docs(adr): 093 — channels pure channel multiplexing (8-byte header, no stream_type)

Prune the channels spec to reflect the stream-unification resolution
(docs/research/stream-unification/findings.md): the channels wire format
goes from 9 bytes to 8 bytes, the channels layer no longer carries a
stream_type concept, into_sub_streams() is removed, and TTY always uses
its 5-byte format (carried transparently in the channels payload).

ADR-093 is the umbrella decision (the channels-layer consequence of
ADR-092's BiStream handler leaf): every channel is a BiStream, the
handler owns its sub-stream multiplexing, the channels layer routes by
channel_id only. Amends ADR-071 (8-byte header, no stream_type),
ADR-074 (into_sub_streams removed, accept_bi yields BiStream), reverses
ADR-077 (TTY always 5-byte), and the channels-facing clauses of
ADR-072/073/075/076/080/081. Adds ADR-092 forward-reference note
(into_sub_streams preservation subsequently reversed by ADR-093) and
the missing ADR-092 cross-reference on ADR-070.

Adds OQ-68 (add/strip API shape — built-in vs utility; the contract is
decided in ADR-093, the function surface is open; two-way door, low
priority, decision-ready when the channels crate's implementation
begins).

Rewrites the 7 channels spec docs (README, overview, channels-wire,
channels-connection, channels-adapter, channel-operations, channel-client)
to describe the post-amendment shape as current, with the 8-byte header,
the add/strip composition, single accept_bi accessor, BiStream per
channel, and TTY-always-5-byte.

Touch-up cross-references in hub README, client README, ADR-085, and
the OQ-45/47/65 question files (TTY-internal stream_type 3 →
STREAM_CTRL_IN; channels 9-byte → 8-byte).
This commit is contained in:
glm-5.2 committed 2026-07-18 18:10:17 +00:00
1 parent c2b7055a64
commit a3cb44968e
31 files changed
+1501 -519

No files matched your search

@@ -1,9 +1,39 @@
# ADR-071: alknet-channels Wire Format — 9-Byte Chunk Header
# ADR-071: alknet-channels Wire Format — 8-Byte Chunk Header
## Status
Accepted (revised 2026-07-12: substrate simplification + stream_type
decomposition)
decomposition; **amended 2026-07-18 by ADR-093: wire format is 8 bytes,
not 9; `stream_type` removed from the channels header — see "Amendment
(ADR-093, 2026-07-18)" below**)
## Amendment (ADR-093, 2026-07-18)
The 9-byte chunk header is **amended to 8 bytes**:
`[channel_id:u32 BE][length:u32 BE][payload]`. The `stream_type` byte is
**removed** from the channels header — the channels layer has no
`stream_type` concept, not in its header, not in its code, not in its
mental model. The handler owns its sub-stream multiplexing on the
`BiStream` the channels layer gives it (per ADR-093, the channels-layer
consequence of ADR-092's `BiStream` handler leaf). What was the channels
header's `stream_type` byte is now the first byte of the payload, owned
by the handler's framing (TTY's 5-byte format, call's length-prefixed
JSON, tunnel's raw bytes, SSH's channel protocol).
The stream_type decomposition (unidirectional halves, mod 3 formula, 85
groups) is **removed from the channels layer**. The stream_type concept
survives in TTY's 5-byte format (ADR-052, amended by Phase 7), which the
channels layer carries transparently in its payload. The total header
for a TTY chunk inside channels is 13 bytes (8 channels + 5 TTY), not
9; the two length fields are close but not identical
(`ch_len = tty_len + 5`). This is the documented cost of clean
separation of concerns — see ADR-093 §"Consequences" for the full
cost/benefit.
The body below describes the **current** (9-byte) shape; the amendment
above is the operative decision. The 9-byte description is kept as the
historical context for the amendment. See ADR-093 for the resolution
rationale and the cross-ADR impacts.
## Context
@@ -239,17 +269,29 @@ tokio-dependent shell.
## Door type
**One-way.** The chunk header layout (`channel_id:u32 + stream_type:u8 +
length:u32`) and the stream_type group assignments (0/1/2 = data, 3/4/5 =
length:u32`, 9 bytes) and the stream_type group assignments (0/1/2 = data, 3/4/5 =
control, `% 3` formula) are wire-format commitments. Changing them after
deployments exist requires a version migration.
**Amended by ADR-093 (2026-07-18):** the header layout is now
`channel_id:u32 + length:u32` (8 bytes); the `stream_type` byte and its
decomposition are removed from the channels layer. The one-way door is
re-cast (the channels crate is not yet implemented, so this is the right
time to cast it). See ADR-093 for the amended door-type discussion.
The `MAX_CHUNK_LEN` value (16 MiB) is a two-way-door implementation detail
within the one-way format.
## References
- **ADR-093**: channels pure channel multiplexing (amends this ADR —
wire format is 8 bytes, not 9; `stream_type` removed from the channels
header; the stream_type decomposition is removed from the channels
layer; the handler owns its sub-stream multiplexing on the `BiStream`)
- ADR-052: alknet-tty wire format (the 5-byte format this generalizes;
amended by ADR-077 — scoped to direct TTY)
amended by ADR-077 — scoped to direct TTY; **re-amended by ADR-093 —
TTY always uses its 5-byte format, carried transparently in the
channels payload**)
- ADR-065: `Connection::from_stream` (the transport-agnostic Connection)
- ADR-070: `BidiStreamSource` trait (the extension point the channels
connection implements; its docstring already anticipated per-channel