.. _proposal_rewrite:

Rewrite Fedora Badges From The Ground Up
========================================

|   *Something which is state-of-the-art right now,*
|   *will eventually and inevitably become a tech debt tomorrow.*
|   -- **Pierre-Yves Chibbon**, Sometime in 2021

We are proposing a rewrite for the project from the ground up.

Justification
-------------

1. The web interface and the API service for Fedora Badges is written in Python 2 which
   has gone `EOL <https://www.python.org/doc/sunset-python-2/>`_ on January 1st, 2020.
   We could have proposed a 1:1 rewrite of the same functionality in Python 3 but
   reimplementing the features in ways that are more relevant now, makes more sense.
2. The `messages consumer <https://github.com/fedora-infra/fedbadges>`_ is bound to the
   `fedmsg <https://github.com/fedora-infra/fedmsg>`_ and needs to be reimplemented to
   be compatible with `Fedora Messaging
   <https://github.com/fedora-infra/fedora-messaging>`_. As these two projects are
   inherently different from each other in their function, not a lot of code can be
   salvaged from the previous implementation of the messsages consumer, even though the
   strategy/approach can be.
3. The web interface and the API service for Fedora Badges is written using the `Pyramid
   web framework <https://trypyramid.com/>`_ and makes use of `Mako templating system
   <https://www.makotemplates.org/>`_ which are not as `popular
   <https://gustavwillig.medium.com/python-web-development-in-2021-which-web-frameworks-are-the-most-popular-by-github-stars-e07b1d7ef6f7>`_
   as their alternatives, `Flask <https://flask.palletsprojects.com/>`_ or `FastAPI
   <https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/>`_ and `Jinja <https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/>`_
   respectively are.

   - Maintaining the codebase in its current state can be a challenge in the absence of
     comprehensive documentation, popular community support and frequent question/answer
     activity on forums regarding the topics related to the Pyramid web framework and
     Mako templating system.
   - Finding interested community members (or getting people interested to contribute to
     the project) can be difficult if a set of comparatively obscure or unpopular
     technologies are used, which might deincentivize participation here due to a
     relatively steep learning curve.

4. The frontend of the web interface is written in a form of a meta-application (i.e.
   the frontend is supposed to behave like an application and yet is implemented like a
   website) using (now, dated) templating systems, plain HTML, CSS3 frameworks and
   Javascript libraries. These could use a rewrite for improved application-like
   functionality and interactivity.
5. The current codebase has residual and/or partial implementation to accommodate Open
   Badges (or Badgr) standards for storing artworks data, awarding conditions, awardees
   etc. which have potentially never been completed and/or deployed. Cleaning up the
   said codebase or completing it before maintaining the project in its current state
   would require lots of effort.

Implementation
--------------

Here is how we are planning to have the project redeveloped.

.. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1

    prop_rewrite_entities
    prop_rewrite_interactions
    prop_rewrite_technologies