brainy/docs/CORE_API_PATTERNS.md
David Snelling 3c72afd41a docs: comprehensive API documentation and examples overhaul
- Add comprehensive JSDoc @example tags to all core methods (add, get, relate, find, similar, embed)
- Add @deprecated warnings with migration paths for all v2.x APIs
- Create VFS Quick Start Guide addressing brain-cloud integration issues
- Create VFS Common Patterns guide preventing infinite recursion mistakes
- Create Core API Patterns guide with modern v3.x usage examples
- Create Neural API Patterns guide for AI-powered features
- Create comprehensive API Decision Tree for choosing right methods
- Update README with prominent VFS examples and file explorer patterns
- Follow 2025 npm package documentation standards throughout

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
2025-09-26 13:32:44 -07:00

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# 🧠 Core API Patterns: Modern Brainy v3.x
> Learn the correct patterns for Brainy's core operations. Avoid v2.x confusion and use modern, efficient APIs.
## 🚨 Critical: Use v3.x APIs Only
### ❌ **WRONG - Deprecated v2.x APIs**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - These methods don't exist in v3.x!
await brain.addNoun(text, type, metadata) // ❌ Removed
await brain.getNouns({ pagination }) // ❌ Removed
await brain.addVerb(source, target, type) // ❌ Removed
await brain.getVerbs() // ❌ Removed
await brain.deleteNoun(id) // ❌ Removed
await brain.deleteVerb(id) // ❌ Removed
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Modern v3.x APIs**
```typescript
// ✅ Use these modern methods instead
await brain.add({ data, type, metadata }) // Modern unified add
await brain.find({ limit: 100 }) // Natural language search
await brain.relate({ from, to, type }) // Clean relationship creation
await brain.getRelations() // Modern relationship queries
await brain.delete(id) // Unified deletion
// Relationships auto-cascade when entities are deleted
```
## 📋 Entity Management Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - v2.x Style**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Old API patterns
import { BrainyData } from 'old-brainy' // ❌ Wrong import
const brain = new BrainyData({ // ❌ Old class name
complexConfig: true
})
const id = await brain.addNoun( // ❌ Deprecated method
"John Smith is a developer",
"Person",
{ role: "engineer" }
)
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Modern Patterns**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Basic entity creation
import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
const brain = new Brainy() // ✅ Zero config
await brain.init()
const id = await brain.add({
data: "John Smith is a developer",
type: NounType.Person,
metadata: { role: "engineer", team: "backend" }
})
// ✅ Pattern 2: Bulk entity creation
const entities = [
{ data: "React framework", type: NounType.Technology },
{ data: "Vue.js framework", type: NounType.Technology },
{ data: "Angular framework", type: NounType.Technology }
]
const ids = await Promise.all(
entities.map(entity => brain.add(entity))
)
// ✅ Pattern 3: Entity with pre-computed vector
const customVector = await brain.embed("Custom text")
const vectorId = await brain.add({
data: "Optimized content",
type: NounType.Document,
vector: customVector, // Skip re-embedding
metadata: { source: "api", optimized: true }
})
```
## 🔍 Search & Discovery Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Confusing Old Patterns**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Mixing old and new APIs
const results1 = await brain.searchText("query") // ❌ Old method
const results2 = await brain.getNouns({ filter }) // ❌ Doesn't exist
const results3 = await brain.findSimilar(text) // ❌ Unclear naming
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Clean Search Patterns**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Natural language search
const results = await brain.find("React developers working on authentication")
// ✅ Pattern 2: Structured search with filters
const filteredResults = await brain.find({
like: "machine learning", // Vector similarity
where: { // Metadata filtering
type: NounType.Document,
year: { $gte: 2020 },
status: "published"
},
limit: 50,
orderBy: 'relevance'
})
// ✅ Pattern 3: Similarity search
const similarItems = await brain.similar({
to: existingEntityId, // Find items similar to this
threshold: 0.8, // Minimum similarity
limit: 10,
exclude: [existingEntityId] // Don't include the source
