I agree with this 100%. When people talk about hating YAML, I think a lot of the time they really mean "I hate describing pipelines in YAML". And I get that because I feel it too.
As a file-format, YAML has pros and cons. But the real problem is in trying to use a JSON-equivalent file format to describe things that have conditionals,
loops, functions, and classes/subclasses (by way of templates).
YAML is fine for small configurations. But it grows into a vendor-specific spaghetti mess very quickly, especially once you start to need any kind of control flow.
As a file-format, YAML has pros and cons. But the real problem is in trying to use a JSON-equivalent file format to describe things that have conditionals, loops, functions, and classes/subclasses (by way of templates).
YAML is fine for small configurations. But it grows into a vendor-specific spaghetti mess very quickly, especially once you start to need any kind of control flow.