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Aries RFC 0348: Transition Message Type to HTTPs

  • Authors: Stephen Curran
  • Status: RETIRED
  • Since: 2020-08-26
  • Status Note: In step 2 - community is updating implementations to send new formats. Target Completion Date: 2020.10.15
  • Supersedes:
  • Start Date: 2019-12-13
  • Tags: feature, community-update

Summary

Per issue #225, the Aries community has agreed to change the prefix for protocol message types that currently use did:sov:BzCbsNYhMrjHiqZDTUASHg;spec/ to use https://didcomm.org/. Examples of the two message types forms are:

  • Before: did:sov:BzCbsNYhMrjHiqZDTUASHg;spec/notification/1.0/ack
  • After: https://didcomm.org/notification/1.0/ack

This RFC follows the guidance in RFC 0345 about community-coordinated updates to (try to) ensure that independently deployed, interoperable agents remain interoperable throughout this transition.

The transition from the old to new formats will occur in four steps:

  • DONE Pre-work: where we agree on the transition plan outlined in this RFC.
    • Any RFC updates related to this transition needed before starting the transition are completed.

    • To Do: Identify if there any prerequisite RFC changes to be made.

  • DONE Step 1: Agent builders MUST update all agent code bases and deployments to accept incoming message types in the old (did) and new (https) formats. During this step, agents MUST default to sending out messages in the old format.
    • Each agent builder SHOULD notify the community they have completed Step 1 by submitting a PR to update their entry in the implementations accordingly.
  • IN PROGRESS Step 2: Agent builders MUST update all agent code bases and deployments to send out all messages using the new (https) format. The old (did) format is deprecated but will still be accepted. An agent deployment MAY send out an old format message type upon receipt of a message containing an old format message type.
    • Each agent builder SHOULD notify the community they have completed Step 2 by submitting a PR to update their entry in the implementations accordingly.
  • Step 3: Agent builders SHOULD update their deployments to remove all support for receiving the old format and MUST NOT send out messages using the old message type format.

Note: Any RFCs that already use the new "https" message type should continue to use the use new format in all cases—accepting and sending. New protocols defined in new and updated RFCs should use the new "https" format.

The community coordination triggers between the steps above will be as follows:

  • Pre-work to Step 1 - a PR to this RFC is merged that sets the RFC status to ACCEPTED.
  • Step 1 to Step 2 - the community agrees that the majority of the deployed agents have completed Step 1. A PR to this RFC is merged that sets the RFC status to ADOPTED.
    • Agent builders indicate completion of Step 1 by updating the Implementations section of this RFC.
    • All other RFCs in this repo are updated to use the new message type format.
    • The ADOPTED version of this RFC is included in the current Aries Interop Profile version.
  • Step 2 to Step 3 - the community agrees that the majority of the deployed agents have completed Step 2. A PR to this RFC is merged that sets the RFC status to RETIRED.
    • Agent builders indicate completion of Step 2 by updating the Implementations section of this RFC.

Motivation

To enable agent builders to independently update their code bases and deployed agents while maintaining interoperability.

Tutorial

The general mechanism for this type of transition is documented in RFC 0345 about community-coordinated updates.

The specific sequence of events to make this particular transition is outlined in the summary section of this RFC.

Reference

See the summary section of this RFC for the details of this transition.

Drawbacks

None identified.

Rationale and alternatives

This approach balances the speed of adoption with the need for independent deployment and interoperability.

Prior art

The approach outlined in RFC 0345 about community-coordinated updates is a well-known pattern for using deprecation to make breaking changes in an ecosystem. That said, this is the first attempt to use this approach in Aries. Adjustments to the transition plan will be made as needed, and RFC 0345 will be updated based on lessons learned in executing this plan.

Unresolved questions

  • Are any changes to existing RFCs needed before starting Step 1?

Implementations

The following table lists the status of various agent code bases and deployments with respect to the steps of this transition. Agent builders MUST update this table as they complete steps of the transition.

Name / Link Implementation Notes
Aries Protocol Test Suite No steps completed
Aries Toolbox Completed Step 1 code change.
Aries Framework - .NET Completed Step 1 code change
Trinsic.id No steps completed
Aries Cloud Agent - Python Completed Step 1 code change
Aries Static Agent - Python No steps completed
Aries Framework - Go Completed Step 2
Connect.Me No steps completed
Verity No steps completed
Pico Labs Completed Step 2 even though deprecated
IBM Completed Step 1 code change
IBM Agent Completed Step 1
Aries Cloud Agent - Pico Completed Step 2 code change
Aries Framework JavaScript Completed Step 2 code change