Use Task Runners for Common Coding Tasks

(hamvocke.com)

43 points | by speckx 4 hours ago ago

13 comments

  • danofsteel32 2 minutes ago ago

    I use the shell script pattern. In bash the case statement at the bottom of your example can be replaced with this though:

      “${@:-default}” || usage
  • pragma_x 7 minutes ago ago

    > A small drawback is that just isn’t readily available on developer’s machines (unlike bash and make)

    Looking back, this was usually a substantial stumbling block for adoption of new tooling. Things have changed. All one has to do is look at what JS programmers will go through to scratch build entire toolchains on the back of npm. IMO, the bar has been moved up to allow _some_ installation friction rather than none.

    IMO, if the tool is a solid improvement and installation is a one-liner, use it and promote it loudly so it continues to get support.

  • betree an hour ago ago

    Historically, I did it the other way around: have some autogenerated shell commands (dev, test, pull...etc) on my local machine that detect which language the project in the current folder is using, and calls commands accordingly. I did it this way because, in my case, it was challenging to consolidate multiple projects across multiple organizations under a single tool.

    It's public, but I realize I haven't pushed my local updates for a while now. https://github.com/Betree/dev-commander

  • jtwaleson 2 hours ago ago

    I've been using Taskfile. Are just / mise much better?

    • LeBit 43 minutes ago ago

      Taskfile is great but I’ve moved to mise over a year ago and not coming back.

      The only think I found Taskfile does better is handling Go’s defer. Misé unfortunately does not have an equivalent.

      Mise manages tools, env vars, tasks, bootstrapping , plays well with usage, etc.

      People saying "just use makefiles" are missing out.

    • timw4mail 2 hours ago ago

      Not using YAML is huge.

  • stackghost an hour ago ago

    I do this with plain ol' makefiles.

    Even for projects where Make isn't part of the build pipeline, like Rails or C++, I have a standardized makefile I put in the project root, using includes for "secrets.mk", so I can do things like "make deploy" and it Just Works(tm).

    Sometimes the old ways are best!

    • adunk an hour ago ago

      Another neat and simple trick it to have the first target in the Makefile print out a helpful message that tells the reader what the project is and how to use it. One of those things that is useful both when you are working on the project and when you later return to it, years later.

      • stackghost 35 minutes ago ago

        That's definitely an option, though I prefer to just put a README. No reason you couldn't have the default make target just execute `cat README.md`

  • Onavo 2 hours ago ago

    I wish mise has better secrets management or allows for split config e.g. a repo wide config that's to be shared and a personal config that can override whatever's necessary. It's difficult to commit mise.toml because the [env] section almost always contains sensitive variables.

    • LeBit 9 minutes ago ago

      Like someone said, there is fnox by the same author for secrets.

      Whatever is truly local (not necessarily secrets ) should go in mise.local.toml and not be version controlled.

      You also have MISE_ENV if you want to manage completely different environments.

    • coryplastek 2 hours ago ago

      mise looks in a number of places for configuration and recommends using a `mise.local.toml` file for local-only configurations:

      https://mise.jdx.dev/configuration.html

      the same author has a separate but related project called fnox which focuses on secrets management and integrates with mise:

      https://fnox.jdx.dev/

    • Volundr 2 hours ago ago

      Are you aware of fnox by the same author?

      https://fnox.jdx.dev/