67 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
67 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
# stk (Stalwart Toolkit) Design Roadmap
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## Vision
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`stk` is a lightweight, unopinionated toolkit for building games and engines. It provides a **portable, flexible, and modular foundation** for dynamically loading modules, native or WASM, without imposing design choices.
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`stk` is designed to run on POSIX/Windows using C89.
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---
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## Philosophy
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- **Lean by design:** only the essentials for modularity and hot-swapping.
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- **Predictable and safe:** behaves consistently with no hidden complexity or runtime surprises.
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- **Extensible/Optional Features:** WASM modules are add-ons, never mandatory.
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- **Non-opinionated:** developers control architecture and game logic; `stk` imposes nothing.
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- **Minimal footprint:** core remains small and free of out-of-scope features.
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- **Developer tools included:** metadata, logging/tracing, and dependency management.
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---
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## Key Principles
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1. **Portability:** Runs on systems that have dynamically linked libraries.
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2. **Simplicity:** Minimal API, easy to integrate into any engine or game.
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3. **Flexibility:** Supports multiple languages via optional WASM modules.
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4. **Performance:** Lean, predictable, small binaries; no unnecessary runtime.
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5. **Extensibility:** Optional enhancements for modern targets.
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## Design Scope
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- Provides **dynamic module loading** and **hot-swapping**.
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- Supports **native shared libraries** and **WASM modules**.
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- Includes **developer tools**: minimal metadata (name, version, dependencies), lightweight logging/tracing, and **module dependency management**.
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- Does **not enforce engine design, architecture, or coding philosophy**.
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- Public API is **C89**, ensuring portability and minimal overhead.
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## Development Phases
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### Phase 1: Native Module Support
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- Load/unload shared libraries (`.so` / `.dll`).
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- Resolve symbols dynamically.
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- Hot-swappable at runtime.
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- **Developer tools included:** metadata, logging/tracing, and dependency management.
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- Platform-agnostic (POSIX, Windows).
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### Phase 2: Optional WASM Support
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- WASM modules as an alternative backend.
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- Multi-language support (Rust, Go, Zig, etc.).
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- WASM runtime optional, old or retro hardware can ignore it.
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- Sandbox and safety checks for WASM modules.
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## High-Level Roadmap Summary
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| Phase | Focus | Core vs Optional |
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| 1 | Native modules + developer tools (metadata, logging, dependencies) | Core |
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| 2 | WASM modules | Optional |
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---
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## Strategic Benefits
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- **Modern-friendly:** Developers can use modern languages without bloating the core.
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- **Modular foundation:** Build engines, games, or theoretically any type of project on top.
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- **Scalable:** Hot-swappable modules, metadata, logging, and dependency tracking allow rapid iteration and predictable behavior.
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