Enabling RPCserver call from plugins

[vncoelho]

We are currently export/import plugin with TX's state (Fault or Halt - #712).
It works in parallel with AppLog Plugin.

[erikzhang]

Why do you need to expose RpcServer.ProcessRequest?

[vncoelho]

neo-project/neo-modules#90

Inside ImportBlocks plugin we make a GetApplicationLog log call in order to export TX state.
This looks like to be the easiest and safest way to interact with AppLog Plugin without exposing plugins to suffer from the behavior of other plugins.

What do you think?

[shargon]

How do you obtain the HttpContext parameter?

[vncoelho]

Simulate it equal to null is enough, no?
https://github.com/neo-project/neo-plugins/blob/5d056228fbbe35568399e62d842fd603a0a117ca/ImportBlocks/ImportBlocks.cs#L132-L137

[shargon]

I prefer to expose Process method because is not related to Http

[vncoelho]

I think that Process method do not call the plugin's rpc call.

[erikzhang]

I think you should create the "export application logs" function in the ApplicationLogs plugin.

[vncoelho]

I think it will be quite bad at ApplicationLogs, @erikzhang. We would need to copy and reproduce the whole ImportBlocks scheme.

Because we just want a minor modification for exporting the Transaction state as well, namely chain.acc.v2.zip.
Furthermore, we want the node to check this while importing, ensuring all states reproduced by the node (the one importing the chain) is the same as the from the chain.acc.v2.zip it is importing from.

[erikzhang]

The ImportBlocks plugin should not depend on another plugin.

[vncoelho]

This is just for the case in which it is importing Transaction State using Application Logs.
We would specify this requirement while exporting chain with v2.

But, on the same line of reasoning, ApplicationLog should not depend on ImportBlocks, neither copy its functionalities.

Another option is to move the Application Log to the core, as already suggested in some thread. But I do not think it is necessary.
Application Log as a plugin looks ok to me.

I do not know the best solution, @erikzhang.
I think that as we are proposing looks quite simple and without impacts.

[erikzhang]

I'll close this first. Let's discuss it under the PR of ImportBlocks.