Introduction
In the world of configuration management, YAML has become a de facto standard. However, when dealing with complex configurations, the need for better inheritance and merging capabilities becomes apparent. Today, I want to introduce you to YamlExtensions, a Ruby gem that solves this exact problem.
The Problem with Standard YAML Merging
Standard YAML offers basic merging with the <<
operator, but it
falls short when dealing with nested structures. This limitation often
leads to duplicate configurations or complex workarounds.
Enter YamlExtensions
YamlExtensions introduces a powerful feature: deep merging using
the <<<
operator. This simple yet effective enhancement allows
for more sophisticated configuration management.
How It Works
Let's look at a practical example:
defaults: &DEFAULTS hello: world this: is: even: deeper main: <<<: *DEFAULTS this: is: somewhat: deep
The gem intelligently merges nested structures, maintaining both the original and overridden values where appropriate.
Multiple Deep Merges
One particularly powerful feature is the ability to perform multiple
deep merges by appending numbers to the <<<
operator:
main: <<<1: *DEFAULTS <<<2: *OVERRIDES this: is: somewhat: deep
Getting Started
After installation, simply require the gem in your Ruby code:
require 'yaml_extensions'
YamlExtensions will freedom patch Ruby's YAML implementation to support the aforementioned features.
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