Files
ScadaBridge/docs/plans/2026-06-16-multivalue-attribute.md
T
Joseph Doherty 09d7319958 docs: implementation plan for structured multi-value (List) attributes
15 tasks (MV-1..MV-15) with classifications, dependencies, and TDD steps:
type model, AttributeValueCodec, idempotent migration, flatten, validation,
runtime encode/decode, DCL array coercion, stream encode, management, CLI,
transport, two UI editors, and integration verification.
2026-06-16 15:16:06 -04:00

32 KiB

Structured Multi-Value (List) Attribute — Implementation Plan

For Claude: REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers-extended-cc:executing-plans (or subagent-driven-development) to implement this plan task-by-task.

Goal: Add a first-class DataType.List attribute type (a homogeneous list of any scalar element type) that round-trips through authoring, flatten, site runtime, OPC UA read/write, streaming, UI, and CLI.

Architecture: One new DataType.List enum member + a nullable ElementDataType companion on the attribute entities and ResolvedAttribute. A single round-trippable AttributeValueCodec (JSON array, invariant culture) encodes/decodes list values everywhere they are stored or transmitted; scalars keep their current string behavior unchanged. The script-accessor .ToString() boundary and the InstanceActor in-memory store are the core runtime changes.

Tech Stack: C#/.NET 10, Akka.NET 1.5, EF Core 10 (MS SQL + SQLite), gRPC, Blazor Server, System.CommandLine CLI.

Design doc: docs/plans/2026-06-16-multivalue-attribute-design.md (approved). Branch: feature/multivalue-attribute (off main; design committed b238228).

Conventions for every task:

  • TDD: write the failing test, see it fail, implement, see it pass, commit.
  • Targeted builds/tests only — build the affected project(s) and run the filtered test(s); a full-solution build runs once in the final task.
  • Build a project: dotnet build src/<Project>/<Project>.csproj
  • Run filtered tests: dotnet test tests/<TestProject>/<TestProject>.csproj --filter <Name>
  • Allowed element types (the 6 scalars): String, Int32, Float, Double, Boolean, DateTime. Not Binary, not nested List.

Task MV-1: Type model — enum member + ElementDataType companion

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~4 min Parallelizable with: none (foundation; everything else depends on it)

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/Enums/DataType.cs
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Entities/Templates/TemplateAttribute.cs
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Entities/Instances/InstanceAttributeOverride.cs
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/Flattening/FlattenedConfiguration.cs (the ResolvedAttribute record, ~line 57)

Step 1 — Add the enum member. Append List as the last member of DataType (append-only; do not reorder — the enum is persisted by name via HasConversion<string>, but appended-last is the safe convention):

public enum DataType
{
    Boolean,
    Int32,
    Float,
    Double,
    String,
    DateTime,
    Binary,
    List
}

Step 2 — Add ElementDataType to the two entities and the resolved record.

TemplateAttribute.cs (after the DataType DataType property, ~line 26):

/// <summary>
/// For <see cref="Enums.DataType.List"/> attributes: the scalar type of each
/// element (String, Int32, Float, Double, Boolean, DateTime). Null for scalar
/// attributes. The element type is fixed by the base attribute and cannot be
/// changed on a derived template or instance override.
/// </summary>
public DataType? ElementDataType { get; set; }

InstanceAttributeOverride.cs (after OverrideValue, ~line 12): add the same public DataType? ElementDataType { get; set; } property (add using ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types.Enums;).

FlattenedConfiguration.csResolvedAttribute record (after DataType at ~line 68). NOTE: ResolvedAttribute.DataType is a string; keep ElementDataType a nullable string here for symmetry with that record's existing style:

/// <summary>For List attributes: the element scalar type name; null otherwise.</summary>
public string? ElementDataType { get; init; }

Step 3 — Build the project. Run: dotnet build src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.csproj Expected: 0 errors (purely additive).

Step 4 — Commit.

git add src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons
git commit -m "feat(commons): add DataType.List + ElementDataType companion for multi-value attributes"

Acceptance: Commons compiles; DataType.List exists; both entities and ResolvedAttribute carry the nullable element-type field.


