Roadmap

Comprehensive roadmap for the Azu web framework development, including current priorities, future plans, and contribution opportunities.

Overview

This roadmap outlines the development priorities, planned features, and milestones for the Azu web framework. It serves as a guide for contributors and users to understand the direction of the project.

Current Version: v0.4.14

Current Focus Areas

Immediate Priorities

1. Performance Optimization

# Performance improvement targets
PERFORMANCE_TARGETS = {
  "request_throughput": "50,000+ requests/sec",
  "memory_usage": "< 10MB baseline",
  "startup_time": "< 100ms",
  "response_time": "< 2ms p95"
}

# Current focus areas
PERFORMANCE_AREAS = [
  "Handler chain optimization",
  "Memory allocation reduction",
  "Template rendering speed",
  "WebSocket connection efficiency"
]

2. Type Safety Enhancements

# Type safety improvements
TYPE_SAFETY_GOALS = [
  "Stricter compile-time checks",
  "Better error messages",
  "Enhanced IDE support",
  "Runtime type validation"
]

# Implementation plan
TYPE_SAFETY_PLAN = {
  "phase_1": "Enhanced endpoint type checking",
  "phase_2": "Request/response validation",
  "phase_3": "Handler type safety",
  "phase_4": "Template type checking"
}

3. Documentation Completeness

# Documentation goals
DOCUMENTATION_GOALS = {
  "api_coverage": "100%",
  "examples": "50+ working examples",
  "guides": "Comprehensive guides for all features",
  "tutorials": "Step-by-step tutorials"
}

Upcoming Version: v0.5.0

Major Features

1. Enhanced Middleware System

# New middleware capabilities
class EnhancedMiddleware
  include Handler

  # New: Conditional middleware execution
  def should_process?(request : HttpRequest) : Bool
    request.path.starts_with?("/api/")
  end

  # New: Middleware composition
  def compose(other : Handler) : Handler
    CompositeHandler.new(self, other)
  end

  # New: Middleware metrics
  def metrics : MiddlewareMetrics
    @metrics
  end
end

2. Advanced Caching System

# Multi-level caching
class AdvancedCache
  include Handler

  def initialize(
    @memory_cache : MemoryCache,
    @redis_cache : RedisCache,
    @database_cache : DatabaseCache
  )
  end

  def call(request : HttpRequest, response : Response) : Response
    # L1: Memory cache
    if cached = @memory_cache.get(cache_key(request))
      return cached
    end

    # L2: Redis cache
    if cached = @redis_cache.get(cache_key(request))
      @memory_cache.set(cache_key(request), cached)
      return cached
    end

    # L3: Database cache
    if cached = @database_cache.get(cache_key(request))
      @redis_cache.set(cache_key(request), cached)
      @memory_cache.set(cache_key(request), cached)
      return cached
    end

    # Generate fresh response
    result = @next.call(request, response)

    # Cache at all levels
    cache_response(request, result)

    result
  end
end

3. GraphQL Support

# GraphQL integration
class GraphQLEndpoint
  include Endpoint(GraphQLRequest, GraphQLResponse)

  post "/graphql"

  def call : GraphQLResponse
    query = @request.body["query"].as_s
    variables = @request.body["variables"]?

    result = GraphQL::Schema.execute(
      query: query,
      variables: variables,
      context: build_context
    )

    GraphQLResponse.new(result)
  end

  private def build_context : GraphQL::Context
    GraphQL::Context.new(
      current_user: @request.current_user,
      database: database_connection
    )
  end
end

Breaking Changes

# Planned breaking changes for v0.5.0
BREAKING_CHANGES_V050 = [
  {
    "component": "Handler Interface",
    "change": "Require explicit Handler include",
    "migration": "Add 'include Azu::Handler' to all handlers",
    "impact": "Medium"
  },
  {
    "component": "Endpoint Pattern",
    "change": "Require explicit return types",
    "migration": "Add return type annotations to call methods",
    "impact": "Low"
  },
  {
    "component": "Configuration",
    "change": "Use Azu::Configuration class",
    "migration": "Update configuration initialization",
    "impact": "Low"
  }
]

Future Versions

v0.6.0 - Microservices Support

# Service discovery and communication
class ServiceRegistry
  def register_service(name : String, address : String, port : Int32)
    # Service registration logic
  end

  def discover_service(name : String) : Array(ServiceInstance)
    # Service discovery logic
  end
end

class ServiceClient
  def initialize(@registry : ServiceRegistry)
  end

  def call_service(service_name : String, request : ServiceRequest) : ServiceResponse
    instances = @registry.discover_service(service_name)
    instance = load_balancer.select(instances)

