About Attributes

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An attribute is a specific detail about a node. Attributes are used by Chef Infra Client to understand:

• The current state of the node
• What the state of the node was at the end of the previous Chef Infra Client run
• What the state of the node should be at the end of the current Chef Infra Client run

Attributes are defined by:

• The state of the node itself
• Attributes passed via JSON on the CLI
• Cookbooks (in attribute files and/or recipes)
• Roles
• Environments
• Policyfiles

During every Chef Infra Client run, Chef Infra Client builds the attribute list using:

• Attributes passed via JSON on the CLI
• Data about the node collected by [Ohai].
• The node object that was saved to the Chef Infra Server at the end of the previous Chef Infra Client run.
• The rebuilt node object from the current Chef Infra Client run, after it is updated for changes to cookbooks (attribute files and/or recipes), roles, and/or environments, and updated for any changes to the state of the node itself.

After the node object is rebuilt, all of the attributes are compared, and then the node is updated based on attribute precedence. At the end of every Chef Infra Client run, the node object that defines the current state of the node is uploaded to the Chef Infra Server so that it can be indexed for search.

So how does Chef Infra Client determine which value should be applied? Keep reading to learn more about how attributes work, including more about the types of attributes, where attributes are saved, and how Chef Infra Client chooses which attribute to apply.

Attribute Persistence

All attributes except for normal attributes are reset at the beginning of a Chef Infra Client run. Attributes set via chef-client -j with a JSON file have normal precedence and are persisted between Chef Infra Client runs. Chef Infra Client rebuilds these attributes using automatic attributes collected by Ohai at the beginning of each Chef Infra Client run, and then uses default and override attributes that are specified in cookbooks, roles, environments, and Policyfiles. All attributes are then merged and applied to the node according to attribute precedence. The attributes that were applied to the node are saved to the Chef Infra Server as part of the node object at the conclusion of each Chef Infra Client run.

Attribute Types

Chef Infra Client uses six types of attributes to determine the value that is applied to a node during a Chef Infra Client run. In addition, Chef Infra Client gathers attribute values from up to five locations. The combination of attribute types and sources makes up to 15 different competing values available during a Chef Infra Client run:

Attribute Sources

Attributes are provided to Chef Infra Client from the following locations:

• JSON files passed via the chef-client -j
• Nodes (collected by Ohai at the start of each Chef Infra Client run)
• Attribute files (in cookbooks)
• Recipes (in cookbooks)
• Environments
• Roles
• Policyfiles

Notes:

• Many attributes are maintained in the chef-repo for Policyfiles, environments, roles, and cookbooks (attribute files and recipes)
• Many attributes are collected by Ohai on each individual node at the start of every Chef Infra Client run
• The attributes that are maintained in the chef-repo are uploaded to the Chef Infra Server from the workstation, periodically
• Chef Infra Client will pull down the node object from the Chef Infra Server and then reset all the attributes except normal. The node object will contain the attribute data from the previous Chef Infra Client run including attributes set with JSON files via -j.
• Chef Infra Client will update the cookbooks on the node (if required), which updates the attributes contained in attribute files and recipes
• Chef Infra Client will update the role and environment data (if required)
• Chef Infra Client will rebuild the attribute list and apply attribute precedence while configuring the node
• Chef Infra Client pushes the node object to the Chef Infra Server at the end of a Chef Infra Client run; the updated node object on the Chef Infra Server is then indexed for search and is stored until the next Chef Infra Client run

Automatic (Ohai)

An automatic attribute is a specific detail about a node, such as an IP address, a host name, a list of loaded kernel modules, and so on. Automatic attributes are detected by Ohai and are then used by Chef Infra Client to ensure that they are handled properly during every Chef Infra Client run. The most commonly accessed automatic attributes are:

Ohai collects a list of automatic attributes at the start of each Chef Infra Client run. This list will vary from organization to organization, by server type, and by the platform that runs those servers. All the attributes collected by Ohai are unmodifiable by Chef Infra Client. Run the ohai command on a system to see which automatic attributes Ohai has collected for a particular node.

Attribute Files

An attribute file is located in the attributes/ sub-directory for a cookbook. When a cookbook is run against a node, the attributes contained in all attribute files are evaluated in the context of the node object. Node methods (when present) are used to set attribute values on a node. For example, the apache2 cookbook contains an attribute file called default.rb, which contains the following attributes:

default['apache']['dir']          = '/etc/apache2'
default['apache']['listen_ports'] = [ '80','443' ]

The use of the node object (node) is implicit in the previous example; the following example defines the node object itself as part of the attribute:

node.default['apache']['dir']          = '/etc/apache2'
node.default['apache']['listen_ports'] = [ '80','443' ]

Attribute Evaluation Order

Chef Infra Client evaluates attributes in the order defined by the run-list, including any attributes that are in the run-list because of cookbook dependencies.

