On Sep 3, 2013, at 12:06 PM, Andy Parker <a...@puppetlabs.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 11:34 AM, Drew Blessing <drew.bless...@buckle.com>
> wrote:
> I've been following this discussion for some time. As it progressive I've
> found myself fighting internally, going one way and then the other about how
> this should really be. I keep coming back to the same place - this is a bug
> and Luke's original statement is very important:
>
> The fix should require no changes to syntax or usage; merely the cessation of
> use of the anchor pattern.
>
>
> I don't think adding a new 'contain' function is really appropriate. From a
> module developer standpoint what does 'contain' mean? Why should I use it?
> When should I use it? I think it will cause so many questions that you'll end
> up with a whole different problem on your hands. On top of that you will
> have people that just continue to use 'include' and the problem will still be
> there.
>
>
> This is the tradeoff between changing existing language constructs to match
> some user's expectations, and thereby breaking some manifests, or adding
> something new to express the specific concept of containment, and thereby
> requiring users to make a conscious choice about what they want. I agree that
> pawning this off on a user is not ideal, which is why I've argued for
> changing the semantics of the resource like syntax for classes. However, as
> jcbollinger has rightly pointed out, that change would break a lot of things,
> and would also be a major shift in the way many users understand the language.
>
> This is the reality we find ourselves in. Over the course of the discussion,
> I think jcbollinger's proposal is probably the best for existing users. Those
> who are currently using anchors would be able to change to the new contain()
> function. Existing manifests would not need to change, but they could be
> updated to use the new function. Luke also brought up another alternative
> for creating a new container kind (module {} or something like that). I think
> that would be another good avenue to explore.
How difficult would it be to build tools to help our users understand when they
might be making a mistake in this area?
That is, can we subtly encourage users to use 'contain' by providing compiler
hints and such?
[…]
--
Luke Kanies | http://about.me/lak | http://puppetlabs.com/ | +1-615-594-8199
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