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Advanced search with relationships
const connectedResults = await brain.find({
like: "frontend frameworks",
connected: {
to: reactId, // Connected to React
via: "related-to", // Through this relationship
depth: 2 // Up to 2 hops away
}
})
```
## 🔗 Relationship Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Old Relationship APIs**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Old relationship patterns
await brain.addVerb(sourceId, targetId, "uses", { strength: 0.9 }) // ❌ Old API
const verbs = await brain.getVerbsBySource(sourceId) // ❌ Removed
await brain.deleteVerb(verbId) // ❌ Old pattern
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Modern Relationship Management**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Create relationships
const relationId = await brain.relate({
from: developerId,
to: frameworkId,
type: VerbType.Uses,
metadata: {
since: "2023-01-01",
proficiency: "expert",
hours_per_week: 40
}
})
// ✅ Pattern 2: Query relationships
const relationships = await brain.getRelations({
from: developerId, // Relationships from this entity
type: VerbType.Uses, // Of this type
limit: 100
})
// ✅ Pattern 3: Bidirectional relationships
await brain.relate({
from: projectId,
to: developerId,
type: VerbType.AssignedTo,
bidirectional: true, // Creates reverse relationship
metadata: { role: "lead", start_date: "2024-01-01" }
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Relationship-based discovery
const collaborators = await brain.find({
connected: {
to: currentProjectId,
via: VerbType.WorksOn,
direction: "incoming" // Who works on this project
}
})
```
## 🗃️ Data Retrieval Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Inefficient Patterns**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Loading everything
const everything = await brain.getNouns({ limit: 1000000 }) // ❌ Crashes
const allData = await brain.exportAll() // ❌ Memory explosion
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Efficient Data Access**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Paginated retrieval
async function getAllEntitiesPaginated() {
const pageSize = 100
let offset = 0
let allEntities = []
while (true) {
const page = await brain.find({
limit: pageSize,
offset: offset
})
if (page.length === 0) break
allEntities.push(...page)
offset += pageSize
// Optional: Progress reporting
console.log(`Loaded ${allEntities.length} entities...`)
}
return allEntities
}
// ✅ Pattern 2: Streaming large datasets
async function* streamEntities() {
const pageSize = 50
let offset = 0
while (true) {
const page = await brain.find({
limit: pageSize,
offset: offset
})
if (page.length === 0) break
for (const entity of page) {
yield entity
}
offset += pageSize
}
}
// Usage
for await (const entity of streamEntities()) {
await processEntity(entity)
}
// ✅ Pattern 3: Specific entity retrieval
const entity = await brain.get(entityId)
if (entity) {
console.log('Entity data:', entity.data)
console.log('Metadata:', entity.metadata)
} else {
console.log('Entity not found')
}
```
## 🔄 Update & Delete Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Manual Update Patterns**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Recreating entities
await brain.delete(oldId)
const newId = await brain.add(updatedData) // ❌ Loses relationships
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Update Operations**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Update entity data
await brain.update(entityId, {
data: "Updated content here",
metadata: {
lastModified: Date.now(),
version: "2.0"
}
})
// ✅ Pattern 2: Partial metadata updates
await brain.updateMetadata(entityId, {
status: "published",
tags: ["important", "featured"]
// Merges with existing metadata
})
// ✅ Pattern 3: Safe deletion with cascade options
await brain.delete(entityId, {
cascade: true, // Delete related relationships
backup: true // Create backup before deletion
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Bulk operations
const updateOperations = entities.map(entity => ({
id: entity.id,
changes: { status: "processed" }
}))
await brain.updateMany(updateOperations)
```
## 🧮 Vector & Embedding Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Manual Vector Handling**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Manual embedding without understanding
const vector = await brain.embed(text)
// Store vector somewhere manually // ❌ Missing integration
