[chef] Re: Re: mysql-0.23 cookbook fails on Lucid

[Jon Wood < >]

> ... snip ...
> Since we (Opscode) first distribute Chef as RubyGems, the recipes are a bit 
> narrow-minded in assuming that by the time Chef runs for the first time the 
> C compiler and Ruby dev packages are available, because that is required to 
> build Gems (like json) with native extensions to get Chef installed in the 
> first place.
>
> It sounds like you have installed Chef from Debian/Ubuntu packages, which 
> is good, but it does mean this adjustment in your local recipe is necessary.
>
> That said, we'll look at how to make these cookbooks better, and the mysql 
> cookbook's readme will be updated to reflect this "requirement".

Every time I do the initial setup of Chef for a new environment I get
bitten by this, and I doubt I'm the only one. Is there any chance of
adding these assumed dependencies to the recommended packages for
Chef? That way everything works as expected, and people who are
disgusted by the thought of having a compiler on their server can
choose to remove it.