Epic: Schema, Protocols, and Intent-Based Delegation

Summary

Implement a new architecture for Frequency's schema and delegation systems that introduces named intents with version tracking and intent-based delegation to address current limitations around coupling between schema versions and delegations.

Background

The current implementation tightly binds delegations to specific SchemaIds, which has proven limiting:

• Strong coupling between schema versions and delegations
• Schemas represent data format but not purpose
• Lack of human-readable context for schemas

This epic introduces:

• Named intents with version tracking
• Intent-based delegation replacing schema-based delegation
• Intent groups for bundling related permissions
• Protocol-based name registry for off-chain resolution

Goals

• Schema Immutability: Individual schema versions remain immutable once published
• Minimal Delegation Churn: Minor data format changes don't require new delegations
• Minimal Storage Churn: Format changes don't require mass data migration
• Intent Separation: Separate data purpose/action from format when permissioning
• On-Chain Efficiency: Maintain efficient on-chain operations

Technical Overview

Key Components

1. Intents: Represent consistent data meaning/purpose, can be associated with multiple schema versions
2. Schemas: Now only represent data format definitions, associated with a single Intent
3. Intent Groups: Bundles of IntentIds for easier permission management
4. Name Registry: Protocol-based naming system for off-chain discovery

Major Changes

• Delegations now reference IntentId instead of SchemaId
• Storage location tied to IntentId rather than schemas
• Introduction of versioned storage for messages and stateful-storage pallets

Tasks

Dependencies

• Governance approval for all schema/intent/intent group operations
• Analysis of existing mainnet data for migration planning

Risks & Mitigations

• Risk: Large-scale data migration complexity
  • Mitigation: Dual storage approach avoiding immediate migration needs
• Risk: Breaking existing delegations
  • Mitigation: 1:1 mapping of SchemaId to IntentId preserves all delegations
• Risk: Performance impact of additional lookups
  • Mitigation: Schema->Intent lookup mitigates performance impact

Success Metrics

• Zero breaking changes to existing delegations
• No mass data migration required at launch
• Delegation updates reduced by >80% for schema version changes
• All existing functionality maintained with improved flexibility

Testing Requirements

• Comprehensive unit tests for all new storage and extrinsics
• Integration tests for migration scenarios
• Performance benchmarks comparing old vs new delegation lookups
• End-to-end tests for complete user flows