Replace kustomize by helm ?

[awoimbee]

related: #1915

A templating (well, overlay) tool is already used in rabbitmq/cluster-operator and rabbitmq/messaging-topology-operator: kustomize.

When I look at it I see many overlays and personally find it hard to navigate (example kustomization file).
I also see that the official way to distribute cluster-operator (and messaging-topology-operator) is a single .yaml that doesn't support any customization of basic things like namespace name, doesn't setup a service for metrics, etc...

If I write a helm chart, is there a chance it could replace kustomize ? Or am I doomed to have to support a chart outside of mainline ?

[MirahImage]

Please see #1915 to understand why a helm chart will not be accepted as a contribution. The kustomize tooling is actively used internally in our build process and is a mandatory part of most operator builds. It is not intended for external usage.

[awoimbee]

This makes no sense to me. When I look at the makefile of the messaging topology operator what I see is:

1. kustomize is used to template everything into _all_manifests.yaml
2. yq is then used to separate into multiple yaml files

I don't see why this could not be done by a helm chart which would be easier to work with and could be distributed.

[MirahImage]

We will not be distributing a helm chart. That is an exclusively commercial feature. This is a decision at the Broadcom level. Please read #1915