Add P4Runtime to the Bazel Central Registry (BCR)

[smolkaj]

This will make it convenient for other Bazel projects to depend on P4Runtime.

Without this, every Bazel project transitively depending on P4Runtime has to specify a git_override for p4runtime, which is inconvenient and not compositional.

[Eshaan-byte]

Hi @smolkaj, I'd like to work on this issue. Could you please assign it to me? I'll follow the BCR submission guidelines and coordinate with the p4c BCR addition (#5455) since this is a related effort."

[smolkaj]

Hi Eshaan, thank you for volunteering. Much appreciated!

[smolkaj]

@Eshaan-byte don't hesitate to ask here if you run into any roadblocks or have questions. (It's also always a good idea to chat with Gemini or Claude or some other LLM first these days.)

[Eshaan-byte]

Hi @smolkaj "Thanks! I've reviewed the repository and found the dependencies in proto/MODULE.bazel and the latest version (v1.4.1).
I have a few questions before I proceed:

-Strip prefix: For the BCR submission, the actual Bazel module is in the proto/ subdirectory. Should I configure the BCR to use strip_prefix = "p4runtime-1.4.1/proto" (as shown in the example at bazel/example/using-bzlmod/MODULE.bazel:15), or should the module structure be changed?

-Testing: How should I test the BCR submission? Should I verify it works with any specific downstream projects?

-Timing: Should I wait for the p4c BCR submission (#5455) to complete first, or can I proceed independently?

I'll start preparing the BCR submission in the meantime."

[smolkaj]

Great questions.

1. Yes, use strip prefix and keep the directory structure as is.

By the way, it would be good to use the latest p4runtime version at head for our BCR submission. So we probably need to cut a new release (1.4.2 I suppose). For now you can use the 1.4.1 release to make progress.

2. Testing: If you follow the standard BCR submission process, that will include setting up some build tests. Testing with a downstream project is also a good idea, but I think you won't be able to do so until after you have submitted. I'd suggest testing with p4c by patching [Bazel] Migrate to Bzlmod and Bazel 8. p4c#5454.

3. Regarding timing, since p4c depends on p4runtime, p4runtime needs to go first.

[Eshaan-byte]

"Hi @smolkaj! I've prepared the BCR submission for p4runtime 1.4.1. I have a few questions before submitting:

1. Maintainer in BCR I've listed myself as the BCR module maintainer (for the modules/p4runtime/ entry in BCR). This would give me approval rights for future BCR updates. Is this okay, or would you prefer:
   -A p4runtime core maintainer to be listed instead?
   -Both of us listed as co-maintainers?
   -Me as maintainer for now, with the option to add others later?

2. Build Targets for CI I've configured these targets for presubmit testing:
   -Proto: p4runtime_proto, p4info_proto, p4types_proto, p4data_proto
   -C++: p4runtime_cc_proto, p4info_cc_proto
   -Go: p4runtime_go_proto, p4info_go_proto
   Should I add Python targets or Windows platform testing?

3. Ready to Submit? Once you confirm the above, I'll submit the PR to BCR. Anything else I should verify? Thanks!"

[smolkaj]

Thanks Eshaan. Once you have a PR, can you please cc myself and @chrispsommers on it for visibility and post a link here?

Regarding your questions:

1. Please include the two P4 API WG chairs (@chrispsommers and myself). Before adding yourself as a maintainer, please familiarize yourself with the responsibilities and make sure your comfortable with them.

2. No need for Windows at this time, it can be added later if anyone needs it. Regarding targets, ideally we would test ALL Bazel targets (e.g. bazel build //... && bazel test //...) instead of hard-coding a specific list. Regarding Python, which targets are you referring to exactly?