Remove **Extended Length** spec in favor of consensus **Blob** spec #188
Description
- Proposed
- Prototype: Not Started
- Implementation: Not Started
- Specification: Not Started
Summary
Deprecate and ultimately remove the Harp Extended Message Length feature once a finalized Blob specification has been accepted.
Motivation
With the new blob spec proposed, we should remove this unused feature altogether giving us more flexibility to define the Blob spec without needing to work around it.
Detailed Design
Remove this feature from the protocol since it is unused. Design the proposed Blob message type without needing to accommodate this feature in an effort to be backwards compatible. Plan the removal to take place when the Blob message type spec is merged.
The extended message length specification is not implemented on any production Harp devices across the Allen Institute and Harp Tech, nor it is used on any devices added to the whoami registry.
Removing this feature altogether would free up the need to use the packet differently in the proposed Blob spec without working around an unused feature in an attempt to be backwards-compatible.
Drawbacks
If the Extended Length spec actually is used somewhere, then the upcoming version of the protocol would be a breaking change for devices using it.
Alternatives
The Blob message type is the alternative.
Unresolved Questions
Are any designs actually using this this? Because the Blob spec is already proposed as a "breaking change" semantic version bump of the protocol, would that not be sufficient to flag that this feature is no longer supported?