Store and use a cache of the loaded ModInfo data to mod-info-cache.json
in the mods directory during startup. For simplicity this does not
cache mods added to the controller or host after startup, these get
added to the cache on the next startup.
Add suffixes like Ms and Ns to variables whos time unit is not in
seconds. This is aligning with a new code style of putting units
on variables that are not in SI base units.
Refactor away the config group concept and simplyfy the way config
fields are defined. Fields are defined directly as properties of the
static field fieldDefinitions on the class itself with a separate
interface to declare the types of fields.
This makes it possible to easily make accessing the config fields type
checked in a way that lets plugins extend the interfaces with their own
config options by adding additional fields to the interface via
declation merging.
Refactor the Config and ConfigGroup classes to match the JSON data class
pattern with toJSON, toRemote and fromJSON methods replacing the load,
init, and serialize methods. Since fromJSON requires extra information
the messages structures passes around the plain JSON representation of
the configs instead of serialising instances of the config classes
automatically.
Keep a copy of the instance saves details on the controller so that
saves can be queried even when the host is disconnected and the
controller can properly track and provide updates on the saves to
its clients.
Download and cache needed mods to run instance mod packs on instance
startup. To avoid opening too many download streams at once only one
mod is downloaded at a time.
Use the JSON data class pattern for User, Role, and PlayerStats and move
them into lib/src/data. This means that User is purely data now and
can't reference role objects directly. To make it possible easily check
permissions attached to roles and store data only visible on the
controller on user objects a ControllerUser type is introduced which is
linked with the UserManager and can therefore reference role objects
directly.
Resolves#525.
The unknown status happens when an instance is on a host that has
disconnected, but since alt-host is not spawned in the tests on
Windows this status is not observed.
Move all functions and classes currently available through lib/name and
libName to be under a single flat namespace in lib. This make
reorganising the lib namespace much simpler as the location of symbols
can move without breaking the consumers of lib.
The multi-entrypoint design was already problematic for the web plugin
system which couldn't effectively use it due to how webpack's shared
module system is awkward to set up with multiple entrypoints per package.
Update non-web related dependencies to their latest version were
possible. It appears yargs has changed its parsing of command line
options to no longer remove a layer of quotes.
It makes more sense to put the address first then have the large
structure to send as the second argument to sendTo. The opposite order
was originally chosen to be similar to that of sendto in BSD sockets.
Validate messages received on the controller from hosts and control
nodes before handling or forwarding them. This should prevent
performing actions that are not allowed by the role system and block
simple attacks such as spoofing the source address of a message.
Reverse the direction of the API for sending messages from
messageDefinition.send(link, { content });
to
link.send(new MessageClass(content));
and convert all message definitions to use the JSON serialisable class
pattern and explicit registration of message handlers, along with a
end-to-end based routing of messages instead of link to link.
The experience I gained from the existing way messages were defined and
sent over links was that it was difficult to understand for people
unfamiliar with the system. The automatic registration of message
handlers ment that code was being called as if by magic from nowhere
with no easy way to discover it. The manual forwarding and rules for
what can be sent where and how obscured its working.
The use of pure JSON as both input and output from message handlers made
it tedious to work with. Data had to be manually converted between the
program representation and the over the wire format, which made handler
code unplesant to write. Particularly because the over the wire format
used snake_case while the program code uses camelCase for variables.
The idea behind the decision to do it this way was to make it more clear
which data came from the wire and which from the program, and while this
worked it didn't make message handlers any nicer to write.
The direction of the API and magic registration of message handlers also
meant that a future migration to TypeScript would be troublesome. While
it may be possible to implement, the degree of TypeScript magic required
would go starkly against the principle of keep it simple stupid.
By refactoring to using the JSON serialisable class pattern most of
these issues go away. There is no longer a need to distinguish the on
wire format of messages with the program representation because the only
place that deals with the wire format of messages are the toJSON and
fromJSON methods on the classes themselves. Message handlers will work
with proper instances of classes instead of raw data, something that
makes them easier to write, and trivial to type with TypeScript.
End-to-end routing also simplifies sending messages that need to do
mulitple hops to reach the destination. And removes the need for having
all messages be specified in plugin's info module, as they can be routed
without having to be parsed completely.
The explicit registration of message handlers is something that I
thought would be tedious boilerplate code that could be automated away.
But experience now shows it to be the opposite. Allthough dull
repetition, the purpose it serves is to link together the code in a way
that humans can easily find. With explicit registration searching the
name of the message handler in the editor will show the registration that
ties it together with the type of message it handles and the kind of
registration. With implicit registration searching the name of the
message handler turns up only the handler with no clue as to what calls
it.
Danielv123