machine-as-script

machine-as-script

Run any machine as a command-line script.

Useful for running jobs (cron, Heroku scheduler), automating repetitive tasks (Grunt, gulp), writing one-off scripts (NPM, Chef), and building production-ready tools with command-line interfaces (e.g. treeline, machinepack). Suppots serial command-line arguments, command-line opts (--), and environment variables.

$ npm install machine-as-script --save

New to Node? Check out Getting Started With machine-as-script from NPM.

Usage

#!/usr/bin/env node

var MPMath = require('machinepack-math');

require('machine-as-script')({
  machine: MPMath.add
}).exec({
  success: function (sum){
    console.log('Got result:', sum);
  }
});

Now you can run your machine as a script and provide input values as CLI opts:

$ node ./add-numbers.js --a=4 --b=5
# Got result: 9

Note that the machine definition you provide here doesn't have to come from an already-published machinepack-- it can be required locally from your project, or declared inline.

Assorted examples

It's all well and good to build command-line scripts that do simple arithmetic, but what about something more practical? Here are a few real-world examples of machine-as-script in practice:

• https://github.com/node-machine/machinepack/blob/93a7132117546ed897fa8391997d0b8aa301d6e4/bin/machinepack-browserify.js
• https://github.com/node-machine/machinepack/blob/93a7132117546ed897fa8391997d0b8aa301d6e4/bin/machinepack-compare.js
• https://github.com/treelinehq/treeline/blob/32b8760504c46e9816ec89a1dc8e301e0c34f62a/bin/treeline-browse.js
• https://github.com/treelinehq/treeline/blob/763b293615e4b26339998a1384919cf958402ba8/bin/treeline-login.js

Using serial CLI arguments

In addition to specifying inputs as -- CLI opts, you can configure your script to accept serial CLI arguments.

Just specify args as an array of input names, in the expected order:

asScript({
  machine: MPMath.add,
  args: ['a', 'b']
}).exec({
  success: function (sum){
    console.log('Got result:', sum);
  }
});

Now you can use serial CLI arguments to configure the related inputs:

$ node ./add-numbers.js 4 5
# Got result: 9

Experimental: The args input

If you don't already have an input named args, when using machine-as-action, your machine's fn will receive an array of serial command-line arguments in inputs.args. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE AND COULD CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY!!

Using environment variables

Sometimes (particularly in a production setting, like on Heroku) you want to be able to use your machine as a script without specifying command-line arguments or checking in credentials or other configuration details to source control. This is typically accomplished using environment variables.

When using machine-as-script, as an alternative to CLI opts, you can specify input values using environment variables:

$ ___a=4 ___b=5 node ./add-numbers.js
# Got result: 9

Environment variables work exactly like CLI opts, with the same escaping rules for specifying JSON arrays and dictionaries.

Setting a namespace

It's usually a good idea to namespace the environment variables specific to your application. Especially since many inputs have fairly common names (as they should!), it's helpful to use a prefix to avoid conflicts with env variables used by other processes.

The default namespace is 3 underscores (___). In other words, if your machine has an input foo, then you could configure that input using the environment variable named ___foo.

To customize the namespace for your script, just specify an envVarNamespace:

asScript({
  machine: MPMath.add,
  envVarNamespace: 'add_numbers__'
}).exec({
  success: function (sum){
    console.log('Got result:', sum);
  }
});

Now your custom string will be the expected namespace for environment variables:

$ add_numbers__a=4 add_numbers__b=5 node ./add-numbers.js
# Got result: 9

A note on case-sensitivity

Note that input code names are case-sensitive, and therefore the names of environment variables understood by this module are also case-sensitive.

On Windows, the names of environment variables are capitalized/case-insensitive, so you may have difficulties using this approach. I'm happy to help in the implementation of a workaround if you need this and have any ideas for how to do it (hit me up on Twitter).

Configuring non-string values

So it's really easy to see how string input values can be configured using CLI opts, arguments, or environment variables. But more often than not, when configuring a script, you need to specify an input value that isn't a string-- things like arrays, dictionaries, booleans, and numbers.

This module lets you configure any input value-- even lamdas. Internally, it uses the parseHuman() method from rttc. For a more detailed look at the exact rules, check out the README in the rttc repo. Below, we look at one example for each of the major use cases you're likely to run into.

Numeric inputs

$ node ./add-numbers.js --a='4' --b='5'

Boolean inputs

$ node ./divide-numbers.js --a='9' --b='5' --useFloatingPoint='false'

Lamda (->) inputs

$ node ./each.js --array='[]' --iteratee='function (thing){ return thing.foo; }'

Dictionary ({}) and array ([]) inputs

If an input is expecting a dictionary or array (i.e. its example is a dictionary or array), then its value should be specified as JSON.

$ node ./count-keys.js --someDictionary='{"this": {"must": ["be","JSON","encoded"]}}'

$ node ./count-items.js --someArray='["this","must","be","JSON","encoded","too"]'

JSON (*) inputs

If an input is expecting generic JSON (i.e. its example is '*'), then its value should be specified as JSON-- even if that value is a simple string, number, or boolean.

$ node ./is-null.js --value='{w: true, x: null, y: "some string", z: 34}'

$ node ./is-null.js --value='["should be json encoded", 4, null]'

$ node ./is-null.js --value='"even if it is a string"'

$ node ./is-null.js --value='22353'

$ node ./is-null.js --value='true'

$ node ./is-null.js --value='null'

Mutable reference (===) inputs

For the automatic console output of machine-as-script, mutable reference inputs work just like JSON (*) inputs. For custom behavior, just override the automatic handling using .exec().

To learn more about rttc types, check out the rttc README on GitHub.

Misc

Escaping your input values

The rules for escaping env vars, CLI opts, and CLI arguments can vary across operating systems. However, a good reference point is the escape machine in mp-process. That's what the machinepack command-line tool uses internally for creating code samples after a machine is run using mp exec.

Precedence

It's always best to keep things simple. In keeping with that spirit, you should never intentionally use both environment variables AND CLI opts/args to configure your script. But weird things are unavoidable, and when debugging, it's helpful to know more about the tools you use in case something jumps out.

Starting from the highest precedence, here is a list of how this module prioritizes your input configurations:

1. CLI arguments (./my-script.js bar)
2. Environment variables (foo=bar ./my-script.js)
3. CLI opts (./my-script.js --foo='bar')

In other words, if you specify the same input as a CLI argument AND as an environment variable or CLI opt, the CLI argument will always "win". And if you specify the same input as an environment variable and CLI opt, the environment variable will always win.

Other Implementation Details, Edge Cases, and Conventions

machine-as-action works by building a modified version of a machine instance that, when you call .exec(), will proxy its input values from serial command-line arguments, command-line opts (--), and/or environment variables. You should almost always call .exec() immediately after using machine-as-action, in the same file. If you are building a command-line tool, it is conventional to keep these files in your project's bin/ directory (see the treeline and machinepack CLI tools on NPM for examples).

If, when you call .exec(), you omit a callback for a non-standard exit, the standard behavior of the machine runner applies. If you omit error or success, machine-as-script will attempt its best guess at appropriate output by using exit metadata + introspecting runtime output. Similarly, runtime input values are validated vs. the exemplars and requiredness in the machine's input definitions.

Support

For more help, check out the node-machine newsgroup and http://node-machine.org.

License

MIT © 2015 Mike McNeil