Cooking Perl with Chef - Grant Report #2
Mon, 23-Apr-2012 by
Alan Haggai Alavi
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*David Golden reported:*
> <b>Current progress</b>
>
> <p>Three of the eight deliverables are complete:</p>
>
> <ol>
> <li>Publish a Chef cookbook for Perl interpreter deployment</li>
> <li>Publish a Chef cookbook for CPAN module deployment</li>
> <li>Publish a Chef cookbook for Plack application deployment</li>
> </ol>
>
> <p>These have been uploaded to the Opscode Community Cookbooks site in two
> separate cookbook distributions:</p>
>
> <p><strong>perlbrew</strong></p>
>
> The <a href="http://community.opscode.com/cookbooks/perlbrew" target="_blank">perlbrew cookbook</a>
> satisfies deliverables #1 and #2. It provides several
> "lightweight resource providers" (LWRPs -- a Chef term) that use
> <a href="https://metacpan.org/module/perlbrew" target="_blank">perlbrew</a> to
> deliver various automation capabilities:
>
> <ul>
> <li>perlbrew_perl -- installs a perl from source to a user-configurable directory (by default, "/opt/perlbrew/perls/")</li>
> <li>perlbrew_lib -- establishes a local::lib style directory for use with a particular perlbrew perl</li>
> <li>perlbrew_cpanm -- installs CPAN modules into a perlbrew perl or local::lib</li>
> <li>perlbrew_run -- runs arbitrary bash commands in the context of a particular perlbrew perl or local::lib</li>
> </ul>
>
> <p>
> For example, this snippet of ruby could be used in a recipe to install a perl, configure
> a library, install some CPAN modules to the library, and then run a perl command using that
> perl and library:
> </p>
>
> <code><pre>
> include_recipe 'perlbrew'
>
> perlbrew_lib 'perl-5.8.9@xdg'
>
> perlbrew_cpanm "Stuff we need" do
> perlbrew 'perl-5.8.9@xdg'
> modules ['Data::UUID::MT', 'Data::GUID::Any']
> end
>
> perlbrew_run "print a UUID" do
> perlbrew 'perl-5.8.9@xdg'
> command "perl -MData::GUID::Any -le 'print Data::GUID::Any::guid_as_<WBR>string'"
> end
> </pre></code>
>
> <p><strong>carton</strong></p>
>
> <p>The <a href="http://community.opscode.com/cookbooks/carton" target="_blank">carton cookbook</a>
> satisfies deliverable #3. It provides an LWRP called 'carton_app' that uses
> <a href="https://metacpan.org/module/carton" target="_blank">carton</a> to install application-specific
> dependencies into a application-local directory and then sets up the application as a system service using
> <a href="http://smarden.org/runit/" target="_blank">runit</a>.
> </p>
>
> <p>
> For example, this snippet of ruby could be used in a recipe to launch a
> carton-based application from a deployment directory. Note that most of the
> application-specific attributes are parameterized using Chef's 'node' data
> structure for each deployment node, making it easy to change how the
> application is deployed to different servers:
> </p>
>
> <code><pre>
> include_recipe 'carton'
>
> carton_app "hello-world" do
> perlbrew node['hello-world']['perl_<WBR>version']
> command "starman -p #{node['hello-world']['port']} app.psgi"
> cwd node['hello-world']['deploy_<WBR>dir']
> user node['hello-world']['user']
> group node['hello-world']['group']
> end
>
> carton_app "hello-world" do
> action :start
> end
> </pre></code>
>
> <p><b>Current work and next steps</b></p>
>
> <p>
> I have started refactoring the initial draft of <a href="https://metacpan.org/module/pantry" target="_blank">pantry</a> to make it easier to
> configure nodes without requiring users to edit JSON directly (deliverable #4).
> This will let me streamline the tutorials and help users following the tutorial
> to avoid introducing JSON errors and getting stuck.
> </p>
>
> <p>
> Next month I expect to finish and publish the hello-world tutorial (deliverable #5)
> and have a (rough) draft of the "real world" tutorial (deliverable #6).
> </p>
>
> <p>
> I was pleased to hear that my OSCON proposal was accepted and my <a href="http://www.oscon.com/oscon2012/public/schedule/detail/23885" target="_blank">Cooking Perl with Chef talk</a>
> will be on Thursday, July 19. That presentation will
> satisfy deliverable #7 (though I may deliver a draft early as a test run). If
> I find out that my OSCON session will be videotaped, I'll use that as the
> video tutorial (deliverable #8). If not, I'll prepare a separate screen cast.
> (I may do both and use the short screencast as part of the talk to avoid the
> risk of a live demo.)
> </p>
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