Add `disable_servicetype` option?

[ColinLaws]

I recently upgraded to the latest version of the @protobuf-ts/* packages and updated the option names passed to protoc to their new ones, for instance disable_service_client was renamed to force_client_none; however, I am no longer able to prevent protobuf-ts from generating services in my typescript files.

I have tried to dig into the source code for this package and understand how options for service generation are used, but I can't seem to find anything that is standing out. I have also tried to remove all other options I was using and only specified force_client_none but to no avail. I have also tried using the client_none option, but again, services are still generated.

I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing this issue, or if anyone else could try to reproduce this.

The full command I am running is:

npx protoc \
    --proto_path="${MY_PATH}" \
    --plugin="protoc-gen-ts=${PROTOC_PATH}" \
    --ts_out="${PROTOC_OUT_DIR}" \
    --ts_opt force_client_none \
    --ts_opt generate_dependencies \
    --ts_opt long_type_string \
    --experimental_allow_proto3_optional \
   ${FILES}

While my protos are generated fine, again, the services are being generated and this is problematic for the project I am working on.

[timostamm]

Sorry for the inconvenience. Version 2.0.0 had a few intentional breaking changes (following semver):
https://github.com/timostamm/protobuf-ts/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#v200

force_client_none not working must be a bug that slipped in in v2.2.0. The options parsing was refactored and unfortunately, it doesn't have test coverage.

[timostamm]

I gave it a look, but force_client_none still works. 2.0.0 added generation of service metadata:

/**
 * @generated ServiceType for protobuf service spec.ExampleService
 */
export const ExampleService = new ServiceType("spec.ExampleService", [
    { name: "Unary", options: {}, I: ExampleRequest, O: ExampleResponse },
    { name: "ServerStream", serverStreaming: true, options: {}, I: ExampleRequest, O: ExampleResponse },
    { name: "ClientStream", clientStreaming: true, options: {}, I: ExampleRequest, O: ExampleResponse },
    { name: "Bidi", serverStreaming: true, clientStreaming: true, options: {}, I: ExampleRequest, O: ExampleResponse }
]);

Do you mean those?

[ColinLaws]

Ah yes, I see, I am referring to the metadata. In my haste I hadn’t examined exactly what the symbol was referring to. I just moved from 1.0.13 to 2.2.1 and updated my proto generator script that uses this plugin, and concluded the appearance of the metadata meant something went wrong with my migration to the new plugin.

Currently this is making it a pain in my use case, since I export my generated models and services to a public api surface in an Angular library, and the names of the service metadata constants and my services are conflicting because they follow the same naming convention. To get around it, I’d have to export my generated typescript models by hand to avoid the conflict.

I suggest a change to append the word Metadata on the end of it.

[timostamm]

Got it, that's a good point. If we appended Metadata, it might break existing code for other users.

I wonder if it would have been better to only generate the service metadata if the user opts in with a plugin option - and automatically enable it if the user sets an option that requires it. However, that too is a breaking change, so it would probably be best to do that in v3.

In the meantime, what do you think about an option to disable the generation explicitly? The downside is that it would really only be a temporary option, and be removed in v3.

[ColinLaws]

I agree, definitely keep it generating the metadata for services at the moment to avoid breaking dependents of the package. I would also agree that adding an option to prevent the metadata from generating would be a good work around for anyone who may potentially run into the issue I am.

With that said, I would be willing to make this change, however I am not very familiar with the intricacies of this package. I can take a look later today at what would need to be added, but without having to do too much guess work, could you point me in the right direction for where the metadata is being generated? From my understanding of how the project is laid out, the @protobuf-ts/plugin package is the actual implementation, and the @protobuf-ts/plugin-framework is a set of utilities you separated which help in building protoc plugins.

Thanks for your help on this, I really appreciate it. This package is a huge help to something we're building.

[timostamm]

That would be much appreciated.

I think the new option can simply disable the following line with an if-statement:

protobuf-ts/packages/plugin/src/protobufts-plugin.ts

Line 301 in e231157

genServiceType.generateServiceType(outMain, descriptor)

The new option should be added somewhere here:

protobuf-ts/packages/plugin/src/protobufts-plugin.ts

Line 82 in e231157

add_pb_suffix: {

And then be parsed into the internal options object (which needs a new property) here:

protobuf-ts/packages/plugin/src/our-options.ts

Line 205 in e231157

export function makeInternalOptions(

Then it will be available via options.xxx for the if-statement.

The new option probably belongs into the "misc" category (since it is independent of client and server). "disable_servicetype" seems like a fitting name.

[ColinLaws]

Sorry for the wait! I haven't had much time and got side tracked. I hope to get these changes in soon. Your notes really helped me jump in and get started. Also, installing/testing/building was super easy with the Makefile.

[ColinLaws]

Submitted PR #268 to add this functionality.