>What do you think about just supporting the "major version promise" but
providing a Version number

It doesn't really solve the issue. It still requires users/clients to be
proactive to be correct.

>they would have enough information from the API to decide

That's the heart of it, really: doing the right thing requires proactive
work, where doing the wrong thing, just not writing the code to make that
decision and making the request anyway, is easy. It's not that I'm a
diehard for versioning, or that it's the only way to solve the problems.
The core concern, is making a system where the mistake or wrong thing is
easy, and the right and safe path takes proactive work. Because people just
won't do it. Whether it's a CDN or an airplane or a hospital, if the right
thing takes extra work, people will do the dangerous thing, every time,
until things break.

Is there any way to modify your Version suggestion, so that the safe thing,
ensuring versions match, is automatic; and the risky thing what's proactive
and takes extra work to circumvent normal operation?

>I think the TO API version should be independent of the TC release version

I agree, I don't like it either, that's a concession on my part, to make
everything else work; and it makes some people happy.

> seems like a workaround to the issue of minor versioning (i.e. the major
version is now the minor version)

Conceptually, that's one way to think of it. But it seems to achieve a lot
of conflicting goals. At the moment, it looks like the thing that achieves
most people's highest priorities, while incurring the fewest people's
highest dislikes.


On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 5:43 PM Rawlin Peters <rawlin.pet...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> EDIT:
>
> > I don't think our TO API version should be independent of the TC release
> version
>
> That was supposed to be:
> "I think the TO API version should be independent of the TC release
> version"
>
> On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 5:32 PM Rawlin Peters <rawlin.pet...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > 1. Agree
> > 2. Removal hasn't really been a problem recently, the major concern is
> addition
> >   2b. Agree, but I could potentially see a lot of the same issues as
> > minor versioning w.r.t. increased complexity in the codebase to
> > support PATCH operations
> >   2c. Rob's apiver library seems like a double-edged sword. It might
> > make it easier to support minor versioning, but truly supporting minor
> > versioning is a brand new feature that would require specialized
> > implementation across the entire API (in addition to the maintenance
> > cost of being heavily reflection-based)
> > 3. I've stated this before, but I think we just have to move forward
> > with strong types in the API and communicate that it was really a
> > breaking change that API clients need to be aware of. Stringly-typed
> > values are bad.
> > 4. I think this could largely be addressed by including a "Version"
> > field in all struct types (what I proposed earlier today on this
> > thread). If you get a Version back that's less than what you expected,
> > you might be trying to set fields that the API doesn't support yet. If
> > Version is greater than what you expected, you might be wiping out
> > values in new, unknown fields. If the Version is exactly what you
> > expect, you are safe to update at will.
> > 5. Agree, but this seems mostly unrelated to the topic at hand.
> >
> > My thoughts on Rob's proposal for only rolling majors for the TC version:
> > - seems to go against semantic versioning at the TC-level (i.e. not
> > clear that certain releases are just hotfix releases,
> > backwards-compatible releases, or releases with major new
> > functionality that might be disruptive)
> > - seems like a workaround to the issue of minor versioning (i.e. the
> > major version is now the minor version)
> > - I don't think our TO API version should be independent of the TC
> > release version
> > - seems like it would unnecessarily break a lot of clients due to
> > always incrementing the API major version even when no breaking
> > changes have been made to an API.
> >
> > What do you think about just supporting the "major version promise"
> > but providing a Version number in all the TC structs? The Version
> > number would essentially be a true, minor version of the struct (even
> > incremented every time a new field is added). For clients that might
> > cause data loss if not working off the exact same struct versions,
> > they would have enough information from the API to decide whether or
> > not they should proceed with an update operation. Then, for clients
> > that are "round-trip safe" (i.e. don't drop unknown JSON fields on a
> > GET), they can totally ignore the Version info and continue to operate
> > as they do today.
> >
> > - Rawlin
> >
> > On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 3:39 PM Gray, Jonathan
> > <jonathan_g...@comcast.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Also to be sure I'm tracking properly the complex subject here:
> > >
> > > 1. Today there are two promises:
> > >   1a. One major rev back at the project level for all code/api/etc
> > >   1b. API versions independently (but probably not stable enough on
> whatever the latest is due to self-discipline/definition)
> > >
> > > 2.  Primary issues around API stability are the addition and removal
> of routes/fields
> > >   2a.  This relates to the discussion around 1b
> > >   2b.  A significant portion of this could be mitigated through the
> support of a PATCH operation as opposed to passing full objects around
> which already has inherent race conditions in a multi-user system.
