diff --git a/bin/ansible-playbook b/bin/ansible-playbook
index daa64fecf8..ba88c066a6 100755
--- a/bin/ansible-playbook
+++ b/bin/ansible-playbook
@@ -52,6 +52,15 @@ class PlaybookCallbacks(object):
     def on_ok(self, host, host_result):
         print "ok: [%s]\n" % (host)
 
+    def on_setup_primary(self):
+        print "preparing nodes..."
+
+    def on_setup_secondary(self):
+        print "preparing conditional imports..."
+
+    def on_import_for_host(self, host, imported_file):
+        pass
+
     def on_play_start(self, pattern):
         print "PLAY [%s] ****************************\n" % pattern
 
diff --git a/examples/playbooks/playbook3.yml b/examples/playbooks/playbook3.yml
index 6317f4cc7a..41c6917109 100644
--- a/examples/playbooks/playbook3.yml
+++ b/examples/playbooks/playbook3.yml
@@ -1,26 +1,51 @@
 ---
-# this is not so much an example playbook file as a playbook we sometimes use
-# for testing.  I have chosen to not comment this one so folks can get
-# an idea of what a concise playbook can look like...
+# this is a demo of conditional imports.  This is a powerful concept
+# and can be used to use the same recipe for different types of hosts,
+# based on variables that bubble up from the hosts from tools such
+# as ohai or facter.
+#
+# Here's an example use case:
+#
+# what to do if the service for apache is named 'httpd' on CentOS
+# but is named 'apache' on Debian?
+
+
+# there is only one play in this playbook, it runs on all hosts
+# as root
 
 - hosts: all
   user: root
-  vars:
-    http_port: 80
-    max_clients: 200
+
+# we have a common list of variables stored in /vars/external_vars.yml
+# that we will always import
+
+# next, we want to import files that are different per operating system
+# and if no per operating system file is found, load a defaults file.
+# for instance, if the OS was "CentOS", we'd try to load vars/CentOS.yml.
+# if that was found, we would immediately stop.  However if that wasn't
+# present, we'd try to load vars/defaults.yml.  If that in turn was not
+# found, we would fail immediately, because we had gotten to the end of
+# the list without importing anything.
+
+  vars_files:
+
+
+     - "vars/external_vars.yml"
+
+
+     - [ "vars/$facter_operatingsystem.yml", "vars/defaults.yml" ]
+
+# and this is just a regular task line from a playbook, as we're used to.
+# but with variables in it that come from above.  Note that the variables
+# from above are *also* available in templates
+     
   tasks:
-  - name: simulate long running op, wait for 45s, poll every 5
-    action: command /bin/sleep 15
-    async: 45
-    poll: 5
-  - include: tasks/base.yml favcolor=blue
-  - name: write the foo config file using vars set above
-    action: template src=foo.j2 dest=/etc/some_random_foo.conf
-    notify:
-    - restart apache
+
+  - name: ensure apache is latest
+    action: $packager pkg=$apache state=latest
   - name: ensure apache is running
-    action: service name=httpd state=running
-  - name: pointless test action
-    action: command /bin/echo {{ http_port }}
-  handlers:
-    - include: handlers/handlers.yml
+    action: service name=$apache state=running
+  - name: template step
+    action: template src=/tmp/test.j2 dest=/tmp/test.out
+ 
+
diff --git a/examples/playbooks/vars/CentOS.yml b/examples/playbooks/vars/CentOS.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b75cf94e8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/playbooks/vars/CentOS.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+apache: httpd
+packager: yum
diff --git a/examples/playbooks/vars/defaults.yml b/examples/playbooks/vars/defaults.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a04588b17d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/playbooks/vars/defaults.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+packager: aptitude
+apache: apache
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook.py b/lib/ansible/playbook.py
index 333e2278a9..57dbd9e36c 100755
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import ansible.runner
 import ansible.constants as C
 from ansible import utils
 from ansible import errors
-import yaml
 import shlex
 import os
 import time
@@ -89,15 +88,6 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         vars = play.get('vars', {})
         if type(vars) != dict:
             raise errors.AnsibleError("'vars' section must contain only key/value pairs")
-        vars_files = play.get('vars_files', [])
-        for f in vars_files:
-            path = utils.path_dwim(dirname, f)
-            # FIXME: better error handling if not valid YAML 
-            # or file not found
-            # raise typed exception
-            data = file(path).read()
-            data = yaml.load(data)
-            vars.update(data)
         return vars
 