Task MV-2: AttributeValueCodec (round-trippable JSON encode/decode) + tests

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-3, MV-4 Blocked by: MV-1

Files:

  • Create: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/AttributeValueCodec.cs
  • Create: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Tests/Types/AttributeValueCodecTests.cs

This codec is the single canonical encoder used for: persisted attribute Value, the gRPC wire value, and decode-on-load. ValueFormatter stays display-only and is untouched.

Step 1 — Write failing tests. Cover: scalar passthrough (string returned as-is; int/double/bool/DateTime → invariant string), list encode (List<string>["a","b"]), embedded comma/quote escaping, empty list → "[]", null → null, DateTime list round-trips ISO-8601, culture-invariance (set CultureInfo.CurrentCulture to de-DE and assert Encode(1.5) is "1.5"), decode round-trip for each element type, and decode of malformed JSON throws FormatException (caught by callers).

using System.Globalization;
using ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types;
using ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types.Enums;
using Xunit;

public class AttributeValueCodecTests
{
    [Fact]
    public void Encode_StringList_ProducesJsonArray() =>
        Assert.Equal("[\"WO-1\",\"WO-2\"]",
            AttributeValueCodec.Encode(new List<string> { "WO-1", "WO-2" }));

    [Fact]
    public void Encode_Scalar_String_ReturnedAsIs() =>
        Assert.Equal("hello", AttributeValueCodec.Encode("hello"));

    [Fact]
    public void Encode_Scalar_Double_IsInvariant()
    {
        CultureInfo.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("de-DE");
        Assert.Equal("1.5", AttributeValueCodec.Encode(1.5));
    }

    [Fact]
    public void Encode_EmptyList_IsBracketPair() =>
        Assert.Equal("[]", AttributeValueCodec.Encode(new List<string>()));

    [Fact]
    public void Encode_StringWithComma_IsEscaped() =>
        Assert.Equal("[\"ACME, Inc.\"]",
            AttributeValueCodec.Encode(new List<string> { "ACME, Inc." }));

    [Fact]
    public void RoundTrip_Int32List()
    {
        var json = AttributeValueCodec.Encode(new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 });
        var back = (IList<int>)AttributeValueCodec.Decode(json, DataType.List, DataType.Int32)!;
        Assert.Equal(new[] { 1, 2, 3 }, back);
    }

    [Fact]
    public void Decode_Scalar_ReturnsString() =>
        Assert.Equal("42", AttributeValueCodec.Decode("42", DataType.Int32, null));

    [Fact]
    public void Decode_MalformedJson_Throws() =>
        Assert.Throws<FormatException>(() =>
            AttributeValueCodec.Decode("not json", DataType.List, DataType.String));
}

Step 2 — Run, expect FAIL (AttributeValueCodec not defined). Run: dotnet test tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Tests.csproj --filter AttributeValueCodecTests

Step 3 — Implement. Use System.Text.Json with invariant formatting. For decode, reuse the element-conversion idea from ScriptParameters.ConvertScalar (src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/ScriptParameters.cs:161) — keep the codec self-contained (small private scalar-parser switch on DataType).

using System.Collections;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Text.Json;
using ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types.Enums;

namespace ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types;

/// <summary>
/// Canonical, round-trippable codec for attribute values. Scalars encode to an
/// invariant-culture string (identical to the historical representation); List
/// attributes encode to a JSON array. Used wherever a value is stored or
/// transmitted (DB Value column, site SQLite, gRPC wire). <see cref="ValueFormatter"/>
/// remains a separate, display-only (comma-joined) formatter.
/// </summary>
public static class AttributeValueCodec
{
    private static readonly JsonSerializerOptions JsonOpts = new() { WriteIndented = false };

