VSHN.timer #58: Writing Kubernetes Operators

Welcome to another VSHN.timer! Every Monday, 5 links related to Kubernetes, OpenShift, CI / CD, and DevOps; all stuff coming out of our own chat system, making us think, laugh, or simply work better.
This week we’re going to talk about tools, tips, and tricks to write Kubernetes Operators.
1. One of the primary mechanisms to create Kubernetes Operators is through the Operator Framework created by Red Hat, closely related to their Operator Hub. And the definitive guide to learn how to write powerful, maintainable operators is O’Reilly’s “Kubernetes Operators” book by Jason Dobies and Joshua Wood, available as a free download.
https://developers.redhat.com/books/kubernetes-operators
2. How do you verify the code test coverage in your operators? This guide will provide some insight.
https://www.openshift.com/blog/runtime-code-profile-for-kubernetes-operators-1
3. Want to write Kubernetes Operators? Here’s Red Hat’s 7 best practices for doing so. TL;DR: apply common sense.
https://www.openshift.com/blog/7-best-practices-for-writing-kubernetes-operators-an-sre-perspective
4. Not everybody is happy with the Operator Framework. Darren Shepherd, CTO and Founder of Rancher Labs (who we had already quoted in our previous edition about operators) published an interesting thread in Twitter recently, exposing his opinion, and as usual, definitely worth a read.

I have a really strong negative reaction to operator framework. When anybody brings it up I really get irritated. The fact that I get so irritated does signal to me I’m being irrational. In short operators is a concept, not a framework and the framework hurts, I’ll explain 1/9

— Darren Shepherd (@ibuildthecloud) July 17, 2020

5. Would you like to use something a bit less convoluted than the Operator Framework? Why not giving the shell-operator a try? It is marketed by their creators as “operator-sdk but for scripts.” Here’s a nice guide to learn how to use it.
https://medium.com/flant-com/shell-operator-for-kubernetes-update-2f1f9f9ebfb1
Have you written or published operators? Do you use the Operator Framework? What’s your opinion on the current state of this ecosystem? Get in touch with us through the form at the bottom of this page, and see you next week for another edition of VSHN.timer.
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