     def _include_tasks(self, play, task, dirname, new_tasks):
@@ -111,7 +101,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
                 (k,v) = x.split("=")
                 inject_vars[k] = v
             included = utils.template_from_file(path, inject_vars)
-            included = yaml.load(included)
+            included = utils.parse_yaml(included)
             for x in included:
                 new_tasks.append(x)
 
@@ -119,7 +109,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         path = utils.path_dwim(dirname, handler['include'])
         inject_vars = self._get_vars(play, dirname)
         included = utils.template_from_file(path, inject_vars)
-        included = yaml.load(included)
+        included = utils.parse_yaml(included)
         for x in included:
             new_handlers.append(x)
 
@@ -127,7 +117,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         ''' load YAML file, including handling for imported files '''
         
         dirname  = os.path.dirname(playbook)
-        playbook = yaml.load(file(playbook).read())
+        playbook = utils.parse_yaml_from_file(playbook)
 
         for play in playbook:
             tasks = play.get('tasks',[])
@@ -355,7 +345,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
  
         # walk through the results and build up
         # summary information about successes and
-        # failures.  TODO: split into subfunction
+        # failures.  FIXME: TODO: split into subfunction!
 
         dark      = results.get("dark", {})
         contacted = results.get("contacted", {})
@@ -422,22 +412,51 @@ class PlayBook(object):
                     x['run'] = []
                 x['run'].append(host)
 
-    def _run_play(self, pg):
-        '''
-        run a list of tasks for a given pattern, in order
-        '''
+    def _do_setup_step(self, pattern, vars, user, host_list, vars_files=None):
+        ''' push variables down to the systems and get variables+facts back up '''
 
-        # get configuration information about the pattern
-        pattern  = pg['hosts']
+        # this enables conditional includes like $facter_os.yml and is only done
+        # after the original pass when we have that data.
+        #
+        # FIXME: refactor into subfunction
+        # FIXME: save parsed variable results in memory to avoid excessive re-reading/parsing
+        # FIXME: currently parses imports for hosts not in the pattern, that is not wrong, but it's 
+        #        not super optimized yet either, because we wouldn't have hit them, ergo
+        #        it will raise false errors if there is no defaults variable file without any $vars
+        #        in it, which could happen on uncontacted hosts.
 
-        vars     = self._get_vars(pg, self.basedir)
-        tasks    = pg['tasks']
-        handlers = pg['handlers']
-        user     = pg.get('user', C.DEFAULT_REMOTE_USER)
+        if vars_files is not None:
+            self.callbacks.on_setup_secondary()
+            for host in host_list:
+                cache_vars = SETUP_CACHE.get(host,{})
+                SETUP_CACHE[host] = {}
+                for filename in vars_files:
+                    if type(filename) == list:
+                        # loop over all filenames, loading the first one, and failing if
+                        # none found
+                        found = False
+                        sequence = []
+                        for real_filename in filename:
+                            filename2 = utils.path_dwim(self.basedir, utils.template(real_filename, cache_vars))
+                            sequence.append(filename2)
+                            if os.path.exists(filename2):
+                                found = True
+                                data = utils.parse_yaml_from_file(filename2)
+                                SETUP_CACHE[host].update(data)
+                                self.callbacks.on_import_for_host(host, filename2)
+                                break
+                        if not found:
+                            raise errors.AnsibleError("no files matched for vars_files import sequence: %s" % sequence)
 
-        self.host_list, groups = ansible.runner.Runner.parse_hosts(self.host_list)
-
-        self.callbacks.on_play_start(pattern)
+                    else:
+                        filename2 = utils.path_dwim(self.basedir, utils.template(filename, cache_vars))
+                        if not os.path.exists(filename2):
+                            raise errors.AnsibleError("no file matched for vars_file import: %s" % filename2)
+                        data = utils.parse_yaml_from_file(filename2)
+                        SETUP_CACHE[host].update(data)
+                        self.callbacks.on_import_for_host(host, filename2)
+        else:
+            self.callbacks.on_setup_primary()
 
