DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  package.json

  Why it's wrong here

  package.json is a manifest file primarily used in Node.js projects to define application metadata, scripts, and, most importantly, project dependencies managed by npm or yarn. While it can define scripts that might utilize environment variables during execution, it does not serve as a mechanism for directly setting or storing environment variables that the application will access at runtime within an AWS Elastic Beanstalk environment. Elastic Beanstalk requires a distinct configuration method for environment properties.

• ✓

  .ebextensions/*.config

  Why this is correct

  .ebextensions/*.config files are the correct and recommended approach for customizing and configuring AWS Elastic Beanstalk environments. These YAML or JSON formatted files, placed within the .ebextensions directory at the root of the application source bundle, enable developers to define environment properties, modify EC2 instance settings, install packages, and execute custom commands. Specifically, application environment variables are configured under the 'option_settings' section using the 'aws:elasticbeanstalk:application:environment' namespace.

• ✗

  Dockerfile

  Why it's wrong here

  A Dockerfile is a script containing instructions for building a Docker image, which encapsulates an application and its dependencies into a portable container. While a Dockerfile can define environment variables using the 'ENV' instruction, these variables are scoped to the Docker container itself and are relevant only for Docker-based Elastic Beanstalk environments. For a standard Node.js application deployed directly to Elastic Beanstalk without Docker, a Dockerfile is not the appropriate mechanism for setting host-level application environment variables.

• ✗

  buildspec.yml

  Why it's wrong here

  buildspec.yml is a configuration file exclusively utilized by AWS CodeBuild to define the build commands and settings for a build project. It specifies the various build phases (e.g., install, pre_build, build, post_build), the commands to execute within each phase, and the artifacts to produce. Although CodeBuild might be part of a larger CI/CD pipeline that deploys to Elastic Beanstalk, buildspec.yml itself does not directly configure or manage environment variables within the Elastic Beanstalk application environment.

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