[chef] Re: Using variables to define attributes?

[Dan-Joe Lopez < >]

OHAI Chefs!

I don’t know if this is even possible, but I am starting to feel like it is not ☹ Also, I am pretty green, so my advanced apologies if this is a silly question.

I would like to call a specific attribute by using a variable, or another attribute.  I cannot find any documentation on the subject, and every method that I have tried has resulted in an error.

So, I can call node[‘hostname’] and get the hostname; not a problem.

But then let’s say I want to write something that calls an attribute in which the host name is one of the path components… e.g.

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][HOSTNAME][‘ip’]…

if I manually type in the host name, no problem:

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][‘myhappyhost’][‘ip’]

BOOM: 12.34.56.78

but when I try any variation of:

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][node[‘hostname’]][‘ip’]

or

var = node[‘hostname’]

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][var][‘ip’]

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][“var”][‘ip’]

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’][‘var’][‘ip’]

node[‘ec2’][‘instances’].var[‘ip’]

etc…

nothing but errors ☹

Am I missing a permutation of syntax here? Is there documentation that would have given me the answer? Is this even possible?

Your suggestions and help are appreciated!

Regards,

Dan-Joe Lopez

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