Card game metaphor
A system where Users create and issue Dispatches across a set of Resources. Metaphorically, RunDeck can be seen as an arena for card players to create and play simple card games, where everybody is dealt a winning hand!
A person that initiates Dispatches and perhaps defines and groups them. Users can belong to groups representing roles with responsibilities. See the User as a card dealer issuing card hands to Resources.
##Resource (Player)
A network node representing an operating system instance that can receive Dispatches. Resources evaluate these "card hands" and hopefully do not fail. Failing causes the Dealer to bust and end the game round.
##Command (Card)
An executable Dispatch step performed by a Resource. Examples include system command, shell script or a call to another Dispatch. Command is likened to a single playing card where the kind of sequence step is like a card suit.
##Dispatch (Hand)
A sequence of Commands and additional configuration describing its invocation by the Dispatcher. A dispatch can be likened to a card hand given to each Resource. Each Resource gets the same card deal.
A group of Dispatches assumed to represent a coherent set of procedures according to the rules of the author. A deck is likened to a stack of playing cards. Three categories of decks:
- Ad-hoc: This is an inexhaustable virtual deck representing single step dispatches. Considered the Joker's wild deck, the User can call any Command with these.
- User-defined: A named group of dispatches organized by the user. These are like custom decks of card hands.
- History: "Played hands", these are collections of Dispatch execution records corresponding to Ad-hoc or User-defined decks and can be pictured as a "discard pile".
##Dispatcher (Game table)
A RunDeck facility that distributes and initiates Dispatches to Resources. The Dispatcher performs the act of dealing to each of the Resource "players". The dispatch can spread the cards of the hand either all at once to each recipient or might instead cycle one card in the hand one at time in accordance to the specification of the dispatch.