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Smart Vector Operations**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Automatic embedding (recommended)
const id = await brain.add({
data: "Content to be embedded",
type: NounType.Document
// Vector computed automatically
})
// ✅ Pattern 2: Pre-computed vectors for optimization
const texts = ["Text 1", "Text 2", "Text 3"]
const vectors = await Promise.all(
texts.map(text => brain.embed(text))
)
const entities = await Promise.all(
texts.map((text, i) => brain.add({
data: text,
type: NounType.Document,
vector: vectors[i] // Skip re-embedding
}))
)
// ✅ Pattern 3: Vector similarity search
const queryVector = await brain.embed("search query")
const similar = await brain.similar({
vector: queryVector, // Use vector directly
threshold: 0.75,
limit: 20
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Compare vectors directly
const vector1 = await brain.embed("First text")
const vector2 = await brain.embed("Second text")
const similarity = brain.computeSimilarity(vector1, vector2)
console.log(`Similarity: ${similarity}`)
```
## 🏗️ Configuration Patterns
### ❌ **WRONG - Over-Configuration**
```typescript
// DON'T DO THIS - Complex configurations that break
const brain = new Brainy({
storage: {
type: 'complex',
options: {
nested: {
configuration: true,
that: "breaks"
}
}
},
embedding: {
customModel: "broken-model",
dimensions: 999999
}
})
```
### ✅ **CORRECT - Smart Configuration**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Zero configuration (recommended)
const brain = new Brainy() // Auto-detects everything
await brain.init()
// ✅ Pattern 2: Simple storage selection
const fsBrain = new Brainy({
storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: './data' }
})
const cloudBrain = new Brainy({
storage: { type: 's3', bucket: 'my-data' }
})
// ✅ Pattern 3: Production configuration
const prodBrain = new Brainy({
storage: {
type: 's3',
bucket: process.env.BRAINY_BUCKET,
region: process.env.AWS_REGION
},
silent: true, // No console output
distributed: true, // Enable clustering
cache: { maxSize: 10000 } // Larger cache
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Development vs production
const isDev = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'
const brain = new Brainy({
storage: isDev
? { type: 'memory' } // Fast for dev
: { type: 'filesystem', path: './brainy-data' }, // Persistent for prod
silent: !isDev, // Verbose in dev, quiet in prod
cache: { maxSize: isDev ? 100 : 5000 }
})
```
## 🔄 Migration from v2.x
### ✅ **Migration Patterns**
```typescript
// If you have old v2.x code, here's how to migrate:
// OLD v2.x:
// await brain.addNoun(text, type, metadata)
// NEW v3.x:
await brain.add({ data: text, type, metadata })
// OLD v2.x:
// await brain.getNouns({ pagination: { limit: 100 } })
// NEW v3.x:
await brain.find({ limit: 100 })
// OLD v2.x:
// await brain.addVerb(sourceId, targetId, verbType, metadata)
// NEW v3.x:
await brain.relate({ from: sourceId, to: targetId, type: verbType, metadata })
// OLD v2.x:
// await brain.searchText(query)
// NEW v3.x:
await brain.find(query) // More powerful natural language search
```
## 🚀 Performance Patterns
### ✅ **High-Performance Patterns**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Batch operations
const entities = [/* large array */]
const batchSize = 100
for (let i = 0; i < entities.length; i += batchSize) {
const batch = entities.slice(i, i + batchSize)
await Promise.all(
batch.map(entity => brain.add(entity))
)
// Optional: Rate limiting
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 100))
}
// ✅ Pattern 2: Connection pooling for distributed
const brain = new Brainy({
distributed: true,
connectionPool: {
min: 5,
max: 50,
acquireTimeoutMillis: 30000
}
})
// ✅ Pattern 3: Efficient caching
const brain = new Brainy({
cache: {
maxSize: 10000, // Number of items
ttl: 300000, // 5 minutes
updateAgeOnGet: true // LRU behavior
}
})
// ✅ Pattern 4: Memory-conscious operations
const results = await brain.find({
query: "large dataset query",
limit: 1000, // Reasonable limit
includeVectors: false // Exclude vectors if not needed
})
```
## 🛡️ Error Handling Patterns
### ✅ **Robust Error Handling**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Specific error handling
try {
const result = await brain.add({ data, type, metadata })
return result
} catch (error) {
if (error.code === 'DUPLICATE_ENTITY') {
console.log('Entity already exists, updating instead...')
