Placeholders to pass values to template rendering

[aliok]

When I create a NodeJS HTTP func using the template, I see it is always created with the same package name: http-handler: https://github.com/knative/func/blob/main/templates/node/http/package.json#L2

kn func create -l node -t http

It would be useful to make some[^1] of these hardcoded values placeholders.

Something like this:

kn func create -l node -t http -p name:"my-handler"

which can generate something like:

{
  "name": "my-handler",
  "version": "0.1.0",

Current hardcoded values can be the defaults.

While name is just very simple and doesn't provide much value, having ports, builders, baseImages, etc. can be very useful.

Context:

• I am working on creating some Backstage templates for Knative Function templates.
• If there was a way to pass some arguments to the function during the creation, I wouldn't need to duplicate these templates and add some placeholders in them

[^1]: Definition of what to keep hardcoded and what to parametrize needs some work.

[github-actions[bot]]

This issue is stale because it has been open for 90 days with no activity. It will automatically close after 30 more days of inactivity. Reopen the issue with /reopen. Mark the issue as fresh by adding the comment /remove-lifecycle stale.

[aliok]

cc @matzew

[matzew]

yes this would be super helpful

[aliok]

If we do this improvement, we can use these templates as-is in Backstage.

[github-actions[bot]]

This issue is stale because it has been open for 90 days with no activity. It will automatically close after 30 more days of inactivity. Reopen the issue with /reopen. Mark the issue as fresh by adding the comment /remove-lifecycle stale.

[aliok]

/reopen /remove-lifecycle stale

[knative-prow[bot]]

@aliok: Reopened this issue.

In response to this:

/reopen /remove-lifecycle stale

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[aliok]

@matzew @lkingland What do you think?

[lkingland]

@matzew @lkingland What do you think?

Yes, I would like to explore offering more customizable templates and integration with Backstage.

Let's discuss how this might work in practice either async via Slack or a meeting; at your convenience. I have a few thoughts.