In Terraform, which command is used to view the execution plan without making changes?

The command used to view the execution plan without making changes is "terraform plan." This command allows you to see what actions Terraform will take to reach the desired state defined in your configuration files. It compares the current state of your infrastructure, which is stored in the state file, to the desired state as defined in your Terraform configurations. The output provides a detailed view of what resources will be created, updated, or destroyed, enabling you to review the proposed changes and ensure that they align with your expectations before applying them.

Using this command is crucial for validating the proposed changes and avoiding unintended modifications to your infrastructure. It gives you an opportunity to assess the impact of the changes, allowing for informed decision-making prior to executing the actual update with other commands like "terraform apply," which would apply those changes.

The other commands serve different purposes: "terraform output" displays the output values defined in the Terraform configuration, "terraform validate" checks if the configuration files are syntactically valid, and "terraform apply" applies the planned changes to your infrastructure, making actual modifications based on the plan.