fixes saltstack/salt#65222 document using slots for contents via function call in file state modules

doc/topics/slots/index.rst

@@ -68,3 +68,71 @@ Here is an example of result parsing and appending:
       file.copy:
         - name: __slot__:salt:user.info(someuser).home ~ /subdirectory
         - source: salt://somefile
+
+Execution Module Returns as File Contents or Data
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+The following examples demonstrate how to use execution module returns as file
+contents or data in Salt states. These examples show how to incorporate the
+output of execution functions into file contents or data in the `file.managed`
+and `file.serialize` states.
+
+Content from Execution Modules
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+You can use the results of execution modules directly as file contents in Salt
+states. This can be useful for dynamically generating file content based on the
+output of execution functions.
+
+**Example 1: Using `test.echo` Output as File Content**
+
+The following Salt state uses the `test.echo` execution function to generate the
+text "hello world." This output is then used as the content of the file
+`/tmp/things.txt`:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+    content-from-slots:
+      file.managed:
+        - name: /tmp/things.txt
+        - contents: __slot__:salt:test.echo("hello world")
+
+**Example 2: Using Multiple `test.echo` Outputs as Appended Content**
+
+In this example, two `test.echo` execution functions are used to generate
+"hello" and "world" strings. These strings are then joined by newline characters
+and then used as the content of the file `/tmp/things.txt`:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+    content-from-multiple-slots:
+      file.managed:
+        - name: /tmp/things.txt
+        - contents:
+          - __slot__:salt:test.echo("hello")
+          - __slot__:salt:test.echo("world")
+
+Serializing Data from Execution Modules
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+You can also serialize data obtained from execution modules and write it to
+files using Salt states. This allows you to capture and store structured data
+for later use.
+
+**Example: Serializing `grains.items()` Output to JSON**
+
+In this example, the `grains.items()` execution function retrieves system
+information. The obtained data is then serialized into JSON format and saved to
+the file `/tmp/grains.json`:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+    serialize-dataset-from-slots:
+      file.serialize:
+        - name: /tmp/grains.json
+        - serializer: json
+        - dataset: __slot__:salt:grains.items()
+
+These examples showcase how to leverage Salt's flexibility to use execution
+module returns as file contents or serialized data in your Salt states, allowing
+for dynamic and customized configurations.

salt/states/file.py

@@ -2668,6 +2668,11 @@ def managed(
             be used instead. However, this will not work for binary files in
             Salt releases before 2015.8.4.
 
+    .. note:: For information on using Salt Slots and how to incorporate
+        execution module returns into file content or data, refer to the
+        `Salt Slots documentation
+        <https://docs.saltproject.io/en/latest/topics/slots/index.html>`_.
+
     contents_grains
         .. versionadded:: 2014.7.0
 
@@ -7881,6 +7886,11 @@ def serialize(
 
         .. versionadded:: 2015.8.0
 
+    .. note:: For information on using Salt Slots and how to incorporate
+        execution module returns into file content or data, refer to the
+        `Salt Slots documentation
+        <https://docs.saltproject.io/en/latest/topics/slots/index.html>`_.
+
     serializer (or formatter)
         Write the data as this format. See the list of
         :ref:`all-salt.serializers` for supported output formats.