A new synergy

_posts/2012-02-08-puppet-xml-a-brand-new-synergy.markdown

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Puppet/XML: A Brand New Synergy"
+tags:
+- stupidhacks
+- programming
+- puppet
+---
+
+During on of the last talks of the last day of [FOSDEM](http://www.fosdem.org),
+some person asked in one of the tracks (paraphrased):
+
+> "*Why do we need tools like Puppet or Chef when we have XML?*"
+
+This question was relayed to me second-hand, so I apologize if I'm butchering
+it. The question itself is so mind-boggling that I can only assume one of three
+things about the asker:
+
+* He/she is a rather talented troll
+* He/she has some crucial misunderstandings about configuration management, in
+  which case I'm hoping somebody politely explained things.
+* He/she understands CM but has a serious fetish for XML.
+
+---
+
+Regardless of their intention, I have them to thank for inspiring what might
+be the innovation breakthrough of 2012:
+
+### Puppet/XML
+
+I've long found Puppet's DSL syntax to be too sparse, easy to type and
+semantically boring, take for example this block:
+
+    class users {
+        group {
+            "tyler" :
+                ensure => present;
+        }
+        user {
+            "tyler" :
+                require => Group["tyler"],
+                ensure  => present;
+        }
+    }
+
+How terrible! Let's turn that into **Puppet/XML!**
+
+    <?xml version="1.0"?>
+    <puppet>
+        <classes>
+            <class name="users">
+                <resources>
+                    <group name="tyler">
+                        <ensure>present</ensure>
+                    </group>
+                    <user name="tyler">
+                        <requires>
+                            <require>Group["tyler"]</require>
+                        </requires>
+                        <ensure>present</ensure>
+                    </user>
+                </resources>
+            </class>
+        </classes>
+    </puppet>
+
+Not only is that easier to understand, it's more enterprise ready!
+
+Currently **Puppet/XML** is in pre-alpha and in [this repository on
+GitHub](https://github.com/rtyler/puppet/tree/puppetxml). Thus far it's only
+been tested with `puppet apply` (i.e. standalone mode) under
+[Vagrant](http://www.vagrantup.com), an example run is below:
+
+    [default] Running Puppet with /tmp/vagrant-puppet/manifests/base.ppx...
+    stdin: is not a tty
+    Thanks for using Puppet/XML - A brand new synergy
+
+    info: Retrieving plugin
+    info: Applying configuration version '1328719113'
+    notice: /Stage[main]/Users/User[tyler]/ensure: created
+    notice: /Stage[main]//Node[default]/Group[puppet]/ensure: created
+    info: Creating state file /var/lib/puppet/state/state.yaml
+    notice: Finished catalog run in 0.62 seconds
+
+
+Stay tuned for new innovations and more middleware that your enterprise can
+leverage to help meet your business objectives.
+
+---
+
+***Disclaimer:*** Unfortunately the code currently relies on transcribing the
+Puppet/XML to Puppet's "native" DSL, this means more complex things like
+conditionals and function calls are not yet supported. After spending about an
+hour and a half trying to generate the appropriate `Puppet::AST` structures, I
+gave up and went the route which guaranteed lulz sooner.