Dependencies between recipes

The dependency graph, which is separate from folders and groups, and what the prototype can already show from it.

A recipe can say that it needs the result of another recipe. These links form the dependency graph (a DAG): which recipe goes after which.

Two different structures

In Anchor, recipes appear in a tree: project, user groups, recipes. That is only a layout for convenience. The order of execution is determined by the dependency graph, not by position in the tree.

• You can move a recipe to another group and the order of execution does not change.
• Two recipes in the same folder do not depend on each other until one explicitly refers to the other.

What the prototype can do today

From the declared dependsOn entries with quoted names, the prototype builds a graph for preview and reports problem cases: a cycle, and a reference to a recipe that does not exist. Recipes are not executed.

recipe "BuildShops" {
    dependsOn("CheckGit")
}

What is still open

• How a recipe accesses the result of another recipe: the form and the property name are not approved.
• Whether a recipe can have several outputs.
• How recipe arguments are described.

Each of these items is discussed first and only then appears here.