Smithy

to wrap up the week, let’s look a Smithy, https://github.com/awslabs/smithy from @awscloud Labs

this project “defines and generates clients, services, and documentation for any protocol” which is a big claim

let’s see what’s actually here…

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

read this thread unrolled at https://t.co/FICk4Hpn4p

the previous thread is up at https://markn.ca/2021/aws-data-wrangler/

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

the full docs site (https://awslabs.github.io/smithy/), clarifies the goal, “A language for defining services and SDKs”

ok, so this is DSL-type project. the 4 main features:

• protocol-agnostic
• codify & enforce API governance
• designed to evolve
• resource based

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

the FAQ calls out that this project has been used inside Amazon & @awscloud for over a decade (that’s a good sign)

the project uses the term IDL or interface description language…so not quite a DSL

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

this is not a project that you are going to implement (most likely). but it is a fascinating project to learn from

AWS uses Smithy to describe their services, metadata, and capabilities in a programmatic way

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

describing these systems in a machine reading format opens up a host of new possibilities like automated policy enforcement, service validate, compatibility checking, and a lot more

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

this example description from the docs really drives the point home. look at how much clearer the Smithy description is vs. a more common JSON structure

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

in Smithy, services have:

• resources
• operations
• shapes

resources & operations are straightforward but the “shape” concept deserves a closer look

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

according to the docs, a “shape” is an instance of a type and it has “traits”

shapes can be simple, aggregate, or a service

https://awslabs.github.io/smithy/1.0/spec/core/model.html#shapes

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

using these constructs together, you can accurately describe your service in a clear and simple manner

here’s a complete example from the docs: https://awslabs.github.io/smithy/quickstart.html#complete-example

☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

if you’re building out a distributed system, the Smithy project is worth exploring. there’s a lot of great ideas here and you might be able to leverage the project for your work

at the very least, you’ll learn a lot about IDLs from @awscloud’s experience

/ ☁️ #cloud #devops

@marknca tweeted at 19-Nov-2021, 18:05

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