Phase 1 Query Processing

Phase 1 Query Processing defines how AIKernel shapes query intent before context build, material quarantine, and reasoning execution.

It is not a knowledge-retrieval engine. It is a contract layer for transforming, decomposing, semantically projecting, and routing query intent under KernelContext.

1. Responsibility Boundary

• IQueryAugmentor normalizes, augments, and rewrites query intent without committing material.
• IQueryDecomposer splits complex input into ordered QueryPart units.
• IEmbeddingProvider projects text into semantic vector space when a provider capability supports it.
• IQueryRouter assigns QueryPart units to capable providers using declared capabilities.
• QueryPart is the immutable DTO passed from query planning to material/context build.

RAG remains a provider or pipeline strategy that can supply material. Core query abstractions must not own retrieval, indexing, or knowledge-store mutation.

2. Phase 1 Flow

Input Query\n  -> IQueryAugmentor\n  -> IQueryDecomposer\n  -> QueryPart[]\n  -> optional IEmbeddingProvider semantic projection\n  -> IQueryRouter provider selection\n  -> ROM / CacheDB material resolution\n  -> Material Quarantine\n  -> Structure Phase

3. Alignment With Existing Concepts

• Phase 1: Query augmentation, decomposition, embedding projection, and routing happen before Structure.
• Phase 2: Generation and Polish must not mutate QueryPart state.
• ROM: Query processing can target ROM material, but ROM identity and canonical hashes remain authoritative.
• CacheDB: Cache hits are material-resolution outcomes, not query-processing state.
• Governance: PDP/Guard decisions can deny or abort query processing before partial state is committed.

4. Provider Capability Extension

Providers declare query support through capability metadata:

• SupportsQueryAugmentation
• SupportsQueryDecomposition
• SupportsQueryRouting
• MaxQueryParts
• SupportedQueryProcessingOperations
• SupportsEmbedding
• EmbeddingDimensions
• SupportedEmbeddingModels

The Kernel uses these declarations for routing and audit; it does not infer hidden provider abilities.

Changelog

• v0.0.1 (2026-05-09): Initial Phase 1 Query Processing architecture