|
| 1 | +# Advanced Issue Guidelines |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +This document defines what we **do** and **do not** consider an *Advanced Issue*. |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +Advanced Issues represent the **highest tier of contributor work** and are intended for contributors with deep familiarity with the codebase, strong architectural judgment, and the ability to own complex changes end-to-end. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Advanced contributors are trusted to make **high-impact decisions** that may affect core behavior, public APIs, or long-term maintainability of the SDK. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +--- |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +## Table of Contents |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +- [Purpose](#purpose) |
| 14 | +- [What We Consider Advanced Issues](#what-we-consider-advanced-issues) |
| 15 | + - [Source Changes in `src`](#source-changes-in-src) |
| 16 | + - [Architecture, Design, and Refactors](#architecture-design-and-refactors) |
| 17 | + - [Typing, Interfaces, and Contracts](#typing-interfaces-and-contracts) |
| 18 | + - [Documentation and Developer Guidance](#documentation-and-developer-guidance) |
| 19 | + - [Examples and Public UX](#examples-and-public-ux) |
| 20 | + - [Testing and Validation](#testing-and-validation) |
| 21 | +- [What Is NOT an Advanced Issue](#what-is-not-an-advanced-issue) |
| 22 | +- [Maintainer Guidance](#maintainer-guidance) |
| 23 | +- [Additional Resources](#additional-resources) |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +--- |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +## Purpose |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +The goal of an Advanced Issue is to: |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +- ✅ Enable **high-impact, high-responsibility contributions** |
| 32 | +- ✅ Improve core correctness, extensibility, or maintainability |
| 33 | +- ✅ Introduce or evolve architectural patterns |
| 34 | +- ✅ Prepare contributors for long-term ownership and stewardship |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +Advanced Issues assume contributors are already comfortable with: |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +- The full SDK development workflow |
| 39 | +- Navigating and reasoning across many modules |
| 40 | +- Understanding implicit invariants and contracts |
| 41 | +- Evaluating backwards compatibility and migration risk |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +Contributors are expected to: |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +- Proactively identify risks and edge cases |
| 46 | +- Propose and justify design decisions |
| 47 | +- Communicate trade-offs clearly |
| 48 | +- Take responsibility for downstream impact |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +--- |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +## What We Consider Advanced Issues |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +Advanced Issues are: |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +- ✅ Clearly motivated but **not fully specified** |
| 57 | +- ✅ Often span **multiple subsystems or layers** |
| 58 | +- ✅ Require architectural reasoning and design judgment |
| 59 | +- ✅ May involve **behavior changes or API evolution** |
| 60 | +- ✅ High impact, with **medium to high risk if done incorrectly** |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +They differ from **Intermediate Issues** in that they: |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +- ❗ Require **deep conceptual understanding** |
| 65 | +- ❗ Require **design ownership**, not just implementation |
| 66 | +- ❗ May require proposing new abstractions or patterns |
| 67 | +- ❗ May affect long-term API or architectural direction |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +--- |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +### Source Changes in `src` |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +#### Allowed |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +- Significant behavior changes with explicit rationale |
| 76 | +- Refactors spanning multiple related subsystems |
| 77 | +- Changes to core execution paths or abstractions |
| 78 | +- Bug fixes that require deep investigation across layers |
| 79 | +- Improvements that trade short-term complexity for long-term clarity |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +- Trivial or mechanical changes (use lower-tier labels) |
| 84 | +- Changes without a clear problem statement or motivation |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +--- |
| 87 | + |
| 88 | +### Architecture, Design, and Refactors |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +#### Allowed |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +- Introducing new abstractions or subsystems |
