cdist update

software/cdist.mdwn

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ cdist is an alternative to other configuration management systems like
 [cfengine](http://www.cfengine.org/)
 and [puppet](http://www.puppetlabs.com/).
 
+ * [[Why should I use cdist?|why]]
  * [[Documentation|documentation]]
  * [[Supported Operating Systems|os]]
  * [[Installation|install]]

software/cdist/update.mdwn

@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ To upgrade to the lastet version do
    The old "yes/no" values need to be removed.
  * Type **\_\_rvm_ruby**: Parameter --default is now boolean
    The old "yes/no" values need to be removed.
+ * Type **\_\_rvm_gemset**: Parameter --default is now boolean
+   The old "yes/no" values need to be removed.
  * Type **\_\_addifnosuchline** and **\_\_removeline** have been replaced by **\_\_line**
  * The **conf** directory is now located at **cdist/conf**.
    You need to migrate your types, explorers and manifests
@@ -39,6 +41,8 @@ To upgrade to the lastet version do
    Support for the variable **\_\_object_name** is already present in 2.0.
  * The types **\_\_autofs**, **\_\_autofs_map** and **\_\_autofs_reload** have been removed
    (no maintainer, no users)
+ * Type **\_\_user**: Parameter --groups removed (use the new \_\_user_groups type)
+ * require="" is deprecated: Use --after and --before as parameters instead
 
 ### Updating from 1.7 to 2.0
 

software/cdist/why.mdwn

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+[[!meta title="Why should I use cdist?"]]
+
+[[!toc]]
+
+There are several motivations to use cdist, these
+are probably the most popular ones.
+
+## Known language
+
+Cdist is being configured in
+[shell script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_script).
+Shell script is used by UNIX system engineers for decades.
+So when cdist is introduced, your staff does not need to learn a new
+[DSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-specific_language)
+or programming language.
+
+## Powerful language
+
+Not only is shell scripting widely known by system engineers,
+but it is also a very powerful language. Here are some features
+which make daily work easy:
+
+ * Configuration can react dynamicly on explored values
+ * High level string manipulation (using sed, awk, grep)
+ * Conditional support (**if, case**)
+ * Loop support (**for, while**)
+ * Support for dependencies between cdist types
+
+## More than shell scripting
+
+If you compare regular shell scripting with cdist, there is one major
+difference: When using cdist types,
+the results are 
+[idempotent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idempotence). 
+In practise that means it does not matter in which order you 
+call cdist types, the result is always the same.
+
+## Zero dependency configuration management
+
+Cdist requires very litte on a target system. Even better,
+in almost all cases all dependencies are usually fulfilled.
+Cdist does not require an agent or a high level programming
+languages on the target host: it will run on any host that
+has an **ssh server running** and a posix compatible shell
+(**/bin/sh**).
+
+## Push based distribution
+
+Cdist uses the push based model for configuration. In this
+scenario, one (or more) computers connect the target hosts
+and apply the configuration. That way the source host has
+very little requirements: Cdist can even run on a sysadmin
+notebook that is loosely connected to the network and has
+limited amount of resources.
+
+Furthermore, from a security point of view, only one machine 
+needs access to the target hosts. No target hosts will ever
+need to connect back to the source host, which contains the
+full configuration.
+
+## Highly scalable
+
+If at some point you manage more hosts than can be handled from
+a single source host, you can simply add more resources: Either
+add more cores to one host or add hosts.
+Cdist will utilise the given resources in parallel.
+
+## Integration into inventory management
+
+
+[[!tag cdist unix]]