RFC-XXXX: [Title]

Delete these italicized instructions before submitting your RFC. For details of the RFC process, see https://github.com/documentdb/documentdb/blob/main/rfcs/0003-rfc-process.md

RFC statuses follow this flow:

[Draft] → [Proposed] → [Accepted/Rejected] → [Implementing] → [Complete]
                                           ↘ [Archived]

Problem

This section is REQUIRED before moving from Draft to Proposed status.

Section purpose: Clearly articulate the problem or opportunity this RFC addresses.

Complete this section when: You're ready to start a discussion and get initial feedback on whether this problem is worth solving.

Guidance:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• Who is impacted by this problem?
• What are the consequences of not solving it?
• What are the current workarounds, if any?
• What are the success criteria?
• What are the non-goals?
• What behavior are you intending to emulate? What are the quircks there?
• Is there an API spec being targeted?

Example prompts to guide your thinking:

• "Users currently struggle with..."
• "The system lacks..."
• "This creates friction when..."
• "Without this, contributors must..."

Approach

This section is REQUIRED before moving from Proposed to Accepted status.

Purpose: Describe your proposed solution at a high level.

Complete this section when: You've received feedback that the problem is worth solving and you're ready to propose a specific approach.

Progressive disclosure: Start lean! You don't need all the details yet. Focus on the core idea and high-level approach. Detailed design comes later.

Guidance:

• What is your proposed solution?
• Why is this approach better than alternatives?
• What are the key benefits and tradeoffs?
• How does this fit with existing DocumentDB architecture?

Example prompts for solution thinking:

• "The proposed solution is to..."
• "This approach is preferable because..."
• "Key tradeoffs include..."
• "This aligns with existing patterns by..."

Detailed Design

This section MAY BE REQUIRED before moving from Proposed to Accepted status. This section MUST be completed and approved to move to Implementing status.

Purpose: Provide comprehensive technical details needed for implementation.

Complete this section when: Your solution approach has been validated and you're ready to commit to specific implementation details.

Guidance: This is where you get specific. Include enough detail that someone could implement this RFC without having to make major design decisions.

Technical Details

Describe the technical implementation specifics

• Data structures
• Algorithms
• Architecture patterns
• Performance considerations

API Changes

Document any public API additions or modifications

• New functions, including UDFs
• Modified signatures
• Breaking changes
• Deprecation plans

Database Schema Changes

If applicable, describe schema modifications

• New tables/collections
• Schema migrations
• Index changes
• Data migration strategies

Configuration Changes

Document new or modified configuration options

• New settings
• Modified defaults
• Environment variables
• Configuration validation

Testing Strategy

Describe how this will be tested

• Unit test approach
• Integration test requirements
• Compatibility test requirements
• Performance test plans
• Migration test strategy

Migration Path

How do existing users/deployments upgrade?

• Backwards/forwards compatibility
• Migration steps
• Rollback strategy
• Deprecation timeline

Documentation Updates

What documentation needs to change?

• User-facing docs
• Developer guides
• API references
• Examples/tutorials

Implementation Tracking

This section SHALL be populated during the Implementation phase.

Purpose: Track the implementation progress of this RFC.

Complete this section when: Your RFC has been accepted and implementation work begins.

Guidance:

• Link to the PRs that implement this RFC. Update as implementation progresses.
• Provide success metrics.

Implementation PRs

• PR #XXX: [Brief description of what this PR implements]
• PR #XXX: [Brief description of what this PR implements]
• PR #XXX: [Brief description of what this PR implements]

Status Updates

Add dated status updates as implementation progresses

YYYY-MM-DD: Initial implementation started in PR #XXX

YYYY-MM-DD: [Update on progress, blockers, or changes]

Open Questions

Track unresolved questions that arise during implementation

• Question: [Description]
  • Discussion: [Link to discussion or resolution]

Implementation Notes

Capture important decisions or learnings during implementation

• Decision [YYYY-MM-DD]: [What was decided]
  • Context: [Why this decision was made]
  • Alternatives: [What else was considered]