Round 33 — VISION v6: pluggable wire-protocol (PG + MySQL + Zeta-native)

docs/BACKLOG.md

@@ -137,19 +137,34 @@ within each priority tier.
   then `openspec/specs/f-dsl-surface/` once shape
   stabilizes.
 
-- [ ] **PostgreSQL wire protocol server.** Aaron round 33:
-  "support an existing protocol so existing tools can
-  connect." pgAdmin, DBeaver, psql, Npgsql (via EF) all
-  speak PostgreSQL's wire protocol. Zeta would implement
-  enough of the frontend/backend message protocol (auth,
-  simple query, extended query, COPY) to appear as a
-  PostgreSQL server. Material precedent: CockroachDB,
-  Materialize, YugabyteDB, Apache AGE — all run non-
-  Postgres engines behind Postgres-shaped endpoints.
-  v1-or-early-post-v1 depending on design round: needs
-  auth shape, SSL/TLS, connection pooling posture,
-  protocol-level error mapping to DBSP Result types.
-  Output: `docs/research/pg-wire-protocol-design.md`.
+- [ ] **Pluggable wire-protocol layer with PostgreSQL +
+  MySQL + Zeta-native plugins.** Aaron round 33: "can
+  we make the wire protocol pluggable and we could just
+  support MySQL too to make sure we can support
+  [multiple] and have our own variant so we can start
+  getting support for UIs with our protocol which will
+  be much better." Design the protocol-plugin
+  abstraction first; one adapter per protocol (auth,
+  message encoding, error mapping, connection-state
+  machine). Initial plugins:
+  - PostgreSQL plugin: pgAdmin / DBeaver / psql /
+    Npgsql-via-EF compatibility. Precedent:
+    CockroachDB, Materialize, YugabyteDB, Apache AGE.
+  - MySQL plugin: MySQL Workbench / Connector/NET /
+    Pomelo-via-EF / Azure Data Studio compatibility.
+    Second plugin proves the abstraction isn't
+    PostgreSQL-shaped by accident.
+  - Zeta-native plugin: designed around retraction-
+    native deltas, bitemporal queries, durable-Rx
+    stored procedures. Future UIs that speak it get
+    first-class Zeta features (time-travel slider,
+    delta streaming, Rx inspection) the emulated
+    protocols can't express.
+
+  v1-or-early-post-v1 depending on design round
+  outcome. Output: `docs/research/pluggable-wire-
+  protocol-design.md` first, then per-plugin design
+  docs.
 
 - [ ] **Own admin UI (far future).** Aaron round 33: "we
   will need some UI that can connect to it like SSMS or

docs/VISION.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Zeta — Long-Term Vision
 
-> **Status:** round 33 v5 after Aaron's fourth pass of edits.
+> **Status:** round 33 v6 after Aaron's fifth pass of edits.
 > Aaron is the source of truth; this document changes freely.
 > The `product-visionary` role (to be spawned, see
 > `docs/BACKLOG.md`) will steward it once it exists.
@@ -159,18 +159,37 @@ What makes `Zeta.Core 1.0.0` on NuGet:
   consumers should never hit a "this feature not
   implemented" wall. Other ORMs (Dapper, NHibernate,
   LLBLGen) follow the EF Core pattern.
-- **PostgreSQL wire protocol server (v1-or-early-post-v1).**
-  Zeta speaks the PostgreSQL wire protocol so existing
-  tools (pgAdmin, DBeaver, psql, Npgsql-via-EF) connect
-  without modification. Aaron: "we will need some UI
-  that can connect to it like SSMS or PostgreSQL Admin,
-  so we will have to build our own (which we will
-  eventually do) support an existing protocol so
-  existing tools can connect." This is a server mode
-  on top of the embedded library, not a replacement;
-  Zeta keeps the in-process F# surface AND exposes a
-  wire-protocol endpoint. Significant scope — may
-  slip from v1 to early post-v1 depending on design
+- **Pluggable wire-protocol layer (v1-or-early-post-v1).**
+  Aaron round 33: "can we make the wire protocol pluggable
+  and we could just support MySQL too to make sure we can
+  support [multiple] and have our own variant so we can
+  start getting support for UIs with our protocol which
+  will be much better." A protocol-plugin abstraction sits
+  between the query IR and the network: each plugin is a
+  small adapter that translates one wire format
+  (frontend/backend message shape, auth, error mapping,
+  connection state) into Zeta's internal query surface.
+  Three initial plugins:
+  - **PostgreSQL plugin** — pgAdmin, DBeaver, psql,
+    Npgsql-via-EF all connect unmodified.
+  - **MySQL plugin** — MySQL Workbench, Connector/NET,
+    Pomelo-via-EF, Azure Data Studio all connect.
+    Second plugin proves the abstraction isn't
+    PostgreSQL-shaped by accident.
+  - **Zeta-native plugin** — our own protocol designed
+    around retraction-native deltas, bitemporal queries,
+    stored-procedure-as-durable-Rx semantics. UIs that
+    support it get first-class Zeta features (time-
+    travel slider, delta streaming, Rx stored-proc
+    inspection) that PostgreSQL/MySQL protocols can't
+    express. Specification work feeds the eventual
+    Zeta admin UI.
+
+  The protocol layer is a server mode on top of the
+  embedded library, not a replacement; Zeta keeps the
+  in-process F# surface AND exposes one-or-more wire-
+  protocol endpoints simultaneously. Significant scope —
+  may slip from v1 to early post-v1 depending on design
   round outcome.
 - **F# DSL reimagining SQL for the modern era (v1).** The
   existing computational-expression sketch (`DSL.fs`,