>   if ! ("$::{ensure}" in $::{valid_ensure_values}) {
>       $test_ = inline_template("<%=
> ($::apt-cacher-ng::params::valid_ensure_values).join(', ') %>")

>       fail("${module_name}::server - Invalid ensure value [currently -
> ${ensure}], valid values are [$::{valid_ensure_values}]")
>   }

> I was hoping that I could just simply do a:

>   validate_in($::{ensure}, $::{valid_ensure_values})

> > I was hoping that I could just simply do a:
> >   validate_in($::{ensure}, $::{valid_ensure_values})

> How would that be different than using the "in" in your if statement? :)
> Or, what is wrong with using if? Unless I am missing something? :)

> KW

> Hi KW,

> On Apr 29, 4:30 am, Krzysztof Wilczynski
> <krzysztof.wilczyn...@linux.com> wrote:
> > Hi,

> > > I was hoping that I could just simply do a:
> > >   validate_in($::{ensure}, $::{valid_ensure_values})

> > How would that be different than using the "in" in your if statement? :)
> > Or, what is wrong with using if? Unless I am missing something? :)

> > KW

> Nothing is wrong with using if statements per-say.

> To put my problem slightly differently, in the module I am working on
> I have have five checks that would benefit by having the helper
> function (it would be cleaner, easier to maintain and easier to read).

> Also I hope that by doing the check purely in ruby it would  be
> slightly faster to process rather then return a couple of times.

> To give you an example within my module in the param's file I have:

>   $valid_package_ensure_values      = [ "present", "installed",
> "latest", "absent", "purged", "held" ]
>   $valid_service_ensure_values        = [ "running", "true",
> "stopped", "false" ]
>   $valid_service_enable_values        = [ "true", "false", "manual" ]
>   $valid_module_config_values        = [ "file", "template" ]
>   $valid_module_tpml_loc_values    = [ "module", "site" ]

> If I had the validate_in helper function and used the other validate
> functions in the stdlib the validation code would look like
> (extracted):

> ------------------------------------------
> class module::server::base ( $package_ensure   = undef,
>                                        $service_ensure  = undef,
>                                        $service_enable  = undef,
>                                        $module_config   = undef,
>                                        $template_loc    = undef,
>                                        $use_storeconfig = undef,
>                                        $proxy_port      = undef,
>                                        $cache_dir       = undef,
>                                        $log_dir         = undef,
>                                        $cache_net_adr   = undef
>                                      ) {

>   include module::params

>   validate_in(${package_ensure}, ${valid_package_ensure_values})
>   validate_in(${service_ensure}, ${valid_service_ensure_values})
>   validate_in(${service_enable}, ${valid_service_enable_values})
>   validate_in(${module_config}, ${valid_module_config_values})
>   validate_in(${template_loc}, ${valid_module_tpml_loc_values})

>   is_integer($proxy_port)

>   validate_absolute_path($cache_dir, $log_dir)

>   validate_bool($use_storeconfig)

>   # start using the values in code below
> ------------------------------------------

> The above code is very easy to read and you could see at a glance
> exactly what is happening.  Also if the error message follows the
> format described in my previous message debugging would be very
> simple.  I could see myself using the same pattern in other modules I
> develop.

> Bottom line instead of  the current 35 lines of validation code I
> have, I could replace it with the above 8 lines which would do the
> same amount of work (4:1 ratio)!

> Funnily enough after I sent the original email I stumbled on
> puppetlabs-stdlib/lib/puppet/parser/functions/member.rb which is
> almost exactly what I am looking for, I notice that you wrote it ;)

> Thoughts?