> > >   2c.  This is where maintenance costs are potentially very high, but
> might be mitigated somewhat through rob's apiver library.
> > >
> > > 3.  Secondary issues are around strong versus weak typing
> > >   3a. This is the primary source or breakage lately and is the result
> of conversions from perl to go
> > >   3b.  This breaks not only promise 1b, but also promise 1a.
> > >   3c.  The solution to this is simply to be more diligent in the use
> of existing or new datatypes until such time that a new major revision of
> either 1a or 1b is made.  Example use case issue #3304.
> > >
> > > 4.  Better support for discoverability and compatibility by and
> between API components/consumers
> > >   4a.  At the moment there is no way as a client to know which API
> versions are supported by an arbitrary TO instance.  Documented in issue
> #2872
> > >   4b. This leads to failure scenarios wherein TO isn't upgraded first
> or newer clients exist.  I stopped counting when 5 different people
> internally ran into this with the addition of the 1.4 API for us.
> > >
> > > 5.  There are additional concerns with how we handle 1b with regard to
> master as opposed to OSS releases and promise 1a
> > >   5a. There is a lack of formality when it comes to does component X
> on master changeset A work with component Y on master changeset B before it
> lands in OSS Release Q.
> > >   5b.  Presently this entails SME reviewing changelogs of component X
> & Y.
> > >   5c.  This is the question SemVer helps with by better defining that
> formality at the API layer.
> > >     5c.i.  It's not a total solution because unversioned
> payloads/workflows such as the CRConfig can still cause additional issues.
> > >   5d.  This is where today we're relying on our existing monolithic
> repository and one version to rule them all stance so that in theory we
> never ask 5a
> > >     5d.i.  This is backed by our current testing procedures.  When
> running TO API tests today it's presumed to use one version inside the CIAB
> environment.
> > >
> > > I think if we can clarify and agree on this, the questsions around how
> to version technically and ATC-based clients versus 3rd-party clients is
> mostly mitigated.
> > >
> > > Jonathan G
> > >
> > >
> > > On 4/19/19, 1:26 PM, "Rawlin Peters" <rawlin.pet...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >     How about this:
> > >     1. At the Go struct level, every struct for an API endpoint gets a
> > >     "Version" field.
> > >     2. Every time a backwards-compatible field is added to an API
> > >     endpoint, the Version is incremented for that struct (even if a TC
> > >     release hasn't been made between increments).
> > >     3. This Version field is read-only and included in all GET/PUT/POST
> > >     JSON responses.
> > >
> > >     For the Go TO client, this would allow the client to GET a resource
> > >     and check if the resource's version matches the version that the
> > >     client is currently using. If the client is just reading certain
> > >     fields and only cares to read the fields it already knows about, it
> > >     wouldn't have to check the version field at all. If the client
> wants
> > >     to update a resource, it could GET the resource, compare the
> resource
> > >     versions, and make a determination about whether or not the update
> > >     would be safe. If the versions match, it can safely update the
> > >     resource without risk of data loss. If the versions do NOT match,
> the
> > >     client might choose to error out instead and/or send an email to
> the
> > >     maintainer that it should be recompiled for safety.
> > >
> > >     This would allow classes of clients that handle unknown fields
> > >     properly (e.g. Traffic Portal, Python+Java TO clients) to continue
> > >     working as they do today, only having to worry about the API major
> > >     version.
> > >
> > >     For clients that might be more susceptible to data loss due to
> > >     addition of unknown fields (e.g. Go TO client), they would have
> enough
> > >     information returned to them by the API in order to know if they
> can
> > >     safely make updates to resources. If a Go TO client is only reading
> > >     certain fields and not making updates, it would probably never
> need to
> > >     be recompiled for the entire life of the API major version. If a
> Go TO
> > >     client is updating resources, it only needs recompiled as often as
> the
> > >     APIs its actually using have been updated.
> > >
> > >     This would allow random, non-standard TO clients to be written and
> > >     used for as long as possible before recompilation is required, and
> > >     allow the client to build in proper safeguards only where
> necessary.
