Glossary
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AbstractionsAre RightScale components -- such as deployments, servers, server arrays, instances, etc. -- that are managed by resources. See also Resources. ActionsAn expression that allows for the interaction with external systems like the RightScale platform. Actions allow processes to act on resources. Such actions can include the launching of servers, terminating instances, or running scripts. Actions can accept zero or more arguments. AttributesAttaches additional behavior to the execution of an expression. They appear after the statement and specify and handle timeouts, error handling, and cancelations. There can be multiple attributes specified on a single statement if they are separated by commas. They consist of name/value pairs. CloneRefers to making an exact copy (clone) of a RightScale component such as a deployment, server, ServerTemplate, RightScript, or alert. To edit a published ServerTemplate or RightScript, you must clone it first. Cloud WorkflowA static description of all activities involved in a given orchestration instance. See also Orchestration. ProcessAn instance of a cloud workflow. See also cloud workflow. CollectionsConsist of resources of the same type such as servers or instances. Cloud workflows always act on a collection of resources. They can be concatenated by the use of the + operator and can be stored into references like @servers. DefinitionsExpression that defines a sequence of statements in a define...end block. A definition has a name, zero or more arguments, and zero or more return values. ExpressionsDescribe the control flow of a process as well as specify actions that need to be taken on a resource. A cloud workflow, therefore, is a sequence of expressions executed sequentially. See also Definitions. FieldsExpose state encapsulated in resources. The main difference from links is that fields contain JSON values: Strings, Numbers, Booleans, Null, Arrays, Hashes, or Datetime. See also Links. FunctionsBuilt-in helpers that provide logic that gets run in the workflow engine to address certain needs like retrieving the current time, generating random numbers, or sorting collections and arrays. Functions operate on values and/or reference collections and return values and/or reference collections. LinksResource elements that point to other collections. The main difference with respect to fields is that links yield resource collections rather than JSON values. For example, the RightScale deployments resource type has a link named servers that represents the collection of servers in a deployment. See also Fields. NamespacesExposes a given API to workflow definitions. The rs namespace encapsulates RightScale API 1.5 and gives access to all the resources it defines. It also implicitly scopes that access to the account running the workflow. OperatorsManipulates values and resources. There are operators for arithmetic calculations (+, -, *, /, ^, %), collections, and array management operators for retrieving and adding elements. There are also operators to check inclusion ([ ], <<,<, >), support for the usual equality and boolean operators (==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, &, |, !), and regexp operators for match strings with regular expressions (=~, !~). OrchestrationAllows for managing entire applications running in the cloud by leveraging the RightScale platform. Orchestration may include the following activities: configuring and launching servers in order, running operational run lists, scaling server arrays, sending emails, retrieving and analyzing metrics data, sending requests to external applications, prompting users for input, or other activities. ReferencesStores collections of resources. See also Collections. Reference NameMust start with @ and may contain letters, numbers, and underscores. ResourceEncapsulates external state and its actions allow managing that state. Are managed in collections and expose fields, links, and actions. See also Collections. Resource Type ActionsUsed in cloud workflows to locate resources, create new resources, and execute actions that apply to a resource type rather than specific resources. For example, a RightScale instance resource type exposes actions to terminate or run scripts on multiple instances at once. TasksSequence of activities executed in a process. Tasks can be paused, resumed, cancelled, or aborted. A single process may execute multiple tasks concurrently. TimeoutsSets time limits on the execution of expressions and specifies the behavior when a time limit is reached. See also Attributes. VariablesContain JSON values as well as values retrieved from resource fields and explicit values written or computed in the definition. Variables start with $ and may contain letters, numbers, and underscores. They can contain an array of values or a single value depending on how they are initialized. |
| RCL | Resources | CloudFlows & Definitions | Variables | Attributes & Error Handling | Branching & Looping | Processes | Functions | Operators | Mapping |
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