imip-agent

docs/wiki/FuturePlans

1465:0c623c86704f
2020-08-03 Paul Boddie Changed diagram font to sans-serif.
     1 = Future Plans =     2      3 The intention is to continuously improve imip-agent to fix known problems     4 and to support missing features. Where it makes sense to do so, omissions     5 in the [[../CalendaringSupport|calendaring support]] should be addressed     6 as a matter of priority.     7      8 Various other areas of improvement are described in the     9 [[../UseCases|use cases guide]], and the functionality of imip-agent should    10 be expanded to address such use cases. The intention is that imip-agent go    11 beyond supporting the manual scheduling of events by providing functionality    12 to automate scheduling and provisioning, employing readily-adopted tools and    13 techniques that are adaptable to existing standards-based infrastructure.    14     15 See the [[../Developing|development guide]] for more information on    16 improving imip-agent.    17     18 == Specific Plans ==    19     20 The following topics are likely to be addressed first:    21     22 === Event Properties ===    23     24 The [[../CalendarManager|management interface]] does not expose the full    25 range of event properties, nor does it allow recurring events to be defined.    26 Support could be expanded for such properties.    27     28 === Event Limits ===    29     30 Being able to specify a frequently-recurring event that has many periods    31 could cause excessive amounts of free/busy data and make perusal of calendars    32 very difficult. Certain policies could be supported to avoid this:    33     34  * Reject indefinitely-recurring events    35     36  * Permit certain frequency levels only (for example: hours, days, weeks,    37  months, years, but not minutes or seconds)    38     39  * Permit only a certain number of periods per interval (for example: an    40  indicated number of periods in a day)    41     42 Such limits are orthogonal to quotas because they would apply to all events    43 created for a user.    44     45 === Quotas ===    46     47 To prevent excessive booking of resources and the resulting denial of those    48 resources, quotas could be introduced. In their most basic form, quotas    49 would resemble the restrictions imposed by event limits, but would differ    50 from event limits by imposing such restrictions on a per-user (or other)    51 basis. Some examples:    52     53   * Permit certain frequency levels depending on the organiser for a    54   resource    55     56   * Permit only a certain number of periods per interval depending on the    57   organiser (or other property derived from the organiser) for a resource    58   or for collections of resources    59     60   * Impose a total limit on the number of active events made by an    61   organiser (or other property) for a resource or for collections of    62   resources    63     64 Where quotas must be coordinated between resources, perhaps on the basis    65 of groups of users, an external mechanism might need integrating to manage    66 the activity. Such a mechanism might also support things like billing or    67 accounting for resources, although this is beyond the scope of imip-agent    68 itself.    69     70 == Other Ideas ==    71     72 Some more ideas that would be worth pursuing...    73     74 === Mail Client Integration ===    75     76 Although the original focus of imip-agent was to produce mail handling    77 programs that would be [[../MailIntegration|integrated with mail systems]],    78 some effort has been directed towards making libraries and components that    79 can be reused in other kinds of programs. Indeed, the    80 [[../CalendarManager|management interface]] employs the libraries in a    81 different way from that of the [[../AgentPrograms|agent programs]] and acts    82 as a kind of calendar client that just happens to use the same    83 [[../FilesystemUsage|filesystem structures]] to store information and    84 control the software's behaviour.    85     86 It would therefore be interesting to use the `imiptools` package, possibly    87 with some modifications, in projects like [[https://mailpile.is/|Mailpile]]    88 and other Python-based mail clients. And a process-based method of    89 integration, similar to that employed by the [[../Testing|test suite]],    90 could benefit even non-Python programs, with imip-agent-based programs    91 being run to perform certain tasks and to update schedule records that    92 would then be interpreted independently by the calling programs.    93     94 Where end-to-end encryption is being used for mail communications, such    95 client integration would be essential for imip-agent to be useful: the    96 [[../AgentPrograms|agent programs]] are unable to inspect messages without    97 access to the recipient's secret keys, and unless a recipient is willing    98 to run their own MTA on their own computer and grant access to various    99 keys so that the MTA or imip-agent can perform decryption, the only way   100 that imip-agent might see the actual content would be as part of the   101 recipient's mail client.