Return a list of minion identifiers from a request of the view.

def get_minions():
    '''
    Return a list of minion identifiers from a request of the view.
    '''
    options = _get_options(ret=None)

    # Make sure the views are valid, which includes the minions..
    if not ensure_views():
        return []

    # Make the request for the view..
    _response = _request("GET",
                         options['url'] +
                                 options['db'] +
                                 "/_design/salt/_view/minions?group=true")

    # Verify that we got a response back.
    if 'rows' not in _response:
        log.error('Unable to get available minions: %s', _response)
        return []

    # Iterate over the rows to build up a list return it.
    _ret = []
    for row in _response['rows']:
        _ret.append(row['key'])
    return _ret