Shibboleth Developers

["Scott Cantor" <>]

I've had this up for a couple of months, but haven't drawn attention to it.
I'm looking at starting actual work on this soon, so I'm interested in any
input or comment on it.

https://spaces.internet2.edu/display/SHIB2/SPRoadmapSimplerConfig

It's kind of "structured" unstructured thinking, but includes a good summary
of what I was thinking about doing, and examples of some of the main
features.

The main thing to note is that I'm pretty settled on implementing this as a
translation tool that takes a new configuration file and generates the right
XML, rather than extending or modifying the SP to include an alternate
format. There are a few reasons for that:

- addresses the requirement that in the next release the "default" approach
for new installs should be the simpler config, but the original config
should load without any special settings added for older sites

- avoids any complexity in supporting configuration reload, since the
translation step would overwrite the XML file, and trigger reloads normally

- decouples the releases of the translation tool from the SP releases, so
that the tool can evolve independently

The latter is the biggest plus to me because it keeps the new format
relatively informal for now, and allows it to evolve with new features as
they're needed, without having to change it in lockstep with the SP.

Obviously particular versions of the tool will be bundled with each SP
release, and it will be "part of" the SP, but also something that can be
adjusted separately.

My expectation for usability is that it would be a command line tool
scriptable via make on Unix, and a simple Windows applet invoked with a
Start Menu shortcut on Windows, so it shouldn't be awkward to run the
translation step. I expect it to just be part of using the SP and making
changes, for people that want to use the simpler format.

Something I'm not focused on trying to support right now is to allow for
"customization" of the resulting XML to support adjustments that would be in
addition to the use cases supported by the new format, but the translation
approach makes that possible later.

Anyway, I would welcome any input on the approach and the examples in the
wiki, particularly as to whether it's the right sweet spot for features
supported vs. complexity.

-- Scott