Forming a state module

State modules are more structured than most other kinds of modules, but as you'll soon see, that actually makes them easier to write.

Determining state

There is a set of operations that a state module must take in order to perform its job, and as those operations are done, there is certain data that is stored. Let's start off with a pseudo piece of code, and explain each component in turn:

def __virtual__():
    '''
    Only load if the necesaary modules available in __salt__
    '''
    if 'module.function' in __salt__:
        return True
    return False


def somestate(name):
    '''
    Achieve the desired state

    nane
        The name of the item to achieve statefulness
    '''
    ret = {'name': name,
           'changes': {},
           'result': None,
           'comment': ''}
    if <item is already in the desired state&gt...