z2-Environment

h1. Z2-Environment version 2.5

("Version 2.4.1":https://redmine.z2-environment.net/versions/43, "Version 2.6":https://redmine.z2-environment.net/versions/45)

Apart from various minor bug fixes, version 2.5 brings some important improvements:

h2. Dynamically evaluated component property expressions ("doc":http://www.z2-environment.eu/v25doc#dynamicComponentProperties)

For some configuration aspects, such as connectivity information, it can be very handy to use system properties or process environment variables rather than hard-coded, checked in configuration.

Version 2.5 supports just that (and actually much more) by providing an extensible mechanism of expression language usage in component descriptors (#1697). Built-in support at the (lowest) core level includes the use of JEXL3 expressions ("doc":http://www.z2-environment.eu/v25doc#jexl3support).

For example, deriving a host name from an environment variable *HOST_NAME* is as simple as

<pre><code class="bash">

hostName\:JEXl3=env.HOST_NAME

</code></pre>

h2. Better handling of worker configuration and Windows environments ("doc":http://www.z2-environment.eu/v25doc#blanksAndQuotesVMProps).

The way worker processes are configured and executed has been overhauled and has no problems with blanks in parameters and paths anymore (#1963).

h2. Supporting tags and multiple roots in GitCR ("doc":http://www.z2-environment.eu/v25doc#gitComponentRepositories)

Support for Git-backed component repositories made a leap forward. The internal structure of the Git repo does not need to reflect a single component repository file structure anymore. Instead by listing a set of root paths in the repo, and flexible provision of components from Git stored definitions is now supported (#1958).

In order to choose an effective version that is supposed to be read by z2, the Git component repository can be made to use any Git reference. In particular this includes tags and branches (#1965).