# Review: Comprehensive Format Analysis — xwformats

**Date:** 2025-01-07  
**Source:** docs/_archive/COMPREHENSIVE_FORMAT_ANALYSIS.md (archived; value extracted here)  
**Artifact type:** Format coverage analysis  
**Scope:** xwsystem, xwformats, xwsystem.archive format inventory and gaps

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## Summary

Analysis of serialization, archive, and compression formats across the eXonware ecosystem. **Outcome:** High-priority recommendations (Apache Arrow, RocksDB) were adopted in xwformats; other items (standalone compression in xwsystem.archive, config formats in xwsystem) remain optional per scope.

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## Findings (Snapshot 2025-01-07)

- **xwsystem:** 19 core formats (text, binary, database, tabular).
- **xwformats:** 16+ enterprise formats (schema, scientific, database, binary, text).
- **xwsystem.archive:** 11 archive/compression formats.
- **Coverage:** ~75% of common formats; schema and binary coverage strong.

**High-priority gaps identified then:**

1. **Apache Arrow** — In-memory/columnar; complements Parquet/Feather. **Status:** ✅ Added to xwformats (schema).
2. **RocksDB** — High-performance KV store. **Status:** ✅ Added to xwformats (database).
3. **GZIP/BZIP2/XZ** — Standalone compression (vs. only via TAR). **Status:** Out of xwformats scope (xwsystem.archive).
4. **Remove duplicate formats from xwformats** (BSON, CSV, YAML, TOML, XML). **Status:** Not adopted; xwformats retains these for unified registry/facade and consumer convenience per REF_22.

**Medium-priority (optional):** HOCON, HJSON, Properties, ENV (xwsystem text); ODS (tabular); FITS (scientific); Snappy (compression). These remain optional per REF_22.

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## Recommendations Preserved

- **REF_22 / REF_13:** Current format list and boundaries are authoritative. New formats (e.g. FITS, ODS) to be added only per REF_22 scope and milestones.
- **Compression/archive:** Standalone GZIP/BZIP2/XZ and config formats (HOCON, etc.) are xwsystem or xwsystem.archive scope, not xwformats.
- **Domain-specific formats:** FITS, DICOM, etc. add on demand; document in REF_22 if adopted.

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## Traceability

- **Requirements:** REF_22_PROJECT (format list, FR-001–FR-006).
- **Architecture:** REF_13_ARCH (format families, delegation).
- **This review:** Evidence of format analysis; superseded by current REF_22/REF_13 for authoritative list.

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*Value extracted from _archive; original file removed. Per GUIDE_35_REVIEW.*
