← Back to Dev

FOUNDATION STATUS SUMMARY

Documentation for FOUNDATION_STATUS_SUMMARY from the Ds ex repository.

Foundation Integration Status Summary

Current Status: ✅ WORKING WITH WORKAROUNDS

DSPEx Foundation integration is functional but required several workarounds due to Foundation API contract violations.

Foundation Contract Violations Identified

1. Config System Issues ❌

Issue: Foundation.Config has severe limitations:

  • Runtime Updates Forbidden: Cannot set application config at runtime
  • Restrictive Allowed Paths: Only pre-defined system paths allowed
  • No Intermediate Map Creation: Setting nested paths doesn’t create parent maps
  • Inconsistent API: Set individual leaves but can’t retrieve intermediate maps

Error Example:

{:error, %Foundation.Types.Error{
  error_type: :config_update_forbidden, 
  message: "Configuration path [:dspex] cannot be updated at runtime"
}}

Workaround: Implemented fallback configuration system using GenServer state

2. Infrastructure APIs Missing ❌

Issue: Foundation.Infrastructure APIs are undefined:

  • Foundation.Infrastructure.execute_protected/3 circuit breaker not found
  • Foundation.Infrastructure.initialize_circuit_breaker/2 undefined

Workaround: Disabled circuit breaker protection, direct execution fallback

3. Telemetry API Inconsistencies ⚠️

Issue: Foundation.Telemetry helper methods undefined:

  • Foundation.Telemetry.emit_histogram/3 undefined
  • Foundation.Telemetry.emit_counter/2 undefined
  • Foundation.Telemetry.emit_gauge/3 undefined

Workaround: Using standard :telemetry.execute/3 calls directly

4. Events API Stability ⚠️

Issue: Foundation.Events APIs causing GenServer crashes:

  • Event validation failures
  • Inconsistent event structure requirements

Workaround: Disabled Foundation.Events calls temporarily

Working Components ✅

Foundation Core Services

  • ✅ Application startup and lifecycle
  • ✅ Service registry (Foundation.ServiceRegistry.register/3)
  • ✅ Basic telemetry attachment (Foundation.Telemetry.attach_handlers/1)
  • ✅ Error context creation (Foundation.ErrorContext.new/3)
  • ✅ Correlation ID generation (Foundation.Utils.generate_correlation_id/0)

DSPEx Integration Achievements

  • ✅ All tests passing (31 tests, 0 failures)
  • ✅ Clean compilation with Foundation dependency
  • ✅ Service registration working
  • ✅ Telemetry events flowing
  • ✅ Error context integration
  • ✅ Configuration management (via fallback)

Recommendations

Immediate (Foundation v0.1.2)

  1. Fix Config System: Allow runtime application config updates
  2. Complete Infrastructure APIs: Implement circuit breaker and rate limiting
  3. Stabilize Telemetry Helpers: Provide documented helper methods
  4. Fix Events Validation: Ensure consistent event structure requirements

Short-term (Foundation v0.2.0)

  1. Documentation: Provide clear API contracts and examples
  2. Breaking Change Policy: Establish API stability guarantees
  3. Integration Tests: Test Foundation with real applications

Long-term Architectural Decision

Based on contract violations, consider either:

  • Option A: Wait for Foundation API stabilization (recommended if timeline allows)
  • Option B: Switch to local Foundation dependency for debugging/fixing
  • Option C: Minimal Foundation integration (only stable components)

Current Workaround Architecture

DSPEx Application
├── Foundation (Core Services Only)
│   ├── ✅ Application Lifecycle  
│   ├── ✅ Service Registry
│   ├── ✅ Basic Telemetry
│   └── ✅ Error Context
├── DSPEx Fallback Systems
│   ├── ✅ Configuration Manager (GenServer state)
│   ├── ✅ Direct HTTP Requests (no circuit breaker)
│   ├── ✅ Standard Telemetry Events
│   └── ✅ Simple Error Handling
└── Full Test Coverage ✅

Status: Foundation Shows Promise But Needs API Maturity

Foundation provides valuable infrastructure concepts but requires significant API stabilization before production use. The fallback implementations demonstrate that DSPEx can work with or without Foundation’s advanced features.

Next Decision Point: Evaluate Foundation progress in ~1 week or switch to local dependency for collaborative debugging.