Page MenuHomePhabricator

Changes to Session ID interface for MediaWiki event instrumentation
Open, Needs TriagePublic

Description

This task is to track the progress on addressing new requirements surrounding how MediaWiki generates, stores, and provides its notion of "user session ID". This work is important for the ongoing upgrade of the data analytics technology related to the Modern Event Platform.

Because the relevant interfaces in mw.user.sessionId and mw.user.generateRandomSessionId are used in a number of places throughout MediaWiki, we should be careful about altering their behavior in ways that could cause unexpected outcomes for these callers. If we determine that new behavior is required, we may need to consider a new interface (with the existing one(s) being marked deprecated), or other measures.

Here is a rough outline (these checkboxes can/will be replaced with subtasks).

  • mw.user.sessionId returns the same value during a user session which is determined by the sessionTick instrument (or its session-detecting component)
  • mw.user.sessionId returns a UUIDv4 (T266813: mw.user.generateRandomSessionId should return a UUID)
  • mw.user.sessionId stores the same cookie on all subdomains (no prefix), and is set to domain .wikimedia.org (all subdomains are part of the same browsing session)

Event Timeline

@jlinehan: In which codebase would such changes have to take place?

@jlinehan: In which codebase would such changes have to take place?

MediaWiki core (mw.user specifically) but might involve code currently in ext.WikimediaEvents.

@jlinehan: Thanks a lot! Setting project tag so other people who don't know or don't care about team tags can also find this task when searching via projects.
(Please set appropriate code project tags when possible.) Thanks!

Krinkle renamed this task from Changes to MediaWiki Session ID interface to Changes to Session ID interface for MediaWiki event instrumentation.Dec 1 2020, 2:29 AM
Krinkle moved this task from Limbo to Watching on the Performance-Team (Radar) board.
Krinkle unsubscribed.