ReX Roadmap (May 2025)

This document outlines the refined roadmap for ReX, focusing on test-driven implementation of the Compositional Content Architecture (ADR-007) and Historical-Collaborative Content Architecture (ADR-008).

Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Core Foundation & TDD Setup

Test Framework & CI/CD

• Core Testing Infrastructure

  • Set up testing framework with Vitest
  • Configure CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions
  • Implement testing patterns and utilities
  • Create code coverage reporting

• Type Verification Tests

  • Develop type compatibility testing utilities
  • Create contract verification tests for core interfaces
  • Implement naming convention linting

• Documentation Verification

  • Set up documentation testing for code examples
  • Implement automated link checking
  • Create tests for API consistency between docs and code

Core Implementation

• Content Type System

  • Implement Content<T> interface with generic support
  • Create content metadata type definitions
  • Develop content URI parsing and normalization
  • Build content operation types

• Function Composition Utilities

  • Create pipe() and compose() utilities
  • Implement middleware pattern foundation
  • Develop async function composition utilities
  • Build context propagation mechanisms

Phase 2: Storage Adapters & Environment Detection

Storage Adapters

• Base Adapter Interface

  • Implement standardized adapter interface
  • Create adapter factory functions
  • Develop capability-based feature detection
  • Build adapter testing framework

• Core Storage Implementations

  • Implement Memory adapter (for testing and in-memory usage)
  • Develop Node.js FileSystem adapter
  • Create browser IndexedDB adapter
  • Build HTTP/Fetch adapter for remote content

Environment Adaptation

• Environment Detection

  • Implement isNode(), isBrowser() utilities
  • Create capability detection for available APIs
  • Develop environment-specific feature flags
  • Build progressive enhancement framework

• Isomorphic Runtime

  • Create environment-specific builds
  • Implement conditional imports
  • Develop unified API surface
  • Build environment-switching testing tools

Phase 3: Middleware & Enhancement Layer

Core Middleware

• Middleware System

  • Implement middleware composition pattern
  • Create middleware context propagation
  • Develop middleware factory functions
  • Build middleware testing utilities

• Standard Middleware Implementations

  • Create validation middleware
  • Implement caching middleware
  • Develop logging middleware
  • Build error handling middleware

Content Stores

• Store Implementation

  • Create content store factory functions
  • Implement core read/write operations
  • Develop content listing and searching
  • Build event notification system

• Registry & Facade

  • Implement content registry for multiple adapters
  • Create content facade for unified access
  • Develop specialized content type handling
  • Build extension points for plugins

Phase 4: React Integration & Developer Experience

React Integration

• React Hooks

  • Create useContent hook for reading
  • Implement useContentWrite for modifications
  • Develop useContentList for collections
  • Build useContentObserve for reactivity

• React Components

  • Create ContentProvider context
  • Implement content-aware components
  • Develop MDX integration components
  • Build error boundary components

Developer Experience

• Developer Tools

  • Create Chrome/Firefox extension for debugging
  • Implement logging and tracing tools
  • Develop performance profiling utilities
  • Build content inspection tools

• CLI Utilities

  • Create content scaffolding tools
  • Implement schema validation utilities
  • Develop migration tools
  • Build content transformation utilities

Phase 5: Historical Content Tracking

Operation-Based History

• History Infrastructure

  • Implement operation-based history tracking
  • Create operation serialization/deserialization
  • Develop history storage adapters
  • Build temporal querying system

• Version Management

  • Implement snapshot creation
  • Create version labeling and tagging
  • Develop version comparison tools
  • Build version restoration utilities

History UI

• History Visualization
  • Create history timeline component
  • Implement diff visualization
  • Develop version browsing UI
  • Build history filtering and search

Phase 6: Collaborative Infrastructure

Collaboration Core

• Distributed Operations

  • Implement vector clock synchronization
  • Create operation transformation engine
  • Develop conflict detection system
  • Build merge resolution strategies

• Collaboration Management

  • Implement multi-user session handling
  • Create presence awareness system
  • Develop permission management
  • Build collaborative locks

Collaboration UI

• Real-time Editing
  • Create collaborative editor components
  • Implement presence indicators
  • Develop commenting and annotation UI
  • Build approval workflow components

Phase 7: Content Authoring Platform

Content Authoring

• Visual Editor

  • Create WYSIWYG editor for MDX
  • Implement component insertion UI
  • Develop media management tools
  • Build content preview system

