[HIVE-6061] Metastore (and other) Thrift APIs should use request-response pattern

• Type: Wish
• Status: Open
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Unresolved
• Component/s: Metastore, Thrift API
• Assignee: Unassigned
• Reporter: Sergey Shelukhin
• Created: 19/Dec/13 17:57
• Updated: 19/Dec/13 19:40

Description

Wish in lieu of "brainstorming" JIRA.

Metastore Thrift APIs currently use normal method signatures (e.g. int foo(string bar, double baz)); this is problematic in Thrift because the APIs cannot be evolved without breaking compat; and weird names have to be invented because overloading is not supported either.
An easy solution to this is to have methods in the form of FooResponse foo(FooRequest req); the structures can then be evolved easily.

This may apply also to other Thrift APIs, I have not checked.

This is a brainstorming JIRA for the transformations. Obviously this will either double the API size, or cause massive backward incompatibility.
Maybe we can do 1-2 releases with both APIs, marking the old ones deprecated in some form, and then remove them?