> > >
> > >     - Rawlin
> > >
> > >     On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 12:01 PM Robert Butts <r...@apache.org>
> wrote:
> > >     >
> > >     > I'm trying really hard to come up with a solution that addresses
> everyone's
> > >     > major concerns. I think we'll have a better product, that
> everyone can live
> > >     > with, if we all try to think of solutions and are willing to
> compromise,
> > >     > rather than take hard-line approach and refuse to compromise,
> and argue
> > >     > until we're all just unhappy, and whatever gets pushed through
> meets a few
> > >     > people's concerns and nobody else's. I'd definitely appreciate
> any help in
> > >     > that regard.
> > >     >
> > >     > Sometimes there really are only two options, A or B. But this
> particular
> > >     > issue has countless possibilities. We're all smart people, we
> can figure
> > >     > something out that addresses everyone's needs and concerns.
> > >     >
> > >     > What about this idea:
> > >     >
> > >     > Along the lines of @hbeatty 's suggestion, what if we:
> > >     >
> > >     > 1. Make the API version match the TC version.
> > >     > 2. Always release new TC major versions, never do TC minor
> version releases.
> > >     > 3. Support one major version back, in the API and clients.
> > >     > 4. New backward-compatible changes require a TC=API major
> version increase.
> > >     > 5. OPTIONAL: There should be an API route to get the exact TC
> version (e.g.
> > >     > https://.../api/v3/version). (This isn't strictly necessary,
> but it's
> > >     > on @hbeatty
> > >     > 's list, and I know it's on @jonathan_gray 's, and it's
> super-easy and
> > >     > there's no reason not to.)
> > >     >
> > >     > This:
> > >     > 1. Addresses the client version bugs concern: older clients
> simply don't
> > >     > work because we don't support them, and newer clients will get
> the "please
> > >     > downgrade" response.
> > >     > 2. Addresses the code ease-of-writing concern: We only ever have
> to
> > >     > maintain 1 older version in the API, which will typically only
> be a few
> > >     > fields on a few endpoints.
> > >     > 3. Partially addresses the ease-of-use concern
> (Ops/@jonathan_gray). It
> > >     > addresses the scripts-breaking-things problem, but it does make
> user
> > >     > scripts have a hard upgrade deadline. I see this as the biggest
> weakness of
> > >     > this idea, and unfortunately I don't see a remedy; if the
> user-side people
> > >     > are willing to live with that?
> > >     > 4. Patch versions are still ok. This doesn't prevent e.g. 4.0.1
> when we
> > >     > find a major bug in a release; just adding new things that would
> be a
> > >     > SemVer Minor Version.
> > >     >
> > >     > Some points:
> > >     > 1. Only doing major versions, we'll obviously quickly reach
> Traffic Control
> > >     > Version 47. I think that's ok. There's precedent for this,
> Chrome and
> > >     > Firefox both do this, Chrome's latest version is 68 and Firefox
> is 66. It
> > >     > might seem odd, but I don't think there are any big downsides.
> > >     > 2. This will make @jonathan_gray 's (/ Ops) life slightly
> harder, having to
> > >     > upgrade script clients more frequently. But it prevents the data
> loss risks
> > >     > (which I know everyone here doesn't agree with, but some of us
> do, so bear
> > >     > with me), and upgrading our maintained clients should be
> relatively simple.
> > >     > 2.1 As @hbeatty points out, if we release at a 6-month interval,
> this would
> > >     > mean scripts using old clients would be supported for 1 year. We
> could
> > >     > optionally support 2 major versions back, if we were willing to
> live with a
> > >     > little more server work, to support 2-year-old clients.
> > >     >
> > >     > Just to be clear, I personally don't like making the API version
> match the
> > >     > TC version, for reasons I won't get into here. I also loathe
> Reflection.
> > >     > But I can live with those things, if it addresses everyone
> else's concerns.
> > >     > This proposal isn't perfect; there is no perfect solution that
> will fulfill
> > >     > everyone's ideal. But, is this something we could live with? If
> not, is
> > >     > there a way to modify it to address whatever is unacceptable,
> while still
> > >     > addressing the major concerns others have? Or is this just right
> out?
