(Which function is used to obtain components defined in an AWS CloudFormation template?

The `Ref` function in an AWS CloudFormation template is used to obtain values of components defined within the template, such as resource IDs, parameters, or outputs. This function allows dynamic referencing of resources during stack creation. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 5.3, CloudFormation Functions) states, "The `Ref` function is used to reference the logical IDs of resources, parameters, or mappings defined in the template, enabling dynamic value retrieval (e.g., `Ref: MyEC2Instance` returns the instance ID)." ImportValue is used for cross-stack references, Cidr for IP range calculations, and GetAZs for availability zone lists, making them unsuitable here.