Prerequisite and dependency mapping

Problem

Future execution adapter work — supporting new databases, adding streaming execution, enabling cross-database joins — has unclear prerequisites and dependency chains. Without a mapped dependency graph, teams starting on these features will repeatedly discover missing foundational pieces (shared connection pooling, result type normalization, adapter plugin interfaces) only after beginning implementation, inflating startup cost and causing mid-project redesigns.

Context

• Future work on the YAML contract, compiler/normalizer, execution adapters, and release/versioning will fail or stall if its hidden dependencies stay implicit, so this task should make the enabling conditions visible before anyone commits implementation effort.
• The goal is to understand which technical, product, operational, or partner-side prerequisites gate the most important next bets.
• Expected touchpoints include dataface/core/, schema/compiled types, docs, and core test suites, adjacent workstream plans, external dependencies, and any architectural decisions that would constrain later options.

Possible Solutions

• A - Let each future initiative discover its own blockers as it starts: workable short term, but it creates repeated surprise and thrash.
• B - Recommended: produce a dependency map for the most important future directions: identify technical enablers, ownership gaps, sequencing constraints, and external dependencies up front.
• C - Treat everything as blocked until all possible prerequisites are solved: safe on paper, but too broad to be useful.

Plan

1. List the future directions most likely to matter for the YAML contract, compiler/normalizer, execution adapters, and release/versioning and enumerate the dependencies each one appears to require.
2. Group those dependencies into themes such as architecture, data/contracts, operations, design, or external approvals and identify likely owners.
3. Highlight the prerequisites that unlock multiple future paths and the ones that are too speculative to prioritize yet.
4. Turn the highest-value prerequisites into sequenced follow-up tasks or explicit decision points rather than leaving them buried in notes.

Implementation Progress

Review Feedback

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