[Fab-user] Python version poll (PLEASE respond!), news re splinter projects + Fab 2, & PyCon

[Jeff Forcier]

Hi all, a poll & some news:


## What Python do you use?

If you did **not** reply to my Twitter poll, please reply with which
Python(s) you use with Fabric, i.e. 2.5, 2.6 and/or 2.7. (Please reply
to me and *not* the list, for everybody's sanity!)


## Splinter projects

These have been picking up (idea) steam lately and tie into plans for Fab 2:

### Patchwork

Patchwork will be a set of API calls like "install package", "render
config file", etc. Think Chef/Puppet's primitives, without requiring
buy-in to a config management framework. It will:

* Be a separate project leveraging Fab's API.
* Deprecate fabric.contrib.
* Merge ideas from fabtools/cuisine/etc, fabric.contrib, and private toolkits.

See also: https://github.com/fabric/fabric/issues/461

### Invoke

Fabric's install dependencies stink if you just want local tasks; and
local tasks don't get as much love as SSH features. We'll combat this
by splitting task execution into its own library[1], retaining control
so it fits Fabric's needs. It will:

* Be independent, usable by itself as a simple Python task runner.
* Be used to implement most/all of Fabric's execution features.
* Include analogues to fabric.api.local(), @task, etc.

See also: https://github.com/fabric/fabric/issues/565


## Fabric 2

Our code dates from 2008/2009; adding backwards compatible features is
getting difficult; and we want to split off Patchwork/Invoke. A
backwards incompatible release is an inevitability.

Backwards-compat barriers are excuses for total rewrites, and prone to
feature creep -- two big time-sinks I hope to **avoid**. We may
rewrite moderate chunks and put in *support* for new features, but the
idea is to get 2.0 out sooner instead of later[2].

Naturally, Fabric 1.x will be supported in a bugfix capacity for some
time after 2.0 hits[3].


## PyCon

I'll be at PyCon and hope to see many of you there. I just tentatively
signed up for a Fabric BoF session on Saturday at 8pm (hopefully time
enough for dinner between close of talks and then.) I'd also love to
hold sprints again for a day or two, but won't know if I can until the
week of.

The BoF page is here: https://us.pycon.org/2012/community/openspaces/fabric/


Thanks as always,
Jeff


[1] We hate fragmentation too, but Baker/Paver/etc don't fit our needs
well, plus we'll need tight coordination with Fabric to make things
work, so forking/contributing elsewhere doesn't seem wise.
[2] Hard to promise without taking a closer look, which I plan to do
over the coming weeks & through/past PyCon, day job willing.
[3] The time period depends -- if moving a 1.x fabfile to 2.0 is easy,
the support window may be small; if it's a big leap, support will be
provided for longer.


-- 
Jeff Forcier
Unix sysadmin; Python/Ruby engineer
http://bitprophet.org