Add a "prelude"

[dvdplm]

When developing a protocol with manul one ends up with a big list of import e.g. like so:

use manul::{
    digest,
    protocol::{
        Artifact, BoxedFormat, BoxedRound, CommunicationInfo, DirectMessage, EchoBroadcast, EchoRoundParticipation,
        EntryPoint, FinalizeOutcome, LocalError, MessageValidationError, NoProtocolErrors, NormalBroadcast, PartyId,
        Payload, Protocol, ProtocolError, ProtocolMessage, ProtocolMessagePart, ProtocolValidationError, ReceiveError,
        RequiredMessageParts, RequiredMessages, Round, RoundId, TransitionInfo,
    },
    session::SessionParameters,
    signature::{self, Keypair},
};
use rand_core::{CryptoRngCore, OsRng};
use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};

Can we perhaps provide a prelude so protocol authors can do use manul::prelude::* and get going quickly?

[fjarri]

Sounds like a good idea. Probably separate preludes for protocol writers and session users?

[fjarri]

I wonder: would just use manul::protocol::*; work as a prelude? I looked through our examples and synedrion protocols, and they don't really import digest/session/signature stuff.

[dvdplm]

I wonder: would just use manul::protocol::*; work as a prelude? I looked through our examples and synedrion protocols, and they don't really import digest/session/signature stuff.

Probably because they are not "one file examples" right?

Yeah, maybe that's the better way then.

Would we still export manul::protocol as manul:prelude so that users do not need to care if we reshuffle things, or if it turns out that it makes sense to add more things to the prelude? No strong opinion on this myself, and perhaps it's premature to decide on this.

[fjarri]

Would we still export manul::protocol as manul:prelude so that users do not need to care if we reshuffle things

You mean if we rename protocol to something else? It'll still be a breaking change, and I don't think renaming its occurrences it that much work.

Also note that there's a "session prelude" too which the users of protocols would want. Currently it's kind of natural: if you're a protocol writer, and you think there's too many items in the import, you just glob import from protocol. Same for session.

[dvdplm]

More than a rename I was thinking more like an alias. Today that might mean that manul::prelude::* is the same as manul::protocol::*, but it'd give us the flexibility to add stuff to the prelude whenever that suits us.