> > >     >
> > >     >
> > >     > On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 10:43 AM Jeff Elsloo <els...@apache.org>
> wrote:
> > >     >
> > >     > > Without actually seeing how that would look across the code
> base, the
> > >     > > best I can say is maybe. On the surface your proposal seems to
> improve
> > >     > > the areas I'm concerned about, but we still have this implicit
> model
> > >     > > where the server is responsible for dealing with older clients
> that
> > >     > > might not submit all data as expected. This implicitly
> requires us to
> > >     > > handle the absence of that data in future APIs and think about
> how any
> > >     > > change might impact all client versions across versions of ATC.
> > >     > >
> > >     > > My concern really amounts to the investment of time required
> to think
> > >     > > through and implement changes that may affect the myriad of
> different
> > >     > > client/server version combinations. If we remove that from the
> > >     > > equation entirely, we have a much simpler API that has a 1:1
> > >     > > correspondence with the route and function, and only one way to
> > >     > > create/update a $thing (i.e.: a delivery service). I think
> having only
> > >     > > one way to create/update a $thing is a much safer way of doing
> > >     > > business than continuing to support multiple versions of
> clients,
> > >     > > regardless of how easy that might be with this proposed
> approach.
> > >     > > Unless I'm missing something, the implementation might be
> simplified
> > >     > > using this approach but the complexity of solving for the
> combination
> > >     > > of client versions still exists which makes it harder to do
> anything
> > >     > > when writing API code.
> > >     > >
> > >     > > So, it isn't a matter of whether this approach is simple
> enough for us
> > >     > > to continue with semantic versioning. It's a matter of whether
> we want
> > >     > > to have to continue to deal with older clients that prevent us
> from
> > >     > > making certain changes in the API because we are afraid of
> breaking
> > >     > > that client. I think that's a lot of burden for our small
> development
> > >     > > team to shoulder for questionable utility. Viewed from another
> lens,
> > >     > > with the semantic versioning approach we are enabling clients
> to be
> > >     > > lazy about updating their _unknown and custom_ client code at
> the cost
> > >     > > of developer productivity and progress on our project.
> > >     > >
> > >     > > I'm not saying that semantic versioning is solely to blame for
> our
> > >     > > lack of progress on our migration to Golang, but it's one more
> thing
> > >     > > that is slowing us down and definitely hasn't helped improve
> progress.
> > >     > > --
> > >     > > Thanks,
> > >     > > Jeff
> > >     > >
> > >     > > On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 3:23 PM Robert Butts <r...@apache.org>
> wrote:
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > > >This is about simplifying our code in the API
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > > @jeff.elsloo That's what the tag solution I proposed does.
> The only
> > >     > > > difference from not versioning, is that fields will have a
> new tag,
> > >     > > > "NewField *int `json:"newField, db:"new_field", api:"1.5"`,
> and endpoints
> > >     > > > will have an extra line, "json := api.NewJSON("1.4")".
> That's it. That
> > >     > > > would be the entirety of the API code (or very nearly,
> Rawlin is right, I
> > >     > > > haven't implemented it to be 100% sure). The library itself
> is also tiny,
> > >     > > > it's ~250 lines of logic in a single file. 500 lines
> including comments
> > >     > > and
> > >     > > > boilerplate.
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > > How do you feel about that? Would that be simple enough?
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > > On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 3:15 PM Fieck, Brennan <
> > >     > > brennan_fi...@comcast.com>
> > >     > > > wrote:
> > >     > > >
> > >     > > > > >If you're deploying the head of master, API minor
> versioning doesn't
> > >     > > > > really solve that consistent API problem unless we start
> saying that
> > >     > > > > every single new field added to an API endpoint is a new
> minor version
> > >     > > > > instead of just incrementing an API's version once per TC
> release.
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > Yeah, you shouldn't expect an active development branch to
> be stable -
> > >     > > > > it's the whole reason we have releases at all. We can't
> support
> > >     > > something
> > >     > > > > that changes potentially a dozen times in a day.
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > >If someone goes
> > >     > > > > to the trouble to understand how our APIs work and
> develops their own
> > >     > > > > client code, why is it so unreasonable to expect them to
> also
> > >     > > > > understand how an update of Traffic Ops could impact their
> _custom_
> > >     > > > > tooling?
