RFC #564: Is a derived cross-workload index needed from day one?

[znerol2]

Moved from #600, so the question can be discussed in the RFC category.

The question

Questions such as "which workloads use function X" cannot be answered by files in git alone. Does the platform need a derived index from the first release, or only when someone asks a cross-workload question?

What the plan proposes

• Files in git cannot answer cross-workload questions by themselves: a git Data Source syncs files, not queryable objects.
• Section 2 proposes that any index is strictly derived. It must be regenerable from the artifacts, never edited, and never a second source of truth.
• At facility scale, tens to low hundreds of designs, an index is a performance optimisation and not a correctness requirement. It can be added later without moving the source of truth.
• Section 2 also states the standing constraint that the console may cache but never own.
• The plan does not propose building an index first. Section 8 says to build the schema before the editor.

What would change the answer

• A concrete cross-workload question that is too slow or too awkward to answer by reading and filtering the artifacts.
• Facility scale well beyond a few hundred designs.
• A requirement for a view that needs queries across workloads, such as capacity or licence reporting.

Links

• Discussion: https://github.com/orgs/dmfdeploy/discussions/564
• Plan: https://github.com/dmfdeploy/dmfdeploy/blob/main/docs/plans/DMF%20Media%20Workload%20Design%20Canvas%20Plan.md

This is a request for comment. Answering it does not start any work.