Re: [Webpush] Message update PR

[Martin Thomson <[e-mail]>]

Sorry about the much-belated response.  I'm updating the PR with a
length restriction.  Still not sure about the

On 12 January 2016 at 12:04, Costin Manolache <[e-mail]> wrote:
> I know broadcast is not in scope for this release - but if/when we add it,
> it will make things
> more confusing with topic.

Hmm, that may be right.  But a short name that isn't already taken is
hard to find.  Collapse-Key is highly application-specific and I know
that HTTP have a problem with single-purpose header fields.  I was
tempted to suggest "Subject" actually as being similar, but not the
same.

>> Would the base64(url) alphabet suit you well enough?  I didn't add
>> that restriction.
>>
>> What about a length restriction?  I think that Ben and I discussed
>> just rejecting push messages with ridiculously long topic names.
>>
>
> Agreed, base64(url) with a reasonable size is good.

UUID runs to quite a few characters, so how about 32 characters from
the base64 URL-safe alphabet.  I'll put that in the PR.

> Current patch requires the messages to include the topic header, and it
> still
> generates 3 message IDs ( "creates a new push message resource")

Yes, you are right.  Though I think that you only need a single message ID here.

> Alternative would be to just allow updating the original resource, if it was
> not sent.

Yes, but that requires knowing the identity of the original resource,
something that requires additional state at the application server.
The discussion at the last meeting revealed that many application
servers don't like this as it imposes restrictions on how they operate
and a bunch of extra state.

> BTW - there is one important change in the patch, allowing push senders to
> DELETE
> the resource. Allowing update would be consistent with that.

Yes, DELETE is very useful, though it does require some state.  This
isn't really new though.

Note that you can also push with the same topic and a very short TTL
to in-effect reduce the TTL of an existing message.  I struggled to
explain that clearly in the PR as Brian will tell you, but it's an
option for those who don't like maintaining the extra state.