| 93 | +- Reworking existing designs to address systemic issues |
| 94 | +- Decoupling tightly coupled components |
| 95 | +- Improving extensibility or testability through redesign |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +- Architectural churn without demonstrated benefit |
| 100 | +- Refactors without migration or compatibility consideration |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +--- |
| 103 | + |
| 104 | +### Typing, Interfaces, and Contracts |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +#### Allowed |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +- Changes to public or internal interfaces with justification |
| 109 | +- Refining or formalizing implicit contracts |
| 110 | +- Improving type precision across large areas of the codebase |
| 111 | +- Introducing new shared types or protocols |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +- Interface changes without documented impact |
| 116 | +- Type-system experimentation without clear benefit |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +--- |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +### Documentation and Developer Guidance |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +#### Allowed |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +- Writing or revising architectural documentation |
| 125 | +- Explaining non-obvious design decisions |
| 126 | +- Updating guides to reflect behavioral or API changes |
| 127 | +- Adding migration notes or deprecation guidance |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | +- Documentation changes disconnected from code changes |
| 132 | +- High-level conceptual docs without implementation context |
| 133 | + |
| 134 | +--- |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | +### Examples and Public UX |
| 137 | + |
| 138 | +#### Allowed |
| 139 | + |
| 140 | +- Designing new examples for advanced or complex features |
| 141 | +- Updating examples to reflect new APIs or workflows |
| 142 | +- Improving clarity around advanced usage patterns |
| 143 | + |
| 144 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 145 | + |
| 146 | +- Example changes without corresponding documentation |
| 147 | +- Large example suites without instructional purpose |
| 148 | + |
| 149 | +--- |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +### Testing and Validation |
| 152 | + |
| 153 | +#### Allowed |
| 154 | + |
| 155 | +- Designing new test strategies or patterns |
| 156 | +- Adding comprehensive coverage for new abstractions |
| 157 | +- Refactoring test architecture to support new designs |
| 158 | +- Introducing regression tests for complex scenarios |
| 159 | + |
| 160 | +#### Not Allowed |
| 161 | + |
| 162 | +- Skipping tests for high-impact changes |
| 163 | +- Relying solely on existing coverage for new behavior |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +--- |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +## What Is NOT an Advanced Issue |
| 168 | + |
| 169 | +### Rule of Thumb |
| 170 | + |
| 171 | +> If a contributor must **design systems, evaluate trade-offs, |
| 172 | +> and take responsibility for long-term impact**, |
| 173 | +> it’s an **Advanced Issue**. |
| 174 | +
|
| 175 | +> If the work can be safely completed by following existing patterns |
| 176 | +> without design ownership, |
| 177 | +> it’s **not**. |
| 178 | +
|
| 179 | +--- |
| 180 | + |
| 181 | +## Maintainer Guidance |
| 182 | + |
| 183 | +### Label as an Advanced Issue if the issue: |
| 184 | + |
| 185 | +- ✅ Requires architectural or design decisions |
| 186 | +- ✅ Has multiple valid solution paths |
| 187 | +- ✅ May affect public APIs or core behavior |
| 188 | +- ✅ Requires careful backwards-compatibility reasoning |
| 189 | +- ✅ Is suitable for experienced, trusted contributors |
| 190 | + |
| 191 | +### Do NOT label as an Advanced Issue if the issue: |
| 192 | + |
| 193 | +- ❌ Is purely mechanical or scripted |
| 194 | +- ❌ Is well-bounded with minimal risk (use Intermediate) |
| 195 | +- ❌ Is exploratory without clear goals |
| 196 | +- ❌ Requires organizational or product-level decisions |
| 197 | + |
| 198 | +--- |
| 199 | + |
| 200 | +## Additional Resources |
| 201 | + |
| 202 | +- [Intermediate Issue Guidelines](./intermediate_issue_guidelines.md) |
| 203 | +- [Contributing Guide](../../CONTRIBUTING.md) |
| 204 | +- [SDK Developer Docs](../sdk_developers) |
| 205 | +- [DCO Signing Guide](../sdk_developers/signing.md) |
| 206 | +- [Changelog Entry Guide](../sdk_developers/changelog_entry.md) |
| 207 | +- [Discord Community](../discord.md) |
| 208 | +- [Community Calls](https://zoom-lfx.platform.linuxfoundation.org/meetings/hiero?view=week) |
0 commit comments