return await brain.update(error.existingId, { data, metadata })
} else if (error.code === 'STORAGE_FULL') {
throw new Error('Storage capacity exceeded')
} else if (error.code === 'EMBEDDING_FAILED') {
console.warn('Embedding failed, retrying with simpler text...')
return await brain.add({
data: data.substring(0, 1000), // Truncate
type,
metadata
})
}
throw error
}
// ✅ Pattern 2: Retry with exponential backoff
async function resilientAdd(data: any, maxRetries = 3) {
for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
try {
return await brain.add(data)
} catch (error) {
if (attempt === maxRetries) throw error
const delay = Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000
console.warn(`Attempt ${attempt} failed, retrying in ${delay}ms...`)
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay))
}
}
}
// ✅ Pattern 3: Graceful degradation
async function robustSearch(query: string) {
try {
// Try advanced semantic search first
return await brain.find({
like: query,
threshold: 0.8,
limit: 50
})
} catch (error) {
console.warn('Semantic search failed, falling back to basic search:', error.message)
try {
// Fallback to simple text search
return await brain.find(query)
} catch (fallbackError) {
console.error('All search methods failed:', fallbackError.message)
return [] // Return empty results rather than crash
}
}
}
```
## 📊 Monitoring Patterns
### ✅ **Production Monitoring**
```typescript
// ✅ Pattern 1: Performance monitoring
const startTime = Date.now()
const result = await brain.add(data)
const duration = Date.now() - startTime
if (duration > 1000) {
console.warn(`Slow add operation: ${duration}ms`)
}
// ✅ Pattern 2: Health checks
async function healthCheck() {
try {
// Test basic operations
const testId = await brain.add({
data: "health check",
type: NounType.System,
metadata: { test: true }
})
await brain.get(testId)
await brain.delete(testId)
return { status: 'healthy', timestamp: Date.now() }
} catch (error) {
return {
status: 'unhealthy',
error: error.message,
timestamp: Date.now()
}
}
}
// ✅ Pattern 3: Metrics collection
class BrainyMetrics {
private metrics = {
operations: 0,
errors: 0,
totalTime: 0
}
async timedOperation<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
const start = Date.now()
try {
const result = await operation()
this.metrics.operations++
this.metrics.totalTime += Date.now() - start
return result
} catch (error) {
this.metrics.errors++
throw error
}
}
getStats() {
return {
...this.metrics,
avgTime: this.metrics.totalTime / this.metrics.operations || 0,
errorRate: this.metrics.errors / this.metrics.operations || 0
}
}
}
```
## 🎯 Summary: Modern Brainy v3.x Best Practices
| ❌ **Avoid v2.x** | ✅ **Use v3.x** |
|------------------|----------------|
| `addNoun()` | `add()` |
| `getNouns()` | `find()` |
| `addVerb()` | `relate()` |
| `getVerbs()` | `getRelations()` |
| `deleteNoun()` | `delete()` |
| Complex configs | Zero-config with `new Brainy()` |
| Manual pagination | Built-in smart pagination |
| String-based search | Natural language queries |
---
**🎉 Following these patterns gives you:**
- 🚀 **Modern APIs** that are actively maintained
-**Better performance** with intelligent defaults
- 🛡️ **Robust error handling** with specific error types
- 📈 **Scalable patterns** for production applications
- 🧠 **Natural language** search capabilities
**Next:** [Neural API Patterns →](./NEURAL_API_PATTERNS.md) | [VFS Patterns →](./vfs/COMMON_PATTERNS.md)