         # first run the setup task on every node, which gets the variables
         # written to the JSON file and will also bubble facts back up via
@@ -473,13 +492,62 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         # now for each result, load into the setup cache so we can
         # let runner template out future commands
         setup_ok = setup_results.get('contacted', {})
-        for (host, result) in setup_ok.iteritems():
-            SETUP_CACHE[host] = result
+        if vars_files is None:
+            # first pass only or we'll erase good work
+            for (host, result) in setup_ok.iteritems():
+                SETUP_CACHE[host] = result
+
+        host_list = self._prune_failed_hosts(host_list)
+        return host_list
+
+    def _run_play(self, pg):
+        '''
+        run a list of tasks for a given pattern, in order
+        '''
+
+        # get configuration information about the pattern
+        pattern  = pg['hosts']
+
+        vars       = self._get_vars(pg, self.basedir)
+        vars_files = pg.get('vars_files', {})
+        tasks      = pg.get('tasks', [])
+        handlers   = pg.get('handlers', [])
+        user       = pg.get('user', C.DEFAULT_REMOTE_USER)
+
+        self.host_list, groups = ansible.runner.Runner.parse_hosts(self.host_list)
+
+        self.callbacks.on_play_start(pattern)
+
+        # push any variables down to the system # and get facts/ohai/other data back up
+        host_list = self._do_setup_step(pattern, vars, user, self.host_list, None)
+         
+        # now with that data, handle contentional variable file imports!
+        if len(vars_files) > 0:
+            host_list = self._do_setup_step(pattern, vars, user, host_list, vars_files)
+
+        # FIXME: DUPLICATE CODE
+        # dark_hosts = setup_results.get('dark',{})
+        #contacted_hosts = setup_results.get('contacted',{})
+        #for (host, error) in dark_hosts.iteritems():
+        #    self.callbacks.on_dark_host(host, error)
+        #    self.dark[host] = 1
+        #for (host, host_result) in contacted_hosts.iteritems():
+        #    if 'failed' in host_result:
+        #        self.callbacks.on_failed(host, host_result)
+        #        self.failures[host] = 1
+
+        # FIXME: DUPLICATE CODE
+        # now for each result, load into the setup cache so we can
+        # let runner template out future commands
+        #setup_ok = setup_results.get('contacted', {})
+        #for (host, result) in setup_ok.iteritems():
+        #    SETUP_CACHE[host] = result
 
         # run all the top level tasks, these get run on every node
         for task in tasks:
             self._run_task(
-                pattern=pattern, 
+                pattern=pattern,
+                host_list=host_list,
                 task=task, 
                 handlers=handlers,
                 remote_user=user
diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner.py b/lib/ansible/runner.py
index 6698aa569f..8429462946 100755
--- a/lib/ansible/runner.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ class Runner(object):
         remote_pass=C.DEFAULT_REMOTE_PASS,
         background=0,
         basedir=None,
-        setup_cache={},
+        setup_cache=None,
         transport='paramiko',
         verbose=False):
     
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ class Runner(object):
         setup_cache -- used only by playbook (complex explanation pending)
         '''
 
+        if setup_cache is None:
+            setup_cache = {}
         self.setup_cache = setup_cache
        
         self.host_list, self.groups = self.parse_hosts(host_list)
@@ -152,7 +154,7 @@ class Runner(object):
                     # looks like a group
                     group_name = item.replace("[","").replace("]","").lstrip().rstrip()
                     groups[group_name] = []
-                else:
+                elif item != "":
                     # looks like a regular host
                     groups[group_name].append(item)
                     results.append(item)
@@ -286,13 +288,14 @@ class Runner(object):
 
         args = module_args
         if type(args) == list:
-            args = [ str(x) for x in module_args ]
-            args = " ".join(args)
+            args = " ".join([ str(x) for x in module_args ])
+        
+        # by default the args to substitute in the action line are those from the setup cache
         inject_vars = self.setup_cache.get(conn.host,{})
-        inject2 = {}
 
