
# Project Improvement Suggestions for mvn-tree-visualizer

This document outlines potential improvements and new features for the `mvn-tree-visualizer` project. These are intended to be constructive suggestions to enhance the project's appeal, usability, and maintainability.

## 🚀 Features & Functionality - Current Priority (v1.4.0)

### 1. Visual Theme System (High Priority)

*   **Description:** Implement a comprehensive theme system to make the output more visually appealing and customizable for different use cases.
*   **Suggestions:**
    *   **Theme CLI Option:** Add `--theme` parameter with options like `dark`, `light`, `colorful`, `minimal`
    *   **CSS Variable System:** Use CSS custom properties for easy theme switching
    *   **Responsive Design:** Ensure themes work well on different screen sizes
    *   **Professional Styling:** Improve typography, spacing, and visual hierarchy
*   **Implementation:**
    *   Extend the Jinja2 template system to support theme variables
    *   Create separate CSS theme files or embed theme styles in template
    *   Add theme validation and error handling
    *   Include theme examples in documentation

### 2. Interactive Features (High Priority)

*   **Description:** Add interactive elements to make large dependency trees more manageable and informative.
*   **Suggestions:**
    *   **Dependency Tooltips:** Show detailed information (groupId, version, scope, description) on hover
    *   **Collapsible Groups:** Allow users to expand/collapse dependency subtrees
    *   **Visual Feedback:** Better hover effects and visual indicators
    *   **Search/Filter:** Help users find specific dependencies in large trees
*   **Implementation:**
    *   Extend Mermaid.js configuration for custom interactions
    *   Add JavaScript functionality to the HTML template
    *   Implement data attributes for storing dependency metadata
    *   Test with large dependency trees (50+ dependencies)

## ✅ Completed Features

### 1. Support for Multiple Output Formats
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.1.0) - HTML and JSON outputs implemented

### 2. Display Dependency Versions  
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.2.0) - `--show-versions` flag added

### 3. Watch Mode
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.3.0) - `--watch` flag with file system monitoring

### 4. Informative Error Messages
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.3.0) - Comprehensive error handling with user guidance

### 5. Unit Tests
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.3.0) - 22+ tests with good coverage

### 6. Type Hinting
**Status:** ✅ Done (v1.2.0) - Comprehensive type hints throughout codebase

## 🔮 Future Considerations (v1.5.0+)

### 1. Parser Module Separation (Low Priority)
*   **Description:** Further modularize the code by creating a dedicated parser module.
*   **Implementation:** Create `src/mvn_tree_visualizer/parser.py` for dependency parsing logic
*   **Note:** Optional enhancement - current structure is already well-organized

### 2. Export Format Enhancements (Medium Priority)  
*   **Description:** Add support for additional export formats beyond HTML and JSON.
*   **Suggestions:** PNG, PDF, SVG export options for presentations and documentation
*   **Implementation:** Integrate with headless browser or image generation libraries

### 3. Performance Optimizations (Medium Priority)
*   **Description:** Optimize for very large dependency trees (100+ dependencies).
*   **Suggestions:** Lazy loading, virtualization, memory usage improvements
*   **Implementation:** Profile performance bottlenecks and implement targeted optimizations

## 📋 Development Notes

*   **Next Release Focus:** v1.4.0 should prioritize visual themes and interactive features
*   **User Feedback:** Visual appearance is the most commonly requested improvement
*   **Technical Debt:** Minimal - codebase is well-structured with good test coverage
*   **Breaking Changes:** Avoid breaking CLI interface in minor versions

