3 ms·

But why? I think a dedicated interpreter at a fixed address would do.

by mkesper 10y ago

bcoca 10y ago
because it uses existing interpreters on the target host, fixed locations only happen in a homogeneous environment. Most IT shops commonly have to deal different OS/Distrbutions/Versions so the same way you cannot have just 1 tshirt size for everyone you cannot have 1 interpreter path. I'm saying 'interpreter' instead of Python because you can create modules in any language, Ansible only ships with Python ones, but Perl, Ruby, etc modules exist also and usable by Ansible.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
evolvedlight 10y ago
Imagine you're in a large enterprise environment, and need to deploy something to lots of different servers that were created by lots of different people (your company bought 3 others and each used different software/linux versions/servers). Some have python in the path, some have different pythons in the path, etc. You can't immediately throw away all these servers and rebuild them - some probably have 10 year old bits of software on them where the original author has moved away. Ansible might be one of the tools you use to start fixing this chaotic situation, and having per-host configurations for things like python path is essential.
- mkesper 10y ago
  Step 1: Install the expected, dedicated Python interpreter as /usr/bin/ansible_python.
  - holmb 10y ago
    Python is not just a single executable. It takes a little more work than one would want. And for what gain? Would you be fine with other software also requiring a custom interpreter to function? It gets cumbersome.
    - jubalfh 10y ago
      Incredibly. But it seems to be The Ruby Way™…
    - mkesper 10y ago
      If you rely on the system-wide Python you'll need to cover different versions and you need to make sure not to use any 3rd party modules.
      - icebraining 10y ago
        Ansible ships its own libraries, generally.
  - jubalfh 10y ago
    Well, it's an agent-less system after all, the idea is to keep the system lean.

But why? I think a dedicated interpreter at a fixed address would do.

by mkesper 10y ago

But why? I think a dedicated interpreter at a fixed address would do.

bcoca 10y ago

because it uses existing interpreters on the target host, fixed locations only happen in a homogeneous environment. Most IT shops commonly have to deal different OS/Distrbutions/Versions so the same way you cannot have just 1 tshirt size for everyone you cannot have 1 interpreter path. I'm saying 'interpreter' instead of Python because you can create modules in any language, Ansible only ships with Python ones, but Perl, Ruby, etc modules exist also and usable by Ansible.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

evolvedlight 10y ago

Imagine you're in a large enterprise environment, and need to deploy something to lots of different servers that were created by lots of different people (your company bought 3 others and each used different software/linux versions/servers). Some have python in the path, some have different pythons in the path, etc. You can't immediately throw away all these servers and rebuild them - some probably have 10 year old bits of software on them where the original author has moved away. Ansible might be one of the tools you use to start fixing this chaotic situation, and having per-host configurations for things like python path is essential.

mkesper 10y ago
Step 1: Install the expected, dedicated Python interpreter as /usr/bin/ansible_python.
- holmb 10y ago
  Python is not just a single executable. It takes a little more work than one would want. And for what gain? Would you be fine with other software also requiring a custom interpreter to function? It gets cumbersome.
  - jubalfh 10y ago
    Incredibly. But it seems to be The Ruby Way™…
  - mkesper 10y ago
    If you rely on the system-wide Python you'll need to cover different versions and you need to make sure not to use any 3rd party modules.
    - icebraining 10y ago
      Ansible ships its own libraries, generally.
- jubalfh 10y ago
  Well, it's an agent-less system after all, the idea is to keep the system lean.