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > I agree with this so hard. I'd love to just say "TO vX
> uses the vX API,
> > >     > > > > major changes to the biggest TC component are a major
> change to TC",
> > >     > > but at
> > >     > > > > any given time we support and provide bug/security fixes
> for versions
> > >     > > X and
> > >     > > > > X-1. I'll settle for eliminating minor API versions,
> though.
> > >     > > Developers can
> > >     > > > > be expected to understand that changing versions of a
> thing can change
> > >     > > > > aspects of the ways in which you can interact with said
> thing. A major
> > >     > > > > version change means major changes and a minor version
> change means
> > >     > > minor
> > >     > > > > changes.
> > >     > > > > ________________________________________
> > >     > > > > From: Jeff Elsloo <jeff.els...@gmail.com>
> > >     > > > > Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2019 2:59 PM
> > >     > > > > To: dev@trafficcontrol.apache.org
> > >     > > > > Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: Traffic Ops API versioning
> issues
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > > Maybe I'm the only one, and everyone else can vote me
> out, but I
> > >     > > don't
> > >     > > > > see
> > >     > > > > that as acceptable. It's our responsibility as developers
> to create a
> > >     > > safe
> > >     > > > > user experience, and unacceptable to declare real bugs to
> be the user's
> > >     > > > > fault for not using it right. When our Production CDN goes
> down
> > >     > > because an
> > >     > > > > Ops person used an old client and didn't "just recompile,"
> it's not
> > >     > > that
> > >     > > > > Ops person's fault, it's our fault as Developers, for
> designing a
> > >     > > dangerous
> > >     > > > > system. Our job is to prevent the CDN from going down, not
> to shift the
> > >     > > > > blame when it does.
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > I don't think this is about shifting blame, safety, or the
> potential
> > >     > > > > to crash a CDN. This is about simplifying our code in the
> API and
> > >     > > > > making it more maintainable. If we simplify the API, we
> can accelerate
> > >     > > > > development and get more things done, and maybe even
> complete this
> > >     > > > > Golang migration. Another plus is simplification of routes
> by
> > >     > > > > eliminating versioning means less code and likely more
> stability and
> > >     > > > > safety, easier testing, and less developer confusion, in
> the long run.
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > I think it's unreasonable for us to shoulder the burden
> and cost to
> > >     > > > > maintain various API versions because we're afraid we
> might break some
> > >     > > > > client out in the wild that might or might not exist. If
> someone goes
> > >     > > > > to the trouble to understand how our APIs work and
> develops their own
> > >     > > > > client code, why is it so unreasonable to expect them to
> also
> > >     > > > > understand how an update of Traffic Ops could impact their
> _custom_
> > >     > > > > tooling?
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > Obviously we have to hold up our end of the deal and have
> good API
> > >     > > > > documentation and change logs. I think the cost of
> maintaining that is
> > >     > > > > much less than API versioning given our experience,
> especially after
> > >     > > > > we simplify the APIs. We're already doing much of that
> today.
> > >     > > > > --
> > >     > > > > Thanks,
> > >     > > > > Jeff
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > > > > On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 11:37 AM Robert Butts <
> r...@apache.org> wrote:
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >Without minor versions, #3497 would not even an issue.
> It's only an
> > >     > > > > issue
> > >     > > > > > because of the attempt to support minor versioning.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > That's simply not true. It's exactly the same issue.
> Removing minor
> > >     > > > > > versioning just hides the issue. You have declared:
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >only certain clients that don't handle new unknown
> fields would
> > >     > > > > > potentially be broken
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >all the client has to do is recompile
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > Something doesn't cease to be an issue, because you
> redefine it to
> > >     > > be the
> > >     > > > > > user's fault. It's exactly the same issue, removing
> minor versions
> > >     > > just
> > >     > > > > > makes it much more difficult to debug.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > You're proposing not only removing minor versions, but
> creating data
> > >     > > loss
> > >     > > > > > and version mismatch bugs, and declaring them to be the
> user's fault.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > Maybe I'm the only one, and everyone else can vote me
> out, but I
> > >     > > don't
> > >     > > > > see
> > >     > > > > > that as acceptable. It's our responsibility as
> developers to create a
> > >     > > > > safe
> > >     > > > > > user experience, and unacceptable to declare real bugs
> to be the
> > >     > > user's
> > >     > > > > > fault for not using it right. When our Production CDN
> goes down
> > >     > > because
> > >     > > > > an
> > >     > > > > > Ops person used an old client and didn't "just
> recompile," it's not
> > >     > > that
> > >     > > > > > Ops person's fault, it's our fault as Developers, for
> designing a
> > >     > > > > dangerous
> > >     > > > > > system. Our job is to prevent the CDN from going down,
> not to shift
> > >     > > the
> > >     > > > > > blame when it does.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >Switching all the endpoints over to your "apiver"
> library would not
> > >     > > be
> > >     > > > > as
> > >     > > > > > trivial to implement or remove as you make it sound.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > Maybe. I'm offering to do it. If you're sure, why don't
> you let me
> > >     > > > > > demonstrate, and prove myself wrong?