Use Attribute Files

An attribute is a specific detail about a node, such as an IP address, a host name, a list of loaded kernel modules, the version(s) of available programming languages that are available, and so on. An attribute may be unique to a specific node or it can be identical across every node in the organization. Attributes are most commonly set from a cookbook, by using knife, or are retrieved by Ohai from each node prior to every Chef Infra Client run. All attributes are indexed for search on the Chef Infra Server. Good candidates for attributes include:

• any cross-platform abstraction for an application, such as the path to a configuration file
• default values for tunable settings, such as the amount of memory assigned to a process or the number of workers to spawn
• anything that may need to be persisted in node data between Chef Infra Client runs

In general, attribute precedence is set to enable cookbooks and roles to define attribute defaults, for normal attributes to define the values that should be specific for a node, and for override attributes to force a certain value, even when a node already has that value specified.

One approach is to set attributes at the same precedence level by setting attributes in a cookbook’s attribute files, and then also setting the same default attributes (but with different values) using a role. The attributes set in the role will be deep merged on top of the attributes from the attribute file, and the attributes set by the role will take precedence over the attributes specified in the cookbook’s attribute files.

Another (much less common) approach is to set a value only if an attribute has no value. This can be done by using the _unless variants of the attribute priority methods:

• default_unless

• set_unless (normal_unless is an alias of set_unless; use either alias to set an attribute with a normal attribute precedence.)

  Note

  This method was removed in Chef Client 14. Please use default_unless or override_unless instead.

• override_unless

File Methods

Use the following methods within the attributes file for a cookbook or within a recipe. These methods correspond to the attribute type of the same name:

• override

• default

• normal (or set, where set is an alias for normal)

• _unless

• attribute?

attribute?

A useful method that is related to attributes is the attribute? method. This method will check for the existence of an attribute, so that processing can be done in an attributes file or recipe, but only if a specific attribute exists.

Using attribute?() in an attributes file:

if attribute?('ec2')
  # ... set stuff related to EC2
end

Using attribute?() in a recipe:

if node.attribute?('ec2')
  # ... do stuff on EC2 nodes
end

Recipes

A recipe is the most fundamental configuration element within the organization. A recipe:

• Is authored using Ruby, which is a programming language designed to read and behave in a predictable manner
• Is mostly a collection of resources, defined using patterns (resource names, attribute-value pairs, and actions); helper code is added around this using Ruby, when needed
• Must define everything that is required to configure part of a system
• Must be stored in a cookbook
• May be included in another recipe
• May use the results of a search query and read the contents of a data bag (including an encrypted data bag)
• May have a dependency on one (or more) recipes
• Must be added to a run-list before it can be used by Chef Infra Client
• Is always executed in the same order as listed in a run-list

An attribute can be defined in a cookbook (or a recipe) and then used to override the default settings on a node. When a cookbook is loaded during a Chef Infra Client run, these attributes are compared to the attributes that are already present on the node. Attributes that are defined in attribute files are first loaded according to cookbook order. For each cookbook, attributes in the default.rb file are loaded first, and then additional attribute files (if present) are loaded in lexical sort order. When the cookbook attributes take precedence over the default attributes, Chef Infra Client applies those new settings and values during a Chef Infra Client run on the node.

Roles

A role is a way to define certain patterns and processes that exist across nodes in an organization as belonging to a single job function. Each role consists of zero (or more) attributes and a run-list. Each node can have zero (or more) roles assigned to it. When a role is run against a node, the configuration details of that node are compared against the attributes of the role, and then the contents of that role’s run-list are applied to the node’s configuration details. When a Chef Infra Client runs, it merges its own attributes and run-lists with those contained within each assigned role.

An attribute can be defined in a role and then used to override the default settings on a node. When a role is applied during a Chef Infra Client run, these attributes are compared to the attributes that are already present on the node. When the role attributes take precedence over the default attributes, Chef Infra Client applies those new settings and values during a Chef Infra Client run.

A role attribute can only be set to be a default attribute or an override attribute. A role attribute cannot be set to be a normal attribute. Use the default_attribute and override_attribute methods in the Ruby DSL file or the default_attributes and override_attributes hashes in a JSON data file.

Environments

An environment is a way to map an organization’s real-life workflow to what can be configured and managed when using Chef Infra. This mapping is accomplished by setting attributes and pinning cookbooks at the environment level. With environments, you can change cookbook configurations depending on the system’s designation. For example, by designating different staging and production environments, you can then define the correct URL of a database server for each environment. Environments also allow organizations to move new cookbook releases from staging to production with confidence by stepping releases through testing environments before entering production.

