Skip to content

V2_DESIGN_SPIKE.md

Fontshow — v2.x.y Design Spike (Non-Binding)

Current version: v0.28.7.post14 Status: Exploratory only — no implementation commitment

Purpose

This document captures the design exploration for a potential Fontshow v2.x.y evolution.

It exists to:

  • explore architectural options,
  • identify risks and unknowns,
  • inform a future go / no-go decision.

This document is explicitly non-binding.

Non-Goals

This design spike does not:

  • commit to a v2 implementation,
  • define a delivery timeline,
  • deprecate existing v0.x behavior,
  • introduce breaking changes.

Any of the above requires separate planning approval.

Motivation for Exploration

Potential drivers for v2 exploration include:

  • long-term maintainability concerns,
  • clearer separation of pipeline stages,
  • extensibility via pluggable backends,
  • reduction of implicit coupling between components.

These motivations are exploratory, not prescriptive.

Candidate Architectural Directions

Pluggable Backend Model

Concept:

  • Define a narrow, explicit backend interface.
  • Allow multiple backend implementations (e.g. FontConfig-based, mock, future).

Potential benefits:

  • Improved testability.
  • Reduced environment coupling.
  • Clearer separation of concerns.

Risks:

  • Increased abstraction complexity.
  • Premature generalization.

Pipeline Stage Isolation

Concept:

  • Treat major pipeline stages as independently testable units.
  • Define strict input/output contracts between stages.

Potential benefits:

  • Easier reasoning about failures.
  • Improved robustness and diagnostics.

Risks:

  • Additional coordination overhead.
  • Potential performance impact.

Key Unknowns

  • How stable are current implicit interfaces?
  • Where does real-world coupling actually exist?
  • What level of abstraction is justified by use cases?

These unknowns must be answered before committing to v2 work.

Evaluation Criteria

A v2 initiative should proceed only if:

  • It solves clearly identified problems.
  • Benefits outweigh added complexity.
  • Migration paths are feasible and explicit.
  • Existing users are not unduly disrupted.

Possible Outcomes

This design spike may result in:

  • Proceeding with a v2 roadmap.
  • Incremental improvements within v0.x.
  • Deferring architectural changes entirely.

All outcomes are acceptable.

Relationship to Roadmap

  • This design spike corresponds to Phase 7 of the roadmap.
  • It MUST NOT influence earlier phases unless explicitly approved.

Status

This document represents an exploration snapshot. It may be revised, expanded, or archived without implementation impact.