Hi Jon, Appreciate your nicely written lament of the missing API. I fully accept your point about API changes, especially removal of existing ones, should be given heads up in the vpp-dev alias before it merges in the code base.
I merged this change for VPP L2 API as it is a nice cleanup for the response generated by VPP for the bridge_domain_details API request. Prior to this cleanup, the response of the request would come back as one API message for bridge_domain_details, which includes a field n_sw_ifs about number of interfaces in this bridge domain, followed by this number of bridge_domain_sw_if_details API messages. The cleanup patch changed the response to be just one API message of bridge_domain_details which includes an array sw_if_details [n_sw_ifs] for all BD interface related info. The change thus made the API response much simpler and also more feasible for other language bindings. Perhaps it is because the request API has not changed and only the responses were, we did not think through what difficulties the change may have caused API users without prior warning. The same patch that was merged also renamed a few API messages to follow naming conventions better: - is_address_reachable - Disabled so deleted cli_request - Renamed to cli - vnet_summary_stats_reply - Renamed to vnet_get_summary_stats_reply - bridge_domain_sw_if_details - Deleted, incorporated in main message - l2_fib_table_entry - Renamed to l2_fib_table_details Regards, John -----Original Message----- From: vpp-dev-boun...@lists.fd.io [mailto:vpp-dev-boun...@lists.fd.io] On Behalf Of Luke, Chris Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 4:40 PM To: Jon Loeliger <j...@netgate.com>; vpp-dev <vpp-dev@lists.fd.io> Subject: Re: [vpp-dev] The Case Of the Missing API Definition It's disappointing that no heads-up was posted to the list. That's the bare minimum needed so that downstream consumers are aware of a material change before it bites them, especially if they track master. I'm the last person to suggest we need rules; I hope simple courtesy can prevent this in future. :) Chris. > -----Original Message----- > From: vpp-dev-boun...@lists.fd.io [mailto:vpp-dev-boun...@lists.fd.io] > On Behalf Of Jon Loeliger > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 13:20 > To: vpp-dev <vpp-dev@lists.fd.io> > Subject: [vpp-dev] The Case Of the Missing API Definition > > Folks, > > I was causally walking down Update VPP Master Lane when I was suddenly > attacked from behind by a case of the missing API call! > I read vpp-dev mail daily, and I watch the Gerrit fervently, so I was > pretty sure I wouldn't be blind-sided by this sort of Silent Gotcha. > > But there was no mistaking it: My API call > bridge_domain_sw_if_details was gone. And only two days ago too! I was > shocked. Horrified, even. > I knew the next build my code would fail. There would be no updating > to Top-Of-Tree VPP today. > > What would I tell my boss? *My* code was broken? Surely you wouldn't > expect me to fall on the "I'm sorry. My code is broken." sword. My > own code! Surely I could blame someone else? I mean, what if there > were some email from the developers? A little heads-up that the API > was on The Out and would soon go the way of Sonny Bono. But no, no, > there wasn't even a hint. > > I was going to have to admit I failed to see this coming in the Gerrit > reviews. > > And now, without even lunch, I would have to deduce what data used to > be in that API call, and how it was cached in my VPP interface > library, and yes, I'd have to scurry to find where that data was located now. > > But how? How could this be? I lamented still. I just knew last time > *I* wanted an API interface change, I spent a week discussing it on > the list, and, after deliberation a-plenty, a new API was needed, and > then later, in fact after a complete release cycle, we could begin to > discuss how the old API call might be deprecated and finally removed. > I longed for the day that we would finally make progress, content in > the knowledge that we had not, in fact, blind-sided anyone with our API > deprecation plan. > > But those days are behind us now, and the future comes at us plenty fast. > Commits are committed, and progress is progressed. My scars are > healing, and after all this water under and through the bridge, I have > learned now to just laugh at these situations. > > Ah, to be young again, and not have wasted my youth on backward > compatibility and cheap Scotch. > > jdl > _______________________________________________ > vpp-dev mailing list > vpp-dev@lists.fd.io > https://lists.fd.io/mailman/listinfo/vpp-dev _______________________________________________ vpp-dev mailing list vpp-dev@lists.fd.io https://lists.fd.io/mailman/listinfo/vpp-dev _______________________________________________ vpp-dev mailing list vpp-dev@lists.fd.io https://lists.fd.io/mailman/listinfo/vpp-dev