    # Make service call
    make_request(instance, request)
  end
end

v0.7.0 - Event Sourcing

# Event sourcing support
class EventStore
  def append_events(stream_id : String, events : Array(Event))
    # Append events to stream
  end

  def read_events(stream_id : String, from_version : Int64 = 0) : Array(Event)
    # Read events from stream
  end
end

class EventSourcedAggregate
  abstract def apply(event : Event)

  def load(stream_id : String)
    events = event_store.read_events(stream_id)
    events.each { |event| apply(event) }
  end

  def save
    event_store.append_events(stream_id, uncommitted_events)
  end
end

v0.8.0 - Machine Learning Integration

# ML model serving
class MLModelEndpoint
  include Endpoint(MLRequest, MLResponse)

  post "/predict"

  def call : MLResponse
    input_data = @request.body["data"]

    prediction = ml_model.predict(input_data)
    confidence = ml_model.confidence(input_data)

    MLResponse.new(
      prediction: prediction,
      confidence: confidence,
      model_version: ml_model.version
    )
  end
end

Contribution Opportunities

High Priority Areas

# High priority contribution areas
HIGH_PRIORITY_AREAS = [
  {
    "area": "Performance Optimization",
    "description": "Improve request throughput and reduce memory usage",
    "difficulty": "Medium",
    "estimated_time": "2-4 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  },
  {
    "area": "Test Coverage",
    "description": "Increase test coverage to 95%+",
    "difficulty": "Low",
    "estimated_time": "1-2 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  },
  {
    "area": "Documentation",
    "description": "Complete API documentation and examples",
    "difficulty": "Low",
    "estimated_time": "1-3 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  },
  {
    "area": "WebSocket Features",
    "description": "Enhance real-time capabilities",
    "difficulty": "Medium",
    "estimated_time": "2-3 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  }
]

Good First Issues

# Good first issues for new contributors
GOOD_FIRST_ISSUES = [
  {
    "title": "Add missing API documentation",
    "description": "Document public methods and classes",
    "labels": ["documentation", "good first issue"],
    "estimated_time": "2-4 hours"
  },
  {
    "title": "Add unit tests for utility functions",
    "description": "Write tests for helper methods",
    "labels": ["testing", "good first issue"],
    "estimated_time": "4-6 hours"
  },
  {
    "title": "Improve error messages",
    "description": "Make error messages more user-friendly",
    "labels": ["usability", "good first issue"],
    "estimated_time": "3-5 hours"
  },
  {
    "title": "Add code examples",
    "description": "Create working examples for common use cases",
    "labels": ["documentation", "good first issue"],
    "estimated_time": "6-8 hours"
  }
]

Advanced Projects

# Advanced projects for experienced contributors
ADVANCED_PROJECTS = [
  {
    "title": "Implement GraphQL support",
    "description": "Add GraphQL endpoint and schema generation",
    "difficulty": "High",
    "estimated_time": "4-6 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  },
  {
    "title": "Build caching system",
    "description": "Implement multi-level caching with invalidation",
    "difficulty": "High",
    "estimated_time": "3-5 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  },
  {
    "title": "Add service mesh integration",
    "description": "Integrate with Istio/Linkerd for microservices",
    "difficulty": "High",
    "estimated_time": "5-8 weeks",
    "mentor": "Available"
  }
]

Release Schedule

Release Timeline

Release Strategy

# Release strategy
RELEASE_STRATEGY = {
  "major_versions": {
    "frequency": "Every 6 months",
    "breaking_changes": "Allowed",
    "migration_guide": "Required"
  },
  "minor_versions": {
    "frequency": "Every 2 months",
    "breaking_changes": "Minimal",
    "migration_guide": "Optional"
  },
  "patch_versions": {
    "frequency": "As needed",
    "breaking_changes": "None",
    "migration_guide": "None"
  }
}

Community Goals

Community Growth

# Community growth targets
COMMUNITY_GOALS = {
  "contributors": {
    "current": 15,
    "target_2024": 50,
    "target_2025": 100
  },
  "users": {
    "current": 500,
    "target_2024": 2000,
    "target_2025": 5000
  },
  "projects": {
    "current": 25,
    "target_2024": 100,
    "target_2025": 250
  }
}

