Python-Style Expressions Arrive in Deadline Cloud Job Templates!
Hi, it's Shii-chan!
AWS What's New
aws.amazon.com
Job templates just got a lot more expressive. Let's take a look!
What was announced?
According to AWS What's New, AWS Deadline Cloud now supports flexible expressions and rich parameter types in job templates.
You can now express pipeline logic directly in the template.
The story so far
The announcement doesn't spell out the old pain points in detail, but the goal is a cleaner, more powerful way to fit the service to existing production pipelines.
What changes
Here are the kinds of expressions you can use!
- Arithmetic
- Conditionals
- String and path operations
- List comprehensions
The syntax is Python-style and familiar. Inside a template you can do things like:
- Split a frame range into per-task frames
- Derive an output path from the scene name
- Toggle an optional flag
Dive Deep
There are three new parameter types.
- boolean
- list
- frame-range
For example, a checkbox can add a --gpu flag and its matching host requirement when set, and a list of cameras can become a step's task range.
Expressions are type-checked at submission, and their evaluation is deterministic, so job execution behaves predictably every time.
These capabilities come from the new EXPR extension to Open Job Description, the open specification Deadline Cloud uses for job templates. They're available in all AWS Regions where Deadline Cloud is supported.
Wrap-up
- Python-style expressions (arithmetic, conditionals, string and path operations, list comprehensions)
- New boolean, list, and frame-range parameter types
- Type checking and deterministic evaluation keep runs predictable
- Built on the EXPR extension to Open Job Description
This is for technical artists and pipeline engineers who want Deadline Cloud to fit their own pipelines!
