Presented at RCoSE2018. Summary: When working with tools like Puppet, programmers ask a lot of questions related to syntax, feasibility, and security. Despite advancements in Puppet, some fundamental challenges such as feasibility, installation, and security persist. Preprint: https://akondrahman.github.io/papers/rcose2018_cac.pdf.

1. What Questions Do Programmers Ask
About Configuration as Code?
Akond Rahman, Asif Partho, Patrick
Morrison, and Laurie Williams
aarahman@ncsu.edu
https://akondrahman.github.io/

2. Definition: Continuous Deployment
2
Continuous
Integration
Integrate software
changes regularly
Continuous
Deployment
Integrate software
changes regularly
Automatically
deploy software
changes rapidly

3. Motivation: Configuration as Code (CaC)
3
Ansible Chef Puppet

4. Definition: Configuration as Code (CaC)
4
…
…
Use of CaC

5. Objective
• To help current and potential configuration as
code (CaC) adoptees in identifying the
challenges related to CaC through an analysis
of questions asked by programmers on a major
question and answer website.
5

6. Research Questions
• RQ1: What questions do programmers ask about
configuration as code?
• RQ2: How many answers do configuration as code
(CaC)-related question categories yield? How many
questions with unsatisfactory answers do CaC-related
question categories yield?
• RQ3: How many views do question categories related to
configuration as code yield?
• RQ4: What temporal trends do the question categories
related to configuration as code exhibit?

7. Methodology
Stack Overflow
Dataset
Identify
Tags
Extract
Content
Card
Sorting
Empirical
Analysis

8. Answer to RQ1: What questions do
programmers ask about configuration as code?
• Syntax error
• Provisioning
• Feasibility
• Installation
• Filesystem
• Security
• Data Separation
• Troubleshooting
• Network
• Environment Variables
• Testing
• Template
• Dependencies
• Database
• Resource Ordering
• Daemon Services

9. Answer to RQ2: How many answers do
configuration as code-related question
categories yield?
• Min: 1.0 (Network and Security), Max: 1.4 (Template)
• Top three categories
– Template (1.4)
– Resource Ordering (1.3)
– Feasibility (1.3)

10. Answer to RQ2: How many questions with
unsatisfactory answers do configuration as
code related question categories yield?
• Min 34.2% (Template), Max: 61.7% (Installation)
• Top three categories
– Installation (61.8%)
– Security (59.3%)
– Data Separation (56.0%)

11. Answer to RQ3: How many views do question
categories related to configuration as code yield?
• Min: 569.3 (Daemon Services), Max: 2558.0 (Template)
• Top Three Categories
– Template (2558.0)
– Security (1546.0)
– Provisioning (1356.1)

12. Answer to RQ4: What temporal trends do the
question categories related to configuration as
code exhibit?

13. Answer to RQ4: What temporal trends do the
question categories related to configuration as
code exhibit?
Increasing Decreasing Consistent
Syntax Error Feasibility Provisioning
Installation Filesystem
Data Separation Security
Network Troubleshooting
Environment
Variables
Template
Testing Database
Dependencies Resource Ordering
Daemon Services

14. Limitations
• Selection of Q&A website
• Selection of CaC tools
• Bias in identifying question categories

15. Implications
• Specialized IDEs for CaC
– Syntax, dependencies, clarification on tutorials
• Training in CaC
– Equip programmers with CaC-specific knowledge:
security, provisioning, and network
• Future research
– Why programmers face challenges
– Connection between questions and code quality

16. Summary
aarahman@ncsu.edu
akondrahman
https://akondrahman.github.io/
Contact
Answer to RQ4: What temporal trends do the
question categories related to configuration as
code exhibit?
Answer to RQ1: What questions do
programmers ask about configuration as code?
• Syntax error
• Provisioning
• Feasibility
• Installation
• Filesystem
• Security
• Data Separation
• Troubleshooting
• Network
• Environment Variables
• Testing
• Template
• Dependencies
• Database
• Resource Ordering
• Daemon Services
Motivation: Configuration as Code (CaC)
3
Ansible Chef Puppet

17. Backup

18. Background
case $::operatingsystem {
‘CentOS’: {
exec { "install iptables":
command => "/bin/yum install iptables -y",
creates => "/sbin/iptables";
}
}
default: {
fail("cannot install on $::operatingsystem")
}
}
https://puppet.com/company/press-room/media-kit 18