Community Initiatives

# Community initiatives
COMMUNITY_INITIATIVES = [
  {
    "name": "Azu Hackathon",
    "description": "Quarterly hackathon for new features",
    "frequency": "Quarterly",
    "next_event": "2024-04-15"
  },
  {
    "name": "Contributor Mentorship",
    "description": "Pair new contributors with experienced developers",
    "frequency": "Ongoing",
    "status": "Active"
  },
  {
    "name": "Documentation Sprint",
    "description": "Focused documentation improvement sessions",
    "frequency": "Monthly",
    "next_event": "2024-03-01"
  },
  {
    "name": "Performance Challenge",
    "description": "Competition to improve framework performance",
    "frequency": "Bi-annually",
    "next_event": "2024-06-01"
  }
]

Technology Stack Evolution

Current Stack

# Current technology stack
CURRENT_STACK = {
  "language": "Crystal 1.16.0+",
  "database": "PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite",
  "cache": "Redis, Memory",
  "templates": "Crinja (Jinja2)",
  "testing": "Crystal Spec",
  "documentation": "MkDocs"
}

Future Stack Additions

# Planned technology additions
FUTURE_STACK = {
  "graphql": "GraphQL Crystal",
  "event_store": "EventStoreDB",
  "ml": "ONNX Runtime",
  "monitoring": "Prometheus, Grafana",
  "tracing": "OpenTelemetry",
  "service_mesh": "Istio/Linkerd"
}

Success Metrics

Technical Metrics

# Technical success metrics
TECHNICAL_METRICS = {
  "performance": {
    "requests_per_second": "50,000+",
    "memory_usage": "< 10MB",
    "response_time": "< 2ms p95"
  },
  "quality": {
    "test_coverage": "95%+",
    "code_quality": "A+ grade",
    "documentation": "100% coverage"
  },
  "reliability": {
    "uptime": "99.9%+",
    "error_rate": "< 0.1%",
    "recovery_time": "< 30 seconds"
  }
}

Community Metrics

# Community success metrics
COMMUNITY_METRICS = {
  "engagement": {
    "github_stars": "1000+",
    "discord_members": "500+",
    "monthly_contributors": "20+"
  },
  "adoption": {
    "production_apps": "100+",
    "github_dependents": "500+",
    "downloads_per_month": "10,000+"
  },
  "satisfaction": {
    "user_rating": "4.5+ stars",
    "developer_experience": "Excellent",
    "community_support": "Responsive"
  }
}

Getting Involved

How to Contribute

# Contribution pathways
CONTRIBUTION_PATHWAYS = [
  {
    "path": "Bug Reports",
    "description": "Report issues and bugs",
    "effort": "Low",
    "impact": "High"
  },
  {
    "path": "Documentation",
    "description": "Improve docs and examples",
    "effort": "Low",
    "impact": "High"
  },
  {
    "path": "Testing",
    "description": "Write tests and improve coverage",
    "effort": "Medium",
    "impact": "High"
  },
  {
    "path": "Features",
    "description": "Implement new features",
    "effort": "High",
    "impact": "High"
  },
  {
    "path": "Performance",
    "description": "Optimize and benchmark",
    "effort": "High",
    "impact": "Very High"
  }
]

Mentorship Program

# Mentorship program
MENTORSHIP_PROGRAM = {
  "mentors": [
    {
      "name": "Core Team Member",
      "expertise": ["Performance", "Architecture"],
      "availability": "10 hours/week"
    },
    {
      "name": "Senior Contributor",
      "expertise": ["Testing", "Documentation"],
      "availability": "5 hours/week"
    }
  ],
  "mentees": [
    {
      "name": "New Contributor",
      "goals": ["Learn Crystal", "Contribute to OSS"],
      "commitment": "5 hours/week"
    }
  ]
}

Next Steps

Immediate Actions

# Immediate actions for contributors
IMMEDIATE_ACTIONS = [
  {
    "action": "Join Discord",
    "description": "Connect with the community",
    "link": "https://discord.gg/azu-framework"
  },
  {
    "action": "Star Repository",
    "description": "Show your support",
    "link": "https://github.com/azu-framework/azu"
  },
  {
    "action": "Try Azu",
    "description": "Build a simple application",
    "link": "docs/getting-started/first-app.md"
  },
  {
    "action": "Report Issues",
    "description": "Help improve the framework",
    "link": "https://github.com/azu-framework/azu/issues"
  }
]

Long-term Vision

# Long-term vision
LONG_TERM_VISION = {
  "2024": "Establish Azu as a leading Crystal web framework",
  "2025": "Build a thriving ecosystem of tools and libraries",
  "2026": "Enable enterprise adoption with advanced features",
  "2027": "Become the go-to framework for Crystal web development"
}

Next Steps

• Development Setup - Set up your development environment

• Code Standards - Learn coding guidelines

• Contributing Guidelines - General contributing information

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Join us in building the future of Crystal web development with Azu!