## Templates ### Template 1: Standard ADR (MADR Format) ```markdown # ADR-0001: Use PostgreSQL as Primary Database ## Status Accepted ## Context We need to select a primary database for our new e-commerce platform. The system will handle: - ~10,000 concurrent users - Complex product catalog with hierarchical categories - Transaction processing for orders and payments - Full-text search for products - Geospatial queries for store locator The team has experience with MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. We need ACID compliance for financial transactions. ## Decision Drivers - **Must have ACID compliance** for payment processing - **Must support complex queries** for reporting - **Should support full-text search** to reduce infrastructure complexity - **Should have good JSON support** for flexible product attributes - **Team familiarity** reduces onboarding time ## Considered Options ### Option 1: PostgreSQL - **Pros**: ACID compliant, excellent JSON support (JSONB), built-in full-text search, PostGIS for geospatial, team has experience - **Cons**: Slightly more complex replication setup than MySQL ### Option 2: MySQL - **Pros**: Very familiar to team, simple replication, large community - **Cons**: JSON querying/indexing differs from PostgreSQL JSONB; validate the required operators and indexes. Built-in FULLTEXT and spatial support exist, but their functions and limitations must be checked against this workload. See the [MySQL index reference](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.4/en/create-index.html). ### Option 3: MongoDB - **Pros**: Flexible schema, native JSON, horizontal scaling - **Cons**: [Multi-document transactions](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/core/write-operations-atomicity/) are supported on replica sets and sharded clusters but can cost more than single-document writes; the team has limited experience and needs schema design discipline. ## Decision We will use **PostgreSQL 15** as our primary database. ## Rationale PostgreSQL provides the best balance of: 1. **ACID compliance** essential for e-commerce transactions 2. **Built-in capabilities** (full-text search, JSONB) reduce infrastructure complexity 3. **Added extensions**: PostGIS supplies geospatial capabilities after server installation and [database enablement](https://postgis.net/documentation/getting_started/). 4. **Team familiarity** with SQL databases reduces learning curve 5. **Mature ecosystem** with excellent tooling and community support The slight complexity in replication is outweighed by the reduction in additional services (no separate Elasticsearch needed). ## Consequences ### Positive - Single database handles transactions, search, and geospatial queries - Reduced operational complexity (fewer services to manage) - Strong consistency guarantees for financial data - Team can leverage existing SQL expertise ### Negative - Need to learn PostgreSQL-specific features (JSONB, full-text search syntax) - Vertical scaling limits may require read replicas sooner - Some team members need PostgreSQL-specific training ### Risks - Full-text search may not scale as well as dedicated search engines - Mitigation: Design for potential Elasticsearch addition if needed ## Implementation Notes - Use JSONB for flexible product attributes - Implement connection pooling with PgBouncer - Set up streaming replication for read replicas - Use pg_trgm extension for fuzzy search ## Related Decisions - ADR-0002: Caching Strategy (Redis) - complements database choice - ADR-0005: Search Architecture - may supersede if Elasticsearch needed ## References - [PostgreSQL JSON Documentation](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/datatype-json.html) - [PostgreSQL Full Text Search](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/textsearch.html) - Internal: Performance benchmarks in `/docs/benchmarks/database-comparison.md` ``` ### Template 2: Lightweight ADR ```markdown # ADR-0012: Adopt TypeScript for Frontend Development **Status**: Accepted **Date**: 2024-01-15 **Deciders**: @alice, @bob, @charlie ## Context Our React codebase has grown to 50+ components with increasing bug reports related to prop type mismatches and undefined errors. PropTypes provide runtime-only checking. ## Decision Adopt TypeScript for all new frontend code. Migrate existing code incrementally. ## Consequences **Good**: Catch type errors at compile time, better IDE support, self-documenting code. **Bad**: Learning curve for team, initial slowdown, build complexity increase. **Mitigations**: TypeScript training sessions, allow gradual adoption with `allowJs: true`. ``` ### Template 3: Y-Statement Format ```markdown # ADR-0015: API Gateway Selection In the context of **building a microservices architecture**, facing **the need for centralized API management, authentication, and rate limiting**, we decided for **Kong Gateway** and against **AWS API Gateway and custom Nginx solution**, to achieve **vendor independence, plugin extensibility, and team familiarity with Lua**, accepting that **we need to manage Kong infrastructure ourselves**. ```