How many lookup functions does Hiera provide?

Hiera provides three primary lookup functions that allow users to retrieve data in a flexible and hierarchical manner. These functions are essential for accessing configuration data from various backends defined in Hiera configuration files.

The first function is lookup, the fundamental function that is used to retrieve a value based on a key from the specified data sources, ensuring the appropriate precedence rules are applied.

The second function is hiera, which performs a similar role but can also accommodate specific options that might influence the data retrieval process.

Finally, there is the hiera_hash function, which retrieves a complete hash of values associated with the specified key. This allows for more complex data structures to be retrieved and utilized in Puppet manifests.

These three functions cover a broad range of scenarios for data retrieval, providing flexibility and power in how configuration data is managed within Puppet. The presence of multiple lookup functions enhances the capability to tailor data retrieval to the specific needs of the infrastructure being managed.