[chef-dev] Re: Re: edit a file using chef

[Tollef Fog Heen < >]

]] Mike Adolphs 

> I wouldn't use file_edit even if it'd be available and I think the way
> to template the file you need to change is sufficient. It's just way
> more sane and pays in the long run to manage files as templates. We've
> had numerous problems with cfengine because of this in the past and
> stopped using it.

file editing is conceptually no different from having

  include "/etc/foo/conf.d/*.conf"

in your package.  I don't see people complaining about that, and I'm
pretty sure somebody, somewhere has been bitten by an include that
grabbed a file they didn't know was there and that caused problems.

Heck, if we drag it to its extreme conclusion, we shouldn't have file
management in chef at all, since what you should be doing is managing
file systems as complete blocks.  :-P

File editing is a tool.  It's a tool that can be used well and it's a
tool that can be used badly.  I think it's important that Chef is
pragmatic and allows you to implement hacks when you need to, and
sometimes the hack you need is to do file editing.  We should warn about
the dangers of blindly editing files in the documentation, but just
having the tool there is useful.

-- 
Tollef Fog Heen
UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are