Advanced Notification enhancements

This proposal is partially implemented. See implementation status in the individual #Topics.

Context

The TracNotification system has not kept up with the requirements that users, administrators and developers have. The ​th:AnnouncerPlugin was developed to provide a more flexible notification system.

An alternative proposal to replace the TracNotification system with the AnnouncerPlugin has existed for some years.

Proposal

Improve the TracNotification system by:

• Deprecating the inflexible Notify class hierarchy.
• Adding new infrastructure (based on AnnouncerPlugin's proven design where appropriate) on a topic-by-topic basis.
• Adopting some general advanced features.
• Enabling plugins to provide more experimental or very specific features.

Coexistence with Announcer

This proposal would not integrate or replace Announcer as a whole. Future versions of Announcer would ideally be compatible with new TracNotification system and rebase additional non-core features on the new core infrastructure.

Future versions of announcer could also provide upgrade paths from older versions of the plugin to the new core infrastructure.

Database tables, configuration sections and extensions points adopted in core from Announcer may best be renamed to avoid confusion and upgrade troubles (especially when slightly modified).

See ​th:ticket:12120

Topics

Preliminary refactorings

• Related tickets: #11854
• Split up notification.py.
• Extract reusable functionality.
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@advanced-notification-preliminary-refactoring
  • DONE Committed for release in 1.1.3. ([13433])

Extension API for (mail) distribution

• Related tickets: #3517
• A new / extended NotificationApi
• New extension points:
  • INotificationDistributor: Different notification distribution channels (e.g. XMPP)
  • INotificationFormatter: Customized notification message formatting
  • IEmailAddressResolver: What email address should be used?
  • IEmailDecorator: Separates email header logic from message formatting
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@advanced-notification-mail-distribution
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@advanced-notification-mail-distribution.2
  • DONE Committed for release in 1.1.3. ([13454])

Extension API for subscriptions

• Related tickets: #4056, #2247
• New extension points:
  • INotificationSubscriber: Who subscribes to this message?
• Implementations providing the common simple ticket subscriptions (owner, reporter, updater, cc, etc.)
• New database table:
  • notify_subscription: Stores subscription preferences
• New preferences panel​ for managing subscriptions
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@advanced-notification-subscriptions
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@advanced-notification-subscriptions.2
  • Proposed changes can be found in psuter.hg@advanced-notification-subscriptions.4
  • DONE Committed for release in 1.1.3. ([13469])

Modular preference pages

• Notification preferences should be on shared pages, but implemented by different plugins.
• Related tickets: #11853
• Modified extensions points:
  • IPreferencePanelProvider: Child panels
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in changeset:advanced-notification-preferences/psuter.hg
  • Proposed changes can be found in changeset:advanced-notification-preferences.2/psuter.hg
  • Proposed changes can be found in changeset:advanced-notification-preferences.4/psuter.hg
  • DONE Committed for release in 1.1.3. ([13510])

Advanced subscriptions

• Related tickets: #11869, #11870, #11871, #11875, #4519, #6217
• New database table:
  • notify_watch: Stores watch preferences
• New preferences child panel​s for:
  • Watching components​
  • Joinable groups, watching users​
• Status:
  • Some proposed changes can be found in psuter.hg@T11870_watch_components
  • DONE Committed notify_watch DB table for release in 1.1.3. ([13551])
  • Some more proposed changes can be found in psuter.hg@623e0e1bdb74
  • TODO More proposed changes can be found in psuter.hg@T11870_optional_subscribers
  • Abandoned. Feel free to finish this.

XMPP

• Related tickets: #11884
• New preference child panels for:
  • XMPP Address​
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@T11884-xmpp
  • Abandoned. Feel free to finish this.

On-site notifications

• Related tickets: #11889
• New database table:
  • notify_onsite: Stores on-site notifications
• Status:
  • Proposed changes can be found in log:psuter.hg@T11889_onsite_notifications
  • Abandoned. Feel free to finish this.
  • Available as a plugin: ​th:OnSiteNotificationsPlugin.

Permission filters

• Related tickets: comment:4:ticket:5670, ​th:ticket:7349
• Status:
  • Not ready for integration in Trac.
  • Feel free to start working on this.

HTML emails

• Related tickets: #2625, #11927
• Status:
  • Integrating ​th:TracHtmlNotificationPlugin in Trac may make more sense.
  • Feel free to start working on this.

Wiki notifications

• Related tickets: #1660
• Status:
  • Feel free to start working on this.

Attachment notifications

• Related tickets: #2259, #6069
• Status:
  • DONE Independent implementation of ticket attachment notifications from scratch, see #2259.
  • Wiki attachment notifications (#6069) only make sense once wiki notifications are implemented.

Background delivery thread

• Related tickets: #3220
• Status:
  • Not ready for integration in Trac, see comment:17:ticket:3220.
  • Feel free to start working on this.

SMTP-over-SSL

• Related tickets: #4931
• Status:
  • Not ready for integration in Trac, see comments in #4931.
  • Probably obsolete assuming STARTTLS became pervasive.
  • Feel free to start working on this.

Cryptography

• Related tickets: #8294
• Status:
  • Not ready for integration in Trac.
  • Feel free to start working on this.