Puppet users - Aug 2012 - Passing special characters to exec's command - syntax help!!

Hi

I want to use exec to create a recursive directory (I know I can use file
but for another reason I don''t want to)

So as a variable I get passed in $home and it may be for example
/first/second/userdirectory where first and second may not exist.

Puppet''s user wraps useradd so it won''t recursively create my
directory so
I want to use exec to create the directory /first/second before the user is
created.
If I allow puppet to recursively create /first/second/userdirectory in
it''s
entirety with file.....when the user is created it doesn''t contain the
.bashrc and .profile files which I want.

So I wanted to do a simple exec command which does the following if I were
to do it at the command line:

mkdir -p ${home%/*}

...this would make /first/second and I can allow useradd create the
userdirectory.

BUT....puppet doesn''t like me passing that to command.

exec { "$home.create":
      path      => ''/bin:/usr/bin'',
      command   => "mkdir -p ''${home%/*}''",
    }

I get Could not match %/*}\"

Is this possible and if so what is the correct syntax? I''ve tried lots
of
options.
Thanks in advance
Julia

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There are a number of ways to achieve that.

One would be to.

file { [ ''/first'', ''/first/second'' ]:
  ensure => directory,
  owner  => ''root'',
  group  => ''root'',
  mode  => ''0755'',
  before => User[''julia''],
}

user { ''juila'':
  ensure     => present,
  gid          => ''julia'',
  groups    => [''users''],
#  uid        => ''7000'',
  comment => ''This user was created by puppet'',
  require    => File[''/first/second''],
#  managehome => true,
    }

Now you can declare a require or before, you do not have to specify both, 
but if you do it will not break.

As for the passing special characters.  I will post something related now.

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So as a variable I get passed in $home and it may be for example
> /first/second/userdirectory where first and second may not exist. 
>
> So I wanted to do a simple exec command which does the following if I were 
> to do it at the command line:
>
> mkdir -p ${home%/*}
>
> ...this would make /first/second and I can allow useradd create the 
> userdirectory. 
>
> BUT....puppet doesn''t like me passing that to command.
>
> exec { "$home.create":
>       path      => ''/bin:/usr/bin'',
>       command   => "mkdir -p ''${home%/*}''",
>     }
>
> I get Could not match %/*}\"
>
>
>
So firstly in the context of 

command   => "mkdir -p ''${home%/*}''",

Puppet will try and look up variable:

home%/*

Because it is ${ and double quoted, so puppet is trying to compile the 
command as it is ${ in a double quoted string which puppet understands as a 
variable.

I do not understand the context of the % percent and * wildcard 
references.  But is $home was defined as ''/first/second'',
then:

command   => "mkdir -p ${home}",

As for passing special characters, different blends of variables and 
special characters should always be tested.  Special characters should be 
passed via the exec command context if single quoted and no variables, not 
100% certain, it always pays to test.
 

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Hi
Thanks for your response.
The first answer won''t work for me as I want to be dynamic about it and
take in a variable of the full path so it could just as easily be 10
directories deep. I''m getting the value for home from a CLI rather than
hand crafting something static.

The significance of the %/* means take the variable''s value and right
strip
back to the last ''/'' character. So where I have
/first/second/userdir
passed in in the variable $home,
I want to create only /first/second with the mkdir -p command.

Julia

On 14 August 2012 13:54, earthgecko <garypwilson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> So as a variable I get passed in $home and it may be for example
>> /first/second/userdirectory where first and second may not exist.
>>
>> So I wanted to do a simple exec command which does the following if I
>> were to do it at the command line:
>>
>> mkdir -p ${home%/*}
>>
>> ...this would make /first/second and I can allow useradd create the
>> userdirectory.
>>
>> BUT....puppet doesn''t like me passing that to command.
>>
>> exec { "$home.create":
>>       path      => ''/bin:/usr/bin'',
>>       command   => "mkdir -p
''${home%/*}''",
>>     }
>>
>> I get Could not match %/*}\"
>>
>>
>>
> So firstly in the context of
>
> command   => "mkdir -p ''${home%/*}''",
>
> Puppet will try and look up variable:
>
> home%/*
>
> Because it is ${ and double quoted, so puppet is trying to compile the
> command as it is ${ in a double quoted string which puppet understands as a
> variable.
>
> I do not understand the context of the % percent and * wildcard
> references.  But is $home was defined as ''/first/second'',
then:
>
> command   => "mkdir -p ${home}",
>
> As for passing special characters, different blends of variables and
> special characters should always be tested.  Special characters should be
> passed via the exec command context if single quoted and no variables, not
> 100% certain, it always pays to test.
>
>
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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Puppet Users" group.
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>
> To post to this group, send email to puppet-users@googlegroups.com.
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OK then.

    command => "mkdir -p $(dirname ${home})",

That does it.


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