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| 1 | +# ADR 0004: Add a Temporal System Runner Above the Core |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +## Status |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +Accepted. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +## Context |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +Jano originally focused on temporal partitioning, simulation and model execution |
| 10 | +through `WalkForwardRunner`. That covers sklearn-like estimators well, but some |
| 11 | +real systems update without fitting a classic model: |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +- retrieval indexes can be refreshed, |
| 14 | +- prompts can be revised, |
| 15 | +- routing policies can change, |
| 16 | +- fine-tuning jobs can be wrapped in an operational update step. |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +Those workflows still need fold geometry, retraining or refresh decisions and |
| 19 | +structured outputs, but they do not fit the `fit()` / `predict()` contract cleanly. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## Decision |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +Jano adds a `TemporalSystemRunner` layer for updateable systems. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +The runner: |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +- consumes temporal folds produced by the existing simulation layer, |
| 28 | +- calls a user-provided system `update()` step when policy says to update, |
| 29 | +- calls a user-provided system `evaluate()` step on each fold, |
| 30 | +- returns structured, data-first results. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +The new layer is intentionally above the core splitter and simulation primitives. |
| 33 | +It does not change fold geometry, and it does not move update logic into the |
| 34 | +splitter or planning layers. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +## Consequences |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +- Jano can model more than sklearn-style estimators without changing the splitter. |
| 39 | +- LLM, RAG and prompt-refresh workflows can reuse the same temporal machinery. |
| 40 | +- The runner surface grows, but the core temporal contract stays stable. |
| 41 | +- Agent-facing and notebook-facing workflows can consume structured update and |
| 42 | + evaluation results without parsing HTML or bespoke logs. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +## Invariants |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +- `TemporalBacktestSplitter` remains model-agnostic. |
| 47 | +- `plan()` still describes geometry only. |
| 48 | +- `TemporalSimulation` still materializes temporal folds. |
| 49 | +- `TemporalSystemRunner` stays above the core primitives and does not modify |
| 50 | + partition semantics. |
| 51 | +- Updateable systems are modeled through user-provided callables or protocols, |
| 52 | + not built-in LLM-specific assumptions. |
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