This page keeps experimental DotTalk++ work visible without presenting it as a finished product surface. It is intentionally a low-priority developer page.
The inventory distinguishes four states:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Developer command | Registered source exists, but the surface remains intended for development or controlled use. |
| Prototype | Code or a benchmark artifact exists, but integration and proof are incomplete. |
| Partial precursor | A narrower implemented mechanism supports part of a larger research direction. |
| Research note | The idea is recorded, but no general implementation has been proven. |
Current Experimental Inventory
| Lane | Current evidence | Honest status | Next gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hierarchical data service | src/dewey/cmd_hier.cpp, hierarchy_service.cpp, shell registration, and usage contract | Developer command. HIER can create, add, insert, move, delete, rebuild, validate, and list hierarchy nodes in the current DbArea. Several operations mutate table data. | Disposable-data runtime canary, schema contract, failure-path tests, and reviewed HELP output. |
| Dewey-style hierarchical indexing | dewey_index.hpp, dewey_benchmark.hpp, tests/dewey_benchmark.cpp, and a regression script | Prototype assets. Interfaces and benchmark material exist, but this page does not claim a validated production index implementation or current benchmark result. | Reconcile prototype interfaces, build the benchmark independently, record datasets and results, then decide whether it belongs in the engine or teaching layer. |
| Dewey Decimal education surface | src/edu/edu_dewey_decimal.cpp | Empty placeholder by contract. It exports no shell command and is intentionally behavior-neutral. | Define the educational objective before adding a command, lesson, or runtime behavior. |
| Rushmore-inspired search optimization | Simple active-CDX fast path in src/cli/cmd_locate.cpp; FoxPro search comparison notes under tests | Partial precursor plus research notes. Simple predicates may use the active CDX tag. No general Rushmore-compatible bitmap or multi-predicate optimizer is claimed. | Define optimizer scope, measurement method, fallback semantics, diagnostics, and indexed/non-indexed comparison canaries. |
| Application UI DSL | Application UI DSL Lane | Planned language lane. Menu, window, dialog, control, and event syntax is design material, not an implemented DotScript GUI system. | Parser contract, backend-neutral object model, one TUI proof, one GUI proof, and explicit unsupported syntax. |
| Tuple stream deltas | TUPLEDELTA command contract and source | Experimental skeleton. The catalog states that the loader remains incomplete until tuple-stream storage is finalized. | Storage contract, deterministic fixtures, insert/delete/update proof, and failure tests. |
| Automatic DBF creation from CSV | AUTODBF command contract and source | Experimental command. Useful schema/import behavior exists, but generated field inference and mutation safety require careful review. | Disposable-data canary matrix covering headers, generated names, types, malformed rows, and rollback expectations. |
| Maintenance and manual catalog surfaces | MAINT and MANUAL command contracts and source | Experimental documentation tools. They expose internal maintenance and manual-generation catalogs. | Stable catalog schema, read-only guarantees where intended, and SelfDoc/manual proof gates. |
| Educational black-box lab | BBOX command contract and source | Experimental education command. It teaches the data-to-processing-to-information model. | Reviewed learner objective, expected output, instructor notes, and lesson assessment. |
Hierarchical Work
The HIER command is more than an idea, but less than a supported general
hierarchical database product. Its source contract identifies it as a
dev-hierarchy command and warns that it can mutate hierarchy fields in the
current table.
Current command forms include:
HIER CREATE ROOT <node_id>
HIER ADD CHILD <parent_id> <node_id>
HIER INSERT BETWEEN <left_id> <right_id> <node_id>
HIER MOVE <node_id> TO <new_parent_id>
HIER DELETE <node_id>
HIER DELETE SUBTREE <node_id>
HIER REBUILD
HIER VALIDATE
HIER CHILDREN <node_id>
HIER SUBTREE <node_id>
This deserves controlled experiments around path rebuilding, subtree movement, orphan detection, cycles, duplicate node identifiers, ordering, and rollback. Until those experiments are repeatable, the website should call it a developer command rather than a supported database model.
Dewey Work
The repository currently contains two related but distinct Dewey directions:
- Dewey-style coordinates for hierarchy indexing. Prototype interfaces and benchmark material explore subtree, direct-child, insert-between, and path-to-root operations.
- Dewey Decimal as educational material. The current education translation unit is explicitly an empty placeholder. It should not appear in the command catalog as an available learner command.
The naming overlap should not be allowed to blur the distinction between a hierarchical coordinate scheme and a library-classification lesson. Each needs its own contract, examples, and proof state.
Rushmore Work
The current source has an important precursor: LOCATE can use a simple CDX
fast path when a simple predicate matches the active tag. Complex predicates
fall back to selector and expression evaluation.
That is evidence of index-assisted search, but it is not enough to claim a general Rushmore implementation. A broader Rushmore-inspired lane would need to make these decisions explicit:
- which predicate shapes are optimizable;
- whether multiple indexed predicates can be combined;
- whether candidate-record sets or bitmaps are used;
- how deleted, filtered, scoped, and ordered views interact;
- when the engine falls back to sequential evaluation;
- how the chosen plan is explained to the learner or developer;
- how correctness and performance are measured separately.
The initial research artifact should compare the existing simple-CDX path with the fallback scan on fixed datasets. Naming can come later; behavior and proof should come first.
Graduation Rules
An experiment should not move into supported documentation because a source file exists. Promotion requires an appropriate subset of these gates:
- Ownership - identify the engine, DotTalk++, workbench, SelfDoc, or campus owner.
- Contract - document usage, effects, mutation, risk, prerequisites, and unsupported cases.
- Build - prove the intended Windows and POSIX build surfaces.
- Runtime - run repeatable canaries against controlled data.
- Safety - use disposable data for mutating experiments and prove failure behavior.
- Help - align runtime usage, DOTREF, CMDHELP, metadata, and command catalog.
- Measurement - record dataset, machine context, command, result, and limitations for performance claims.
- Review - promote only after source, runtime, and documentation evidence agree.
See Current Work Lanes, Coding Standards, and the Website Documentation Matrix for the larger status and publication system.