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Say you have a long list of cookbooks you depend on. Which style is better?

A

%w(apt git jenkins …).each do |cookbook|
  depends cookbook
end

B

depends apt
depends git
depends jenkins
…

If you use A, then you won't be able to specify version numbers.

The list can also grow very long, creating a very long line of code. Lines should be short. Github cuts off lines at 80 characters.

Using B, we also get clearer changes in git.

The %w(…) percent string syntax may be difficult to understand if you or another developer are new to Ruby. Don't assume a high level of familiarity with Ruby.

In short, the benchmark should be to reach towards higher readability. Simple is good!

Use B.

Cookbook names

The cookbook name is the Github repository name.

Correct

logstash
long_cookbook_name

Incorrect

logstash_cookbook
logstash-cookbook
long-cookbook-name

Node attribute notation

There has been a lot of talk about how you should access node attributes. The consensus: Use the style, node['with']['single']['quotes']. For more background see this post, Remove contentious rule FC001.

Correct

node['with']['single']['quotes']

Incorrect

node["with"]["any"]["double"]["quotes"]
node.with.any.accessor.calls
node[:with][:any][:symbols]