         # if the host file was an external script, execute it with the hostname
         # as a first parameter to get the variables to use for the host
+        inject2 = {}
         if Runner._external_variable_script is not None:
             host = conn.host
             cmd = subprocess.Popen([Runner._external_variable_script, host],
@@ -309,12 +312,15 @@ class Runner(object):
                     Runner._external_variable_script,
                     host
                 ))
-            inject_vars.update(inject2)    
-
-        # store injected variables in the templates
+            # store injected variables in the templates
+        inject_vars.update(inject2)   
+ 
         if self.module_name == 'setup':
-            for (k,v) in inject2.iteritems():
-                args = "%s %s=%s" % (args, k, v)
+            for (k,v) in inject_vars.iteritems():
+                if not k.startswith('facter_') and not k.startswith('ohai_'):
+                    if v.find(" ") != -1:
+                        v = "\"%s\"" % v
+                    args += " %s=%s" % (k, v)
 
         # the metadata location for the setup module is transparently managed
         # since it's an 'internals' module, kind of a black box. See playbook
@@ -338,7 +344,7 @@ class Runner(object):
 
     # *****************************************************
 
-    def _execute_normal_module(self, conn, host, tmp):
+    def _execute_normal_module(self, conn, host, tmp, module_name):
         ''' 
         transfer & execute a module that is not 'copy' or 'template'
         because those require extra work.
@@ -346,18 +352,19 @@ class Runner(object):
 
         # hack to make the 'shell' module keyword really be executed
         # by the command module
-        if self.module_name == 'shell':
-            self.module_name = 'command'
-            self.module_args.append("#USE_SHELL")
+        module_args = self.module_args
+        if module_name == 'shell':
+            module_name = 'command'
+            module_args.append("#USE_SHELL")
 
-        module = self._transfer_module(conn, tmp, self.module_name)
-        result = self._execute_module(conn, tmp, module, self.module_args)
+        module = self._transfer_module(conn, tmp, module_name)
+        result = self._execute_module(conn, tmp, module, module_args)
 
         # when running the setup module, which pushes vars to the host and ALSO
         # returns them (+factoids), store the variables that were returned such that commands
         # run AFTER setup use these variables for templating when executed
         # from playbooks
-        if self.module_name == 'setup':
+        if module_name == 'setup':
             host = conn.host
             try:
                 var_result = utils.parse_json(result)
@@ -377,7 +384,7 @@ class Runner(object):
 
     # *****************************************************
 
-    def _execute_async_module(self, conn, host, tmp):
+    def _execute_async_module(self, conn, host, tmp, module_name):
         ''' 
         transfer the given module name, plus the async module
         and then run the async module wrapping the other module
@@ -385,13 +392,14 @@ class Runner(object):
 
         # hack to make the 'shell' module keyword really be executed
         # by the command module
-        if self.module_name == 'shell':
-            self.module_name = 'command'
-            self.module_args.append("#USE_SHELL")
+        module_args = self.module_args
+        if module_name == 'shell':
+            module_name = 'command'
+            module_args.append("#USE_SHELL")
 
         async  = self._transfer_module(conn, tmp, 'async_wrapper')
-        module = self._transfer_module(conn, tmp, self.module_name)
-        result = self._execute_module(conn, tmp, async, self.module_args,
+        module = self._transfer_module(conn, tmp, module_name)
+        result = self._execute_module(conn, tmp, async, module_args,
            async_module=module, 
            async_jid=self.generated_jid, 
            async_limit=self.background
@@ -518,17 +526,21 @@ class Runner(object):
         # or a request to use the copy or template
         # module, call the appropriate executor function
 
