gistfile1.rb

#!/usr/bin/ruby                                                                                                                          

require 'rubygems'
gem 'chef', ">= 0"
require 'chef/role'

if 1 != ARGV.length then
  print "Please specify a role name or path to it's ruby file\n"
  exit
end
role_name_or_path = ARGV[0];
if File.exists?(role_name_or_path) then
  role_path = role_name_or_path
else
 role_path = "roles/#{role_name_or_path}.rb"
end

role = Chef::Role.new
role.from_file(role_path)
print Chef::JSONCompat.to_json_pretty(role)