transparency-dev / transparency-dev/tessera

Tessera witnessing does not support "optional" witnesses

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bug
Dominant language
Go
Stars
238
Forks
56
Avg merge
1d 2h
Merged PRs (30d)
35

Description

Assuming I'm reading the code correctly: WithWitnesses (https://github.com/transparency-dev/tessera/blob/74fce42c1afed0a0dab12744d59ed30960fdbe98/append_lifecycle.go#L1133) only allows passing a WitnessGroup, i.e. ~something like the quorum of a tlog-policy.

However, in some circumstances, I'd like to be able to configure a witness which does not contribute to quorum. Unfortunately I don't think this API enables me to do that. (But happy be told I'm wrong.) As such those "optional" witnesses are degraded to "never" witnesses.

Perhaps this is an opportunity to switch over to https://github.com/transparency-dev/formats/blob/main/policy/tlog_policy.go?

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with WithWitnesses in append_lifecycle.go around line 1133 and compare its WitnessGroup requirements with the tlog policy format in transparency-dev/formats/policy/tlog_policy.go. Determine how a witness that does not contribute to quorum should be represented and whether switching policy formats fits this API. Done means optional witnesses can be configured without being treated as never witnesses, with the relevant behavior covered by tests if existing test locations are found.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
go
Domain
backend-api-design
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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