fleximq Specification

This repository hosts the official specification for the fleximq protocol. fleximq is a flexible message queuing protocol designed for high performance and reliability.

Protocol Overview

fleximq aims to provide a standardized way for applications to communicate asynchronously through messages. The detailed protocol specifications can be found in the respective documents within this repository.

Note: All multi-byte numeric values in this protocol are encoded in network byte order (big-endian). All structured data (Header and Payload) uses MessagePack format for serialization.

Key Design Goals

fleximq aims to provide a versatile, programming language-agnostic, and cross-platform messaging protocol. It supports various communication patterns like request/response, pub/sub, and notifications over multiple transport layers. The protocol is designed with a focus on efficiency and clear semantics, making it suitable for distributed systems, plugin architectures, and optimized for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Compared to protocols like MQTT, fleximq offers a broader and more complex range of communication modes.

Encoding Conventions

• Numeric Values: All multi-byte numeric values are encoded in network byte order (big-endian).
• Structured Data: Header and Payload sections use MessagePack format for serialization.
• Strings: All strings must be UTF-8 encoded.

• Drafts
• RFCs are managed in a separate repository: fleximq/rfcs
• Official Specifications

Contribution Process

We welcome contributions to the fleximq specification. The process is designed to be transparent and collaborative:

1. RFC (Request for Comments) Submission:

   • Propose new features, changes, or improvements by submitting an RFC in the dedicated RFCs repository: fleximq/rfcs.
   • The RFC should detail the motivation, design, and potential impact of the proposal.
   • Community discussion and feedback will take place on the RFC in its repository.

2. Draft Stage:

   • If an RFC is accepted after review and discussion, its content will be used to create or update a draft specification in the draft directory of this (spec) repository.
   • At this stage, the proposal is considered a working draft and may undergo further refinements here.

3. Official Specification:

   • Once a draft has been implemented by mainstream fleximq-compatible systems and has proven to be stable and beneficial, it can be promoted to an official specification.
   • Official specifications will be moved from the draft directory to the official/ directory within this repository.

Versioning

The fleximq protocol specification follows Semantic Versioning 2.0.0. Each official version of the specification will be clearly tagged and documented.

How to Contribute

1. For specification document changes (drafts, official specs):
   • Fork this (spec) repository.
   • Create a new branch for your changes.
   • Submit a Pull Request to this repository for review.
2. For new proposals or discussions, please refer to the RFCs repository: fleximq/rfcs.

License

The fleximq specification is licensed under the Unlicense.