• Publishing Workflow

  • Implement content staging
  • Create publishing pipelines
  • Develop scheduled publishing
  • Build content distribution tools

Enterprise Features

• Enterprise Capabilities
  • Implement role-based access control
  • Create audit logging
  • Develop enterprise SSO integration
  • Build compliance tools

Testing Strategy

Test-Driven Development Approach

Each feature implementation will follow this TDD workflow:

1. Interface Definition

   • Define clear interfaces and type contracts
   • Create test cases that verify interface compliance
   • Document expected behaviors and edge cases

2. Contract Tests

   • Implement tests that verify interface contracts
   • Create property-based tests for expected behaviors
   • Develop input/output validation tests

3. Implementation

   • Develop implementation to pass all tests
   • Refactor for performance and maintainability
   • Ensure test coverage meets standards (90%+)

4. Documentation Sync

   • Update documentation to match implementation
   • Verify documentation examples with automated tests
   • Ensure API consistency between code and docs

Testing Breakdown

• Unit Tests: Test individual functions and components in isolation
• Contract Tests: Verify that implementations meet interface requirements
• Integration Tests: Test interactions between components
• Property Tests: Verify behavior across a range of inputs
• Documentation Tests: Ensure code examples in docs are valid and current
• Performance Tests: Verify performance characteristics under load
• Environment Tests: Verify behavior across different environments

Technical Debt Management

To prevent accumulation of technical debt:

1. Continuous Refactoring

   • Regular refactoring sessions built into the schedule
   • No feature is complete until tests and docs are updated
   • Scheduled technical debt review sessions

2. Automated Checks

   • Linting for code style and naming conventions
   • Type checking for all code
   • Documentation link checking
   • API consistency verification

3. Review Process

   • Regular architecture reviews
   • Code reviews focused on maintainability
   • Documentation reviews for accuracy and completeness

Implementation Guidelines

All implementations will follow these principles:

1. Function Composition Over Inheritance

   • Build complex behaviors through function composition
   • Use small, focused functions with single responsibilities
   • Use factory functions instead of classes where possible

2. Pure Functions with Explicit Dependencies

   • Functions should be pure where possible
   • Dependencies explicitly passed as arguments
   • Side effects isolated and documented

3. Promise-Based APIs

   • Use async/await for all asynchronous operations
   • Return Promises for all async functions
   • Proper error handling with typed errors

4. Environment Adaptability

   • Feature detection instead of environment checking where possible
   • Graceful degradation for missing capabilities
   • Explicit environment-specific implementations

5. Strong Type Safety

   • Comprehensive type definitions for all APIs
   • Generic types for flexible implementations
   • Type guards and assertions for runtime safety

Documentation Strategy

Documentation will be maintained in sync with implementation through:

1. Documentation Tests

   • Automated testing of code examples in documentation
   • Regular verification of documentation accuracy
   • Automatic link checking and reference validation

2. API Reference Generation

   • Automated generation of API reference from code
   • Type definition extraction and visualization
   • Usage example verification

3. Implementation Cookbook Updates

   • Real-world implementation examples
   • Pattern documentation with test cases
   • Best practices and anti-patterns

Knowledge Management Strategy

To address the context window limitations mentioned:

1. Type System Graph

   • Maintain a graph of type relationships
   • Document dependencies and contracts between components
   • Track API surface evolution

2. Contract Testing

   • Test-based verification of interface compliance
   • Automated detection of breaking changes
   • Cross-reference validation between components

3. Documentation-as-Code

   • Treat documentation as executable code
   • Test documentation examples
   • Verify API consistency between docs and implementation

Current Status

✅ Complete - Feature is fully implemented 🔄 In Progress - Feature is currently being worked on ⏳ Planned - Feature is planned but not yet started

Foundation

• ✅ Architecture Decision Records
• ✅ Documentation structure
• 🔄 Test infrastructure setup
• 🔄 Core type definitions
• 🔄 Function composition utilities

Current Development Focus

1. Establishing test-driven development workflow
2. Implementing core type system
3. Building environment detection and adaptation
4. Developing memory adapter implementation

Next Steps

1. Complete test infrastructure setup
2. Implement core type system and interfaces
3. Develop function composition utilities
4. Create memory adapter implementation
5. Build environment detection and adaptation