96 lines
4.8 KiB
ReStructuredText
96 lines
4.8 KiB
ReStructuredText
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.. _maintenance-mode:
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Maintenance Mode from 2019
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==========================
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| Version: | 0.0.1-draft |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| GPGME Version: | 1.13.0 |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| Author: | `Ben |
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| | McGinnes <https://gnupg.org/peopl |
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| | e/index.html#sec-1-5>`__ |
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| | <ben@gnupg.org> |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| Author GPG Key: | `DB4724E6FA4286C92B4E55C4321E4E23 |
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| | 73590E5D <https://hkps.pool.sks-k |
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| | eyservers.net/pks/lookup?search=0 |
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| | xDB4724E6FA4286C92B4E55C4321E4E23 |
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| | 73590E5D&exact=on&op=get>`__ |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| Language: | Australian English, British |
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| | English |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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| xml:lang: | en-AU, en-GB, en |
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+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
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From the beginning of 2019 the Python bindings to GPGME will enter
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maintenance mode, meaning that new features will not be added and only
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bug fixes and security fixes will be made. This also means that
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documentation beyond that existing at the end of 2018 will not be
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developed further except to correct errors.
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Though use of these bindings appears to have been quite well received,
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there has been no indication of what demand there is, if any for either
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financial backing of the current Python bindings development or support
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contracts with g10code GmbH citing the necessity of including the
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bindings.
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.. _maintenance-mode-bm:
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Maintainer from 2019 onward
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---------------------------
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How does this affect the position of GnuPG Python Bindings Maintainer?
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Well, I will remain as maintainer of the bindings; but without funding
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for that position, the amount of time I will be able to dedicate solely
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to this task will be limited and reduced to volunteered time. As with
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all volunteered time and effort in free software projects, this will be
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subject to numerous external imperatives.
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.. _maintenance-mode-blade-runner:
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Using the Python Bindings from 2019 and beyond
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----------------------------------------------
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For most, if not all, Python developers using these bindings; they will
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continue to "just work" the same as they always have. Expansions of
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GPGME itself are usually handled by SWIG with the existing code and thus
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bindings are generated properly when the bindings are installed
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alongside GPGME and when the latter is built from source.
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In the rare circumstances where that is not enough to address some new
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addition to GPGME, then that is a bug and thus subject to the
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maintenance mode provisions (i.e. it will be fixed following a bug
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report being raised and your humble author will need to remember where
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the timesheet template was filed, depending on how many years off such
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an event is).
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All the GPGME functionality will continue to be accessible via the lower
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level, dynamically generated methods which match the GPGME C
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documentation. While the more intuitively Pythonic higher level layer
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already covers the vast majority of functionality people require with
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key generation, signatures, certifications (key signing), encryption,
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decryption, verification, validation, trust levels and so on.
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Any wanted features lacking in the Python bindings are usually lacking
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because they are missing from GPGME itself (e.g. revoking keys via the
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API) and in such cases they are usually deliberately excluded. More
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Any features existing in the dynamically generated layer for which
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people want a specific, higher level function included to make it more
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Pythonic (e.g. to avoid needing to learn or memorise cryptographic mode
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values or GnuPG status code numbers), would be a feature request and
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*not* a bug.
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It is still worthwhile requesting it, but the addition of such a feature
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would not be guaranteed and provided on a purely volunteer basis.
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Expediting such a request would require funding that request.
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Those with a commercial interest in expediting such a feature request
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already know how to `expedite
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it <https://gnupg.org/cgi-bin/procdonate.cgi?mode=preset>`__ (use the
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message field to state what feature is being requested).
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