Attributes can be defined in an environment and then used to override the default attributes in a cookbook. When an environment is applied during a Chef Infra Client run, environment attributes are compared to the attributes that are already present on the node. When the environment attributes take precedence over the default attributes, Chef Infra Client applies those new settings and values during a Chef Infra Client run.

Environment attributes can be set to either default attribute level or an override attribute level.

Attribute Precedence

Attributes are always applied by Chef Infra Client in the following order:

1. A default attribute located in a cookbook attribute file
2. A default attribute located in a recipe
3. A default attribute located in an environment
4. A default attribute located in a role
5. A force_default attribute located in a cookbook attribute file
6. A force_default attribute located in a recipe
7. A normal attribute located in a JSON file passed via chef-client -j
8. A normal attribute located in a cookbook attribute file
9. A normal attribute located in a recipe
10. An override attribute located in a cookbook attribute file
11. An override attribute located in a recipe
12. An override attribute located in a role
13. An override attribute located in an environment
14. A force_override attribute located in a cookbook attribute file
15. A force_override attribute located in a recipe
16. An automatic attribute identified by Ohai at the start of a Chef Infra Client run

where the last attribute in the list is the one that is applied to the node.

Attribute precedence, viewed from the same perspective as the overview diagram, where the numbers in the diagram match the order of attribute precedence:

Attribute precedence, when viewed as a table:

Blacklist Attributes

New in Chef Client 13.0

Attributes that should not be saved by a node may be blacklisted in the client.rb file. The blacklist is a Hash of keys that specify each attribute to be filtered out.

Attributes are blacklisted by attribute type, with each attribute type being blacklisted independently. Each attribute type—automatic, default, normal, and override—may define blacklists by using the following settings in the client.rb file:

For example, automatic attribute data similar to:

{
  "filesystem" => {
    "/dev/disk0s2" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    },
    "map - autohome" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    }
  },
  "network" => {
    "interfaces" => {
      "eth0" => {...},
      "eth1" => {...},
    }
  }
}

To blacklist the filesystem attributes and allow the other attributes to be saved, update the client.rb file:

automatic_attribute_blacklist ['filesystem']

When a blacklist is defined, any attribute of that type that is not specified in that attribute blacklist will be saved. So based on the previous blacklist for automatic attributes, the filesystem and map - autohome attributes will not be saved, but the network attributes will.

For attributes that contain slashes (/) within the attribute value, such as the filesystem attribute '/dev/diskos2', use an array. For example:

automatic_attribute_blacklist [['filesystem','/dev/diskos2']]

Whitelist Attributes

Attributes that should be saved by a node may be whitelisted in the client.rb file. The whitelist is a hash of keys that specifies each attribute to be saved.

Attributes are whitelisted by attribute type, with each attribute type being whitelisted independently. Each attribute type—automatic, default, normal, and override—may define whitelists by using the following settings in the client.rb file:

For example, automatic attribute data similar to:

{
  "filesystem" => {
    "/dev/disk0s2" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    },
    "map - autohome" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    }
  },
  "network" => {
    "interfaces" => {
      "eth0" => {...},
      "eth1" => {...},
    }
  }
}

To whitelist the network attributes and prevent the other attributes from being saved, update the client.rb file:

automatic_attribute_whitelist ['network/interfaces/']

When a whitelist is defined, any attribute of that type that is not specified in that attribute whitelist will not be saved. So based on the previous whitelist for automatic attributes, the filesystem and map - autohome attributes will not be saved, but the network attributes will.

Leave the value empty to prevent all attributes of that attribute type from being saved:

automatic_attribute_whitelist []

For attributes that contain slashes (/) within the attribute value, such as the filesystem attribute '/dev/diskos2', use an array. For example:

automatic_attribute_whitelist [['filesystem','/dev/diskos2']]

Examples

The following examples are listed from low to high precedence.

Default attribute in /attributes/default.rb

default['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'

Default attribute in node object in recipe

node.default['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'

Default attribute in /environments/environment_name.rb

default_attributes({ 'apache' => {'dir' => '/etc/apache2'}})

Default attribute in /roles/role_name.rb

default_attributes({ 'apache' => {'dir' => '/etc/apache2'}})

Normal attribute set as a cookbook attribute

set['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'
normal['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'  #set is an alias of normal.

