Proposal: refactor local eligibility server into new repo

[thekaveman]

Background

The localhost/server directory contains a simple Flask app implementing a very basic Eligibility Verification API server. This server can be used for testing benefits with only local resources via the service defined in localhost/docker-compose.yml. Read more about running the test verification server.

Proposal

1. Create a new repository, tentatively called cal-itp/eligibility-server (suggestions welcome)
2. Move the current localhost/server project there
3. Set up the usual tooling (pre-commit, mkdocs, etc.)

Goals

There are a number of advantages in having a standalone server project. A more robust implementation can help us design better testing scenarios for the client (benefits), while creating a path towards expanding into new eligibilities that may require custom verification logic. Separate projects can move at different speeds and respond to needs more nimbly.

The initial goals would be:

• Usable by benefits in a local development context for testing (e.g. via a public Docker image)
• Usage documentation, beyond the sparse text we have online now

During the transition, we don't need any major changes or features added for the server; the primary goal is to split the two projects apart while maintaining their current compatibility.

Alternatives

The status quo, where the server lives side-by-side in this same repository, is not all that bad. It simplifies local usage of the test server, and keeps a tight relationship between the client and server tokenization and encryption code. We could alternatively refactor the server into a top-level directory and work on it as a more monorepo concept.

[machikoyasuda]

This ticket has been started here: https://github.com/cal-itp/eligibility-server

[thekaveman]

Closing this as the server code has officially be refactored / is running over in cal-itp/eligibility-server.

Remaining tasks for the refactor in this repository are being tracked in #127.