3cfaa1e1d3
Phase 1 delivers the complete durability and storage layer:
- WAL with crash recovery: Append-only journal with BLAKE3 checksums,
fsync guarantees, and proper seek-to-EOF on reopen
- Storage engine: sled-backed KVStore with scan_prefix for range queries
- Content-addressed storage: H:{hash}, V:{hash}, E:{hash} key patterns
- Ingestor: Background worker tailing WAL, writing to KV with 8-byte
aligned record headers for rkyv zero-copy deserialization
- Comprehensive tests: 31 tests covering crash recovery, round-trips,
and multi-cycle durability
New crates: stemedb-wal, stemedb-storage, stemedb-ingest
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
55 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
55 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# Episteme Use Cases
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Real-world scenarios that demonstrate why Episteme exists and what it enables that traditional databases cannot.
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## The Postgres Test
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Every use case must answer: **"Could I build this with Postgres + a clever schema?"**
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If yes → It's not a compelling use case.
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If no → Identify which Episteme pillar makes it impossible.
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## The Four Pillars
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| Pillar | What It Enables | Postgres Gap |
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|--------|-----------------|--------------|
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| **First-Class Contradiction** | DB holds conflicting facts without forcing resolution | Must pick one value or version-table chaos |
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| **Invalidation Cascades** | Retracted evidence flags all downstream decisions | Recursive CTEs don't scale, app logic drifts |
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| **Multi-Signature Consensus** | Weighted trust via cryptographic co-signatures | Join tables have no cryptographic proof |
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| **Semantic Decay** | Old data fades from hot path but remains auditable | Manual WHERE clauses, inconsistent decay rates |
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## Use Case Tiers
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### Tier 1: Production-Ready
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| Use Case | Pillars | Status |
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|----------|---------|--------|
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| [Financial Due Diligence](./financial-due-diligence.md) | All Four | Draft |
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| [Agile AI Agent Team](./agile-agent-team.md) | All Four | Draft |
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| Life Sciences Evidence Chains | All Four | Planned |
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### Tier 2: Hello World
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| Use Case | Pillars | Status |
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|----------|---------|--------|
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| Competing News Sources | Contradiction, Decay | Planned |
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### Tier 3: Dropped (Failed Postgres Test)
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| Use Case | Why Dropped |
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|----------|-------------|
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| ~~Coding Agent Branch Simulation~~ | Git + CI already does this. Not a database problem. |
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## Contributing Use Cases
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When adding a use case:
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1. Apply the Postgres Test rigorously
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2. Lead with the catastrophe (what goes wrong without Episteme)
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3. Show failing SQL for each feature
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4. Map to specific pillars
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5. Include a 5-minute local demo variant
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6. Be honest about what Postgres CAN do
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Template: See [financial-due-diligence.md](./financial-due-diligence.md) for structure.
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