+
         ok, conn = self._connect(host)
         if not ok:
             return [ host, False, conn ]
+        
+        cache = self.setup_cache.get(host, {})
+        module_name = utils.template(self.module_name, cache)
 
         tmp = self._get_tmp_path(conn)
         result = None
         if self.module_name not in [ 'copy', 'template' ]:
             if self.background == 0:
-                result = self._execute_normal_module(conn, host, tmp)
+                result = self._execute_normal_module(conn, host, tmp, module_name)
             else:
-                result = self._execute_async_module(conn, host, tmp)
+                result = self._execute_async_module(conn, host, tmp, module_name)
 
         elif self.module_name == 'copy':
             result = self._execute_copy(conn, host, tmp)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils.py b/lib/ansible/utils.py
index 28aa69ccf8..28f31dfd91 100755
--- a/lib/ansible/utils.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import os
 import shlex
 import re
 import jinja2
+import yaml
 
 try:
     import json
@@ -267,6 +268,12 @@ def template_from_file(path, vars):
     ''' run a file through the templating engine '''
     data = file(path).read()
     return template(data, vars)
+
+def parse_yaml(data):
+    return yaml.load(data)
   
+def parse_yaml_from_file(path):
+    data = file(path).read()
+    return parse_yaml(data)
 
 
diff --git a/test/CentOS.yml b/test/CentOS.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1fa27e801e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/CentOS.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+# could test something different here but want people running tests on
+# different OS platforms to still have passing tests
+testing: default
diff --git a/test/TestPlayBook.py b/test/TestPlayBook.py
index 47ce55945c..c741c298fa 100644
--- a/test/TestPlayBook.py
+++ b/test/TestPlayBook.py
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ class TestCallbacks(object):
     def on_start(self):
         self.events.append('start')
 
+    def on_setup_primary(self):
+        self.events.append([ 'primary_setup' ])
+ 
+    def on_setup_secondary(self):
+        self.events.append([ 'secondary_setup' ])
+
+    def on_import_for_host(self, host, filename):
+        self.events.append([ 'import', [ host, filename ]])
+
     def on_task_start(self, name, is_conditional):
         self.events.append([ 'task start', [ name, is_conditional ]])
 
diff --git a/test/common_vars.yml b/test/common_vars.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d9f2a9b2db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/common_vars.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+duck: quack
+cow: moo
diff --git a/test/default_os.yml b/test/default_os.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2b116d3497
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/default_os.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+testing: default
diff --git a/test/playbook1.events b/test/playbook1.events
index 9fdf1912b6..fc2f73cde9 100644
--- a/test/playbook1.events
+++ b/test/playbook1.events
@@ -7,6 +7,26 @@
                 "all"
             ]
         ], 
+        [
+            "primary_setup"
+        ], 
+        [
+            "secondary_setup"
+        ], 
+        [
+            "import", 
+            [
+                "127.0.0.1", 
+                "/home/mdehaan/ansible/test/common_vars.yml"
+            ]
+        ], 
+        [
+            "import", 
+            [
+                "127.0.0.1", 
+                "/home/mdehaan/ansible/test/CentOS.yml"
+            ]
+        ], 
         [
             "task start", 
             [
@@ -68,6 +88,25 @@
                 }
             ]
         ], 
+        [
+            "task start", 
+            [
+                "test vars_files imports", 
+                false
+            ]
+        ], 
+        [
+            "ok", 
+            [
+                "127.0.0.1", 
+                {
+                    "cmd": "echo quack moo default ", 
+                    "rc": 0, 
+                    "stderr": "", 
+                    "stdout": "quack moo default"
+                }
+            ]
+        ], 
         [
             "task start", 
             [
@@ -196,7 +235,8 @@
             "changed": 2, 
             "dark": 0, 
             "failed": 0, 
-            "resources": 8
+            "resources": 9
         }
     }
 }
+
diff --git a/test/playbook1.yml b/test/playbook1.yml
index d214b67a20..bfc3ea0488 100644
--- a/test/playbook1.yml
+++ b/test/playbook1.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@
   vars:
     answer: "Wuh, I think so, Brain, but if we didn't have ears, we'd look like weasels."
     port: 5150
-
+  vars_files:
+    - common_vars.yml
+    - [ '$facter_operatingsystem.yml', 'default_os.yml' ]
+    
   tasks:
 
   - name: test basic success command
@@ -16,6 +19,9 @@
   - name: test basic shell, plus two ways to dereference a variable
     action: shell echo $HOME $port {{ port }}
 
