation for explicit type tags and didn't sufficiently emphasize the difference between null and empty string, which is important in Terraform configuration where they have different behaviors.

references

Related to YAML syntax documentation completeness

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Added guidance on YAML explicit type tags (!!str, !!int, !!float, !!bool) with examples and best practices for when to use them versus quoting
  • Expanded null values section with comprehensive guidance distinguishing null, tilde (~), and empty strings, including Terraform-specific implications
  • Enhanced Quick Reference table with entries for null handling and explicit typing

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[github-actions]

Dependency Review

✅ No vulnerabilities or license issues found.

Scanned Files

None

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 03f92ea and 6bad795.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• website/docs/reference/yaml-reference.mdx (3 hunks)

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 73.27%. Comparing base (03f92ea) to head (6bad795).
⚠️ Report is 2 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##             main    #1861   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   73.27%   73.27%           
=======================================
  Files         551      551           
  Lines       53458    53458           
=======================================
+ Hits        39170    39171    +1     
+ Misses      11442    11440    -2     
- Partials     2846     2847    +1     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	73.27% <ø> (+<0.01%)	⬆️

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see 2 files with indirect coverage changes

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Caution

Review failed

The pull request is closed.

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Documentation update to the YAML reference guide adding new "Explicit Typing" section with type tag examples and significantly expanding the null/empty values section with usage guidance, distinctions, and practical examples.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)

Summary

YAML Reference Documentation website/docs/reference/yaml-reference.mdx

Added new "Explicit Typing" section covering YAML type tags (!!str, !!int, !!float, !!bool) with examples and guidance on when to use type tags vs quoting. Renamed and substantially expanded "Empty Values" section to "Empty Values, Null Values, and the Tilde (~)" with detailed coverage of null equivalence (null, ~, no-value), null vs empty string distinctions, Terraform-specific implications, and practical override examples. Enhanced Quick Reference table with two new rows for Null and Explicit Typing entries.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~5–10 minutes

• Verify YAML syntax examples are accurate and properly formatted
• Confirm guidance on null equivalence and empty strings aligns with YAML spec and Terraform behavior
• Check consistency of tone and formatting with existing documentation

✨ Finishing touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch osterman/yaml-reference-syntax

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 03f92ea and 6bad795.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• website/docs/reference/yaml-reference.mdx (3 hunks)

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[github-actions]

These changes were released in v1.202.0-rc.1.

[github-actions]

These changes were released in v1.203.0-test.1.