Normal attribute set in a recipe

node.normal['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'

Override attribute in /attributes/default.rb

override['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'

Override attribute in /roles/role_name.rb

override_attributes({ 'apache' => {'dir' => '/etc/apache2'}})

Override attribute in /environments/environment_name.rb

override_attributes({ 'apache' => {'dir' => '/etc/apache2'}})

Override attribute in a node object (from a recipe)

node.override['apache']['dir'] = '/etc/apache2'

Ensure that a default attribute has precedence over other attributes

When a default attribute is set like this:

default['attribute'] = 'value'

any value set by a role or an environment will replace it. To prevent this value from being replaced, use the force_default attribute precedence:

force_default['attribute'] = 'I will crush you, role or environment attribute'

or:

default!['attribute'] = "The '!' means I win!"

Ensure that an override attribute has precedence over other attributes

When an override attribute is set like this:

override['attribute'] = 'value'

any value set by a role or an environment will replace it. To prevent this value from being replaced, use the force_override attribute precedence:

force_override['attribute'] = 'I will crush you, role or environment attribute'

or:

override!['attribute'] = "The '!' means I win!"

Change Attributes

Attribute precedence levels may be:

• Removed for a specific, named attribute precedence level.
• Removed for all attribute precedence levels.
• Fully assigned attributes.

Remove Precedence Level

A specific attribute precedence level for default, normal, and override attributes may be removed by using one of the following syntax patterns.

For default attributes:

• node.rm_default('foo', 'bar')

For normal attributes:

• node.rm_normal('foo', 'bar')

For override attributes:

• node.rm_override('foo', 'bar')

These patterns return the computed value of the key being deleted for the specified precedence level.

Examples

The following examples show how to remove a specific, named attribute precedence level.

Delete a default value when only default values exist

Given the following code structure under 'foo':

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some role attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'otherstuff'

And a force attribute:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'allthestuff'

When the default attribute precedence node['foo']['bar'] is removed:

node.rm_default('foo', 'bar') #=> {'baz' => 52, 'thing' => 'allthestuff'}

What is left under 'foo' is only 'bat':

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] } }

Delete default without touching higher precedence attributes

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some role attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'otherstuff'

And a force attribute:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'allthestuff'

And also some override attributes:

node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

Same delete as before:

node.rm_default('foo', 'bar') #=> { 'baz' => 52, 'thing' => 'allthestuff' }

The other attribute precedence levels are unaffected:

node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 99} }
node['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 99}, 'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] }

Delete override without touching lower precedence attributes

Given the following code structure, which has an override attribute:

node.override['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

with a single default value:

node.default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 11

and a force at each attribute precedence:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 55
node.force_override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

Delete the override:

node.rm_override('foo', 'bar') #=> { 'baz' => 99, 'thing' => 'stuff' }

The other attribute precedence levels are unaffected:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 55} }

Non-existent key deletes return nil

node.rm_default("no", "such", "thing") #=> nil

Remove All Levels

All attribute precedence levels may be removed by using the following syntax pattern:

• node.rm('foo', 'bar')

Examples

The following examples show how to remove all attribute precedence levels.

Delete all attribute precedence levels

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

With override attributes:

node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 999

Removing the 'bar' key returns the computed value:

node.rm('foo', 'bar') #=> {'baz' => 999, 'thing' => 'stuff'}

Looking at 'foo', all that’s left is the 'bat' entry:

node['foo'] #=> {'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] } }

Non-existent key deletes return nil

node.rm_default("no", "such", "thing") #=> nil

Full Assignment

Use ! to clear out the key for the named attribute precedence level, and then complete the write by using one of the following syntax patterns:

• node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
• node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
• node.normal!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
• node.override!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
• node.force_override!['foo']['bar'] = {...}

Examples

The following examples show how to remove all attribute precedence levels.

Just one component

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}

The '!' caused the entire ‘bar’ key to be overwritten:

node['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'c' => 'd'}

Multiple components; one “after”

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}
node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {'d' => 'e'}

The '!' write overwrote the “cookbook-default” value of 'bar', but since role data is later in the resolution list, it was unaffected:

node['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'c' => 'd', 'd' => 'e'}

Multiple components; all “before”

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}
node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {'d' => 'e'}

With force_default! there is no other data under 'bar':

node['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'d' => 'e'}

Multiple precedence levels

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
   'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 55
node.force_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 66

And other precedence levels:

node.normal['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 88
node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

With a full assignment:

node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {}

Role default and force default are left in default, plus other precedence levels:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 66}, 'bat'=>{'things'=>[5, 6]}}
node.attributes.normal['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 88}}
node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 99}}
node['foo']['bar'] #=> {'baz' => 99}

If force_default! is written:

node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {}

the difference is:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bat'=>{'things'=>[5, 6]}, 'bar' => {}}
node.attributes.normal['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 88}}
node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 99}}
node['foo']['bar'] #=> {'baz' => 99}

About Deep Merge

Attributes are typically defined in cookbooks, recipes, roles, and environments. These attributes are rolled-up to the node level during a Chef Infra Client run. A recipe can store attribute values using a multi-level hash or array.