+  - name: test vars_files imports
+    action: shell echo $duck $cow $testing
+
 # in the command below, the test file should contain a valid template
 # and trigger the change handler
 
diff --git a/test/playbook2.yml b/test/playbook2.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..66acae50f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/playbook2.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+---
+# this is an annotated example of some features available in playbooks
+# it shows how to make sure packages are updated, how to make sure
+# services are running, and how to template files.  It also demos
+# change handlers that can restart things (or trigger other actions)
+# when resources change.  For more advanced examples, see example2.yml
+
+# on all hosts, run as the user root...
+
+- hosts: all
+  user: root
+
+  # make these variables available inside of templates
+  # for when we use the 'template' action/module later on...
+
+  vars:
+    http_port: 80
+    max_clients: 200
+
+  # define the tasks that are part of this play...
+
+  tasks:
+
+  # task #1 is to run an arbitrary command
+  # we'll simulate a long running task, wait for up to 45 seconds, poll every 5
+  # obviously this does nothing useful but you get the idea
+
+  - name: longrunner
+    action: command /bin/sleep 15
+    async: 45
+    poll: 5
+
+  # let's demo file operations.
+  #
+  # We can 'copy' files or 'template' them instead, using jinja2
+  # as the templating engine.  This is done using the variables 
+  # from the vars section above mixed in with variables bubbled up 
+  # automatically from tools like facter and ohai.  'copy' 
+  # works just like 'template' but does not do variable subsitution.
+  #
+  # If and only if the file changes, restart apache at the very
+  # end of the playbook run
+
+  - name: write some_random_foo configuration
+    action: template src=templates/foo.j2 dest=/etc/some_random_foo.conf
+    notify:
+    - restart apache
+
+  # make sure httpd is installed at the latest version
+
+  - name: install httpd
+    action: yum pkg=httpd state=latest
+
+  # make sure httpd is running
+
+  - name: httpd start
+    action: service name=httpd state=running
+
+  # handlers are only run when things change, at the very end of each
+  # play.  Let's define some.  The names are significant and must
+  # match the 'notify' sections above
+
+  handlers:
+
+    # this particular handler is run when some_random_foo.conf
+    # is changed, and only then
+
+    - name: restart apache
+      action: service name=httpd state=restarted
+
+
diff --git a/test/playbook3.yml b/test/playbook3.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..66acae50f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/playbook3.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+---
+# this is an annotated example of some features available in playbooks
+# it shows how to make sure packages are updated, how to make sure
+# services are running, and how to template files.  It also demos
+# change handlers that can restart things (or trigger other actions)
+# when resources change.  For more advanced examples, see example2.yml
+
+# on all hosts, run as the user root...
+
+- hosts: all
+  user: root
+
+  # make these variables available inside of templates
+  # for when we use the 'template' action/module later on...
+
+  vars:
+    http_port: 80
+    max_clients: 200
+
+  # define the tasks that are part of this play...
+
+  tasks:
+
+  # task #1 is to run an arbitrary command
+  # we'll simulate a long running task, wait for up to 45 seconds, poll every 5
+  # obviously this does nothing useful but you get the idea
+
+  - name: longrunner
+    action: command /bin/sleep 15
+    async: 45
+    poll: 5
+
+  # let's demo file operations.
+  #
+  # We can 'copy' files or 'template' them instead, using jinja2
+  # as the templating engine.  This is done using the variables 
+  # from the vars section above mixed in with variables bubbled up 
+  # automatically from tools like facter and ohai.  'copy' 
+  # works just like 'template' but does not do variable subsitution.
+  #
+  # If and only if the file changes, restart apache at the very
+  # end of the playbook run
+
+  - name: write some_random_foo configuration
+    action: template src=templates/foo.j2 dest=/etc/some_random_foo.conf
+    notify:
+    - restart apache
+
+  # make sure httpd is installed at the latest version
+
+  - name: install httpd
+    action: yum pkg=httpd state=latest
+
+  # make sure httpd is running
+
+  - name: httpd start
+    action: service name=httpd state=running
+
+  # handlers are only run when things change, at the very end of each
+  # play.  Let's define some.  The names are significant and must
+  # match the 'notify' sections above
+
+  handlers:
+
+    # this particular handler is run when some_random_foo.conf
+    # is changed, and only then
+
+    - name: restart apache
+      action: service name=httpd state=restarted
+
+