decentralization

[Joel Peshkin]

C.J. Collier wrote:

>bugzilla would do well to decentralize.  Each bugzilla server should
>communicate with others.  Bug reports should be shared between projects.
>
>For example, on bugs.debian.org bug #189211 depends on the resolution of
>bug #97177 on bugzilla.gnome.org.  There is no way to have one depend on
>the other, so it is not easy to tell when the bug is resolved.  Taking a
>look at #189211 (bugs.debian.org) will show you a bit about the unhappy
>mess this causes.
>
><snip>
>
This is actually a bit more complicated if we want it to work between 
public and non-public Bugzillas.  I could really use this-  but, for me 
to take advantage of this, I would have to be able to have a bug in my 
(non-public) Bugzilla depend on BMO's bug number xxxxx.   I often want 
to do this because I get site customization requests that rely on a 
Bugzilla enhancment.  Currently, I have no way to express this.  
Ideally, I could say....

Depends on (http:bugzilla.mozilla.org:80/bugzilla/)12345
Perhaps this could be generalized as a depends on [URL] where the URL 
would point directy at something like 
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12345 ??

This "half of a dependency," by itself, would take care of about 80% of 
the need for this feature.

Doing the other "half" and having the blocking bug on a public system be 
aware that it is blocking a bug on a non-public system as well as 
handling notifications on changes opens a whole can of worms.

If I ignore the open/closed system question and just look for a 
mechanism, the interaction could look like this.
[[Joel dons fireproof suit...]]

User on bugzilla.gnome.org makes BGO bug 12345 depende on BMO bug 54321  
(by pasting a URL into BGO??)
BGO makes BGO#12345 depend on BMO#54321
BGO contacts BMO's external_dependency.cgi and passes it the BGO URL and 
bug number and the BMO bug number (and some credentials??)
BMO contacts BGO's external_dependency.cgi and queries to ensure that 
the BGO URL is legit and BGO shows the dependency
BMO and BGO now show dependencies on each other

On status change...
BMO has a status change on 54321, contacts BGO's 
external_dependency.cgi, and posts status change information
BGO handles its resulting notifications.

Questions:  
1) Should these inter-system contacts be done by HTTP or by SMTP?? (note 
that using SMTP would make this require more than a URL)
2) Should a "trust" be needed between the 2 systems to enable this?  
(i.e.  no trust means - My users are allowed to place dependencies on 
BMO bugs and my system will track them, but BMO does not permit my 
system to make it think its bugs block mine)