For example, a group of attributes for web servers might be:

override_attributes(
  :apache => {
    :listen_ports => [ 80 ],
    :prefork => {
      :startservers => 20,
      :minspareservers => 20,
      :maxspareservers => 40
    }
  }
)

But what if all of the web servers are not the same? What if some of the web servers required a single attribute to have a different value? You could store these settings in two locations, once just like the preceding example and once just like the following:

override_attributes(
  :apache => {
    :listen_ports => [ 80 ],
    :prefork => {
      :startservers => 30,
      :minspareservers => 20,
      :maxspareservers => 40
    }
  }
)

But that is not very efficient, especially because most of them are identical. The deep merge capabilities of Chef Infra Client allows attributes to be layered across cookbooks, recipes, roles, and environments. This allows an attribute to be reused across nodes, making use of default attributes set at the cookbook level, but also providing a way for certain attributes (with a higher attribute precedence) to be applied only when they are supposed to be.

For example, a role named baseline.rb:

name "baseline"
description "The most basic role for all configurations"
run_list "recipe[baseline]"

override_attributes(
  :apache => {
    :listen_ports => [ 80 ],
    :prefork => {
      :startservers => 20,
      :minspareservers => 20,
      :maxspareservers => 40
    }
  }
)

and then a role named web.rb:

name 'web'
description 'Web server config'
run_list 'role[baseline]'

override_attributes(
  :apache => {
    :prefork => {
      :startservers => 30
    }
  }
)

Both of these files are similar because they share the same structure. When an attribute value is a hash, that data is merged. When an attribute value is an array, if the attribute precedence levels are the same, then that data is merged. If the attribute value precedence levels in an array are different, then that data is replaced. For all other value types (such as strings, integers, etc.), that data is replaced.

For example, the web.rb references the baseline.rb role. The web.rb file only provides a value for one attribute: :startservers. When Chef Infra Client compares these attributes, the deep merge feature will ensure that :startservers (and its value of 30) will be applied to any node for which the web.rb attribute structure should be applied.

This approach will allow a recipe like this:

include_recipe 'apache2'
Chef::Log.info(node['apache']['prefork'].to_hash)

and a run_list like this:

run_list/web.json
{
  "run_list": [ "role[web]" ]
}

to produce results like this:

[Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:44:26 -0700] INFO:
         {
           "startservers"=>30,
           "minspareservers"=>20,
           "maxspareservers"=>40,
           "serverlimit"=>400,
           "maxclients"=>400,
           "maxrequestsperchild"=>10000
         }

Even though the web.rb file does not contain attributes and values for minspareservers, maxspareservers, serverlimit, maxclients, and maxrequestsperchild, the deep merge capabilities pulled them in.

The following sections show how the logic works for using deep merge to perform substitutions and additions of attributes.

Substitution

The following examples show how the logic works for substituting an existing string using a hash:

role_or_environment 1 { :x => '1', :y => '2' }
+
role_or_environment 2 { :y => '3' }
=
{ :x => '1', :y => '3' }

For substituting an existing boolean using a hash:

role_or_environment 1 { :x => true, :y => false }
+
role_or_environment 2 { :y => true }
=
{ :x => true, :y => true }

For substituting an array with a hash:

role_or_environment 1 [ '1', '2', '3' ]
+
role_or_environment 2 { :x => '1' , :y => '2' }
=
{ :x => '1', :y => '2' }

When items cannot be merged through substitution, the original data is overwritten.

Addition

The following examples show how the logic works for adding a string using a hash:

role_or_environment 1 { :x => '1', :y => '2' }
+
role_or_environment 2 { :z => '3' }
=
{ :x => '1', :y => '2', :z => '3' }

For adding a string using an array:

role_or_environment 1 [ '1', '2' ]
+
role_or_environment 2 [ '3' ]
=
[ '1', '2', '3' ]

For adding a string using a multi-level hash:

role_or_environment 1 { :x => { :y => '2' } }
+
role_or_environment 2 { :x => { :z => '3' } }
=
{ :x => { :y => '2', :z => '3' } }

For adding a string using a multi-level array:

role_or_environment 1 [ [ 1, 2 ] ]
+
role_or_environment 2 [ [ 3 ] ]
=
[ [ 1, 2 ], [ 3 ] ]