utils
utils is a repository of scripts used by the Open Computing Facility
at the University of California, Berkeley.
What belongs here
Scripts for humans do
In general, scripts which might be executed by a person should go here. System scripts (things that go primarily in cronjobs or similar) should go in the ocf/puppet repo instead.
Scripts of all languages are welcome, and should be organized into appropriate
directories. Use staff/ for anything that will typically only be executed by
staff.
Libraries don't
If your utility is meant to be imported, it should probably go in ocflib instead. If you're writing a script whose functionality might be useful elsewhere, separate that out, put it in ocflib, and call it from a binary in this repo.
General best practices
All languages
- Executable files should be marked executable, contain a proper shebang, and generally not have a file extension.
Python
- Use ocflib functionality when it exists, and put reusable code there (and call it from an executable here).
- When possible, target Python 3.5 and 3.7 (same versions as ocflib)
- Generally follow PEP8.
Shell/Bash
- Use
/bin/bashover/bin/shunless your script is for some alien environment where there is no bash. Don't be afraid to use bashisms. - Typically add
set -euo pipefail, especially for any complicated scripts. This (a) stops on errors, (b) errors on accessing undefined variables, and (c) errors on failures in the middle of a pipeline. Together these make Bash into something resembling a passable programming language. - Quote things and otherwise follow best practices.
Other languages
- Consider writing in Python instead.