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >It would require lots of added API test coverage
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > Require? That would be ideal, but we have supported
> minor versions
> > >     > > for
> > >     > > > > the
> > >     > > > > > history of Traffic Ops, and never had extensive version
> tests. I
> > >     > > agree we
> > >     > > > > > should, but you're adding additional requirements to
> further your
> > >     > > > > position,
> > >     > > > > > which doesn't seem fair. Notwithstanding, the tag
> library already
> > >     > > has 90%
> > >     > > > > > test coverage and 3x as many lines of test code as
> logic; and the API
> > >     > > > > Tests
> > >     > > > > > are actually pretty easy, I just added one in the
> old-version-update
> > >     > > fix,
> > >     > > > > > and it was much easier than I expected:
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > >
> https://github.com/apache/trafficcontrol/pull/3500/commits/16f2c96f086836f1d655fd62e673ee0a5e95e785
> > >     > > > > > .
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >Certain UPDATE queries might be easy to generate from a
> given
> > >     > > struct if
> > >     > > > > > the struct only uses a single table, but I don't think
> something like
> > >     > > > > that
> > >     > > > > > would work for a field like
> `cachegroup.LocalizationMethods` which
> > >     > > > > doesn't
> > >     > > > > > come from the cachegroups table
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > I believe it is easy. The function to parse tags can use
> the tags in
> > >     > > the
> > >     > > > > > primary object (Cachegroup), and the sub-objects
> > >     > > (LocalizationMethods)
> > >     > > > > will
> > >     > > > > > have their own version tags. I could be mistaken, I
> haven't actually
> > >     > > > > > written the code yet, but I'm pretty sure sub-objects
> with
> > >     > > sub-updates
> > >     > > > > > won't be any more difficult or require much if any
> special logic.
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 10:37 AM Gray, Jonathan <
> > >     > > > > jonathan_g...@comcast.com>
> > >     > > > > > wrote:
> > >     > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > > At the end of the day, what I want is a consistent API
> that I can
> > >     > > code
> > >     > > > > > > against in the head of master that's treated like a
> contract.  As
> > >     > > an
> > >     > > > > API
> > >     > > > > > > user outside of the ATC repo it's incredibly
> frustrating to have my
> > >     > > > > stuff
> > >     > > > > > > break all the time.  It basically encourages never
> developing
> > >     > > using the
> > >     > > > > > > latest API versions (regardless of how they're defined
> and even
> > >     > > then
> > >     > > > > things
> > >     > > > > > > still break retroactively) or a non-official OSS
> release
> > >     > > alltogether.
> > >     > > > > It's
> > >     > > > > > > a catch22 to be forced to either not vendor the
> go/python/bash
> > >     > > > > libraries
> > >     > > > > > > which leads to constant develop/recompile/deploys in
> lockstep with
> > >     > > ATC
> > >     > > > > or
> > >     > > > > > > vendor and still have to do these things when stuff
> breaks anyway
> > >     > > in
> > >     > > > > the
> > >     > > > > > > API.  Really debating the native client libraries at
> all is just a
> > >     > > red
> > >     > > > > > > herring because the root issue is the HTTP API itself
> which is the
> > >     > > real
> > >     > > > > > > thing to care about since not all integrations use one
> of the
> > >     > > client
> > >     > > > > > > libraries, nor can be forced to do so, and may require
> a rigid API
> > >     > > > > > > definition.
