arch3rPro Event Contract Matrix
A discipline for documenting who produces and who consumes each event in an event-driven or pub/sub system. It keeps the event contracts a single source of truth, so a change to a producer or consumer is visible against the whole graph instead of being discovered per call site.
The defining constraint: the matrix records the many-to-many relationship — each event lists its dispatch sites and its listeners — and explicitly notes sites that deliberately bypass the normal emit path. An event contract is not just "this event exists"; it is who can hear it.
What the matrix records
- One row (or entry) per event, listing:
- the producer(s) that dispatch it — including any dispatch site that deliberately bypasses the standard emit path (e.g. containment-driven dispatch), so those are visible rather than a hidden surprise;
- the listener(s) that receive it.
- The relationship shape: many-to-many, so the matrix is a table of event → producers and event → listeners, not one large implicit graph.
A dense many-to-many relation is best presented as a table rather than a sprawling graph — one event per row, producers and listeners as columns.
Keeping it a single source of truth
- Update the matrix in the same change that changes an event contract — a new event, a new producer, a new listener, or a new bypass site. Do not let the matrix drift from the code.
- Treat the matrix as the contract's home. Where a contract is defined, link to the matrix; do not restate the producer/listener list in multiple places.
- Review it like a contract. When a dispatch or listen site changes, verify the matrix still matches before merging.
Workflow
- Enumerate the events that cross module boundaries.
- For each event, record its producers and listeners — including bypass sites.
- Choose the presentation — a table for many-to-many relations, kept dense and readable.
- Update it with each contract change in the same change; link from the contract's definition.
- Verify the matrix matches the code before merging.
Completion criteria
- Every boundary-crossing event appears with its producers and listeners.
- Deliberate bypass sites are explicitly noted, not hidden.
- The matrix is the single home for producer/listener relationships; other docs link, not restate.
- It is updated in the same change as any event-contract change and verified before merge.