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > > Jonathan G
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > > On 4/18/19, 10:12 AM, "Rawlin Peters" <
> rawlin.pet...@gmail.com>
> > >     > > > > wrote:
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     > The UPDATE statements need modified to fix #3497
> even if we
> > >     > > get
> > >     > > > > rid
> > >     > > > > > > of
> > >     > > > > > >     > versioning. Unless we decide to permanently
> break all clients
> > >     > > > > older
> > >     > > > > > > than
> > >     > > > > > >     > the newest server field, with every new server
> upgrade. The
> > >     > > only
> > >     > > > > > > other
> > >     > > > > > >     > option is to fix the updates. Unless you know of
> a way to fix
> > >     > > > > missing
> > >     > > > > > >     > fields without changing the update statements,
> that I'm not
> > >     > > > > seeing?
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     By removing minor versioning, only certain clients
> that don't
> > >     > > > > handle
> > >     > > > > > >     new unknown fields would potentially be broken,
> and I believe
> > >     > > only
> > >     > > > > the
> > >     > > > > > >     TO Go client has that problem in our repo.
> However, the TO Go
> > >     > > > > client
> > >     > > > > > >     happens to use the same Go structs as
> traffic_ops_golang, so
> > >     > > > > whenever
> > >     > > > > > >     new fields are added to the API, all the client
> has to do is
> > >     > > > > recompile
> > >     > > > > > >     with the up-to-date structs. Unless we made
> breaking changes
> > >     > > to the
> > >     > > > > > >     client, in most cases all that would be needed for
> those
> > >     > > clients
> > >     > > > > is a
> > >     > > > > > >     recompile. Traffic Portal, the Python TO client,
> and I'm pretty
> > >     > > > > sure
> > >     > > > > > >     the Java TO client all handle unknown fields
> properly.
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     Without minor versions, #3497 would not even an
> issue. It's
> > >     > > only an
> > >     > > > > > >     issue because of the attempt to support minor
> versioning. If we
> > >     > > > > just
> > >     > > > > > >     support the major version, all client requests
> would be
> > >     > > treated as
> > >     > > > > v1,
> > >     > > > > > >     and there would only ever be one SQL UPDATE
> statement per major
> > >     > > > > > >     version. We wouldn't need to "upgrade" 1.2
> requests into a 1.4
> > >     > > > > struct
> > >     > > > > > >     (thus preventing the bug in #3497) by selecting
> and inserting
> > >     > > all
> > >     > > > > 1.4
> > >     > > > > > >     values from the DB into the struct before handling
> the request
> > >     > > or
> > >     > > > > > >     dynamically generating the SQL UPDATE statement to
> use based
> > >     > > on the
> > >     > > > > > >     requested minor version.
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     > So, this solution actually gives us
> > >     > > > > > >     > this bug fix almost for free. All that's
> required is another
> > >     > > > > small
> > >     > > > > > > function
> > >     > > > > > >     > to iterate over the object fields to create the
> update query.
> > >     > > > > It's
> > >     > > > > > > by far
> > >     > > > > > >     > the easiest and simplest fix for #3497; unless
> we also
> > >     > > > > permanently
> > >     > > > > > > break
> > >     > > > > > >     > all older clients on every server upgrade along
> with the
> > >     > > minor
> > >     > > > > > > version
> > >     > > > > > >     > removal.
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     Switching all the endpoints over to your "apiver"
> library would
> > >     > > > > not be
> > >     > > > > > >     as trivial to implement or remove as you make it
> sound. It
> > >     > > would
> > >     > > > > > >     require lots of added API test coverage and a
> non-trivial
> > >     > > amount of
> > >     > > > > > >     code modifications to all API endpoints. Certain
> UPDATE queries
> > >     > > > > might
> > >     > > > > > >     be easy to generate from a given struct if the
> struct only
> > >     > > uses a
> > >     > > > > > >     single table, but I don't think something like
> that would work
> > >     > > for
> > >     > > > > a
> > >     > > > > > >     field like `cachegroup.LocalizationMethods` which
> doesn't come
> > >     > > from
> > >     > > > > > >     the cachegroups table and is updated separately
> from the rest
> > >     > > of
> > >     > > > > the
> > >     > > > > > >     cachegroup fields.
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >     - Rawlin
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > > > >
> > >     > > > >
> > >     > >
> > >
> > >
>

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