    /// <summary>Encodes a value to its canonical string form.</summary>
    public static string? Encode(object? value)
    {
        switch (value)
        {
            case null: return null;
            case string s: return s;                       // already canonical
            case IFormattable f: return f.ToString(null, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
            case IEnumerable e:
                var items = e.Cast<object?>()
                             .Select(x => x is IFormattable xf
                                 ? xf.ToString(null, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
                                 : x?.ToString());
                return JsonSerializer.Serialize(items, JsonOpts);
            default: return value.ToString();
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Decodes a canonical string. For <see cref="DataType.List"/> returns a typed
    /// <c>List&lt;T&gt;</c>; for scalars returns the string unchanged. Throws
    /// <see cref="FormatException"/> on malformed list JSON or an un-parseable element.
    /// </summary>
    public static object? Decode(string? value, DataType dataType, DataType? elementType)
    {
        if (dataType != DataType.List) return value;        // scalar: unchanged
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) return null;
        if (elementType is null)
            throw new FormatException("List attribute requires an element type.");

        string?[] raw;
        try { raw = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<string?[]>(value) ?? []; }
        catch (JsonException ex) { throw new FormatException("Malformed list JSON.", ex); }

        var clrType = ElementClrType(elementType.Value);
        var listType = typeof(List<>).MakeGenericType(clrType);
        var result = (IList)Activator.CreateInstance(listType)!;
        foreach (var item in raw)
            result.Add(ParseScalar(item, elementType.Value));
        return result;
    }

    private static Type ElementClrType(DataType t) => t switch
    {
        DataType.String => typeof(string),
        DataType.Int32 => typeof(int),
        DataType.Float => typeof(float),
        DataType.Double => typeof(double),
        DataType.Boolean => typeof(bool),
        DataType.DateTime => typeof(DateTime),
        _ => throw new FormatException($"Unsupported list element type '{t}'.")
    };

    private static object? ParseScalar(string? s, DataType t)
    {
        if (s is null) throw new FormatException("List elements may not be null.");
        var c = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
        try
        {
            return t switch
            {
                DataType.String => s,
                DataType.Int32 => int.Parse(s, c),
                DataType.Float => float.Parse(s, c),
                DataType.Double => double.Parse(s, c),
                DataType.Boolean => bool.Parse(s),
                DataType.DateTime => DateTime.Parse(s, c, DateTimeStyles.RoundtripKind),
                _ => throw new FormatException($"Unsupported list element type '{t}'.")
            };
        }
        catch (Exception ex) when (ex is FormatException or OverflowException)
        {
            throw new FormatException($"List element '{s}' is not a valid {t}.", ex);
        }
    }

    /// <summary>True if the type may be a List element scalar.</summary>
    public static bool IsValidElementType(DataType t) =>
        t is DataType.String or DataType.Int32 or DataType.Float
          or DataType.Double or DataType.Boolean or DataType.DateTime;
}

Step 4 — Run tests, expect PASS.

Step 5 — Commit.

git add src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/AttributeValueCodec.cs tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Tests/Types/AttributeValueCodecTests.cs
git commit -m "feat(commons): AttributeValueCodec for canonical list value encode/decode"

Acceptance: all codec tests pass; scalars unchanged; lists round-trip; malformed JSON throws FormatException.


Task MV-3: EF mapping + idempotent migration

Classification: high-risk Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-2, MV-4 Blocked by: MV-1

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase/Configurations/TemplateConfiguration.cs:111-122
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase/Configurations/InstanceConfiguration.cs:102-103
  • Create: a new migration under src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase/Migrations/

Step 1 — EF config. In TemplateConfiguration.Configure: widen Value and map the new column:

builder.Property(a => a.Value); // remove .HasMaxLength(4000) → defaults to nvarchar(max)

builder.Property(a => a.ElementDataType)
    .HasConversion<string>()
    .HasMaxLength(50);

In InstanceConfiguration (the InstanceAttributeOverride config): drop .HasMaxLength(4000) from OverrideValue, and add the same ElementDataType mapping.

Step 2 — Generate the migration.

dotnet ef migrations add AddListAttributeElementType \
  --project src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase \
  --startup-project src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host

Step 3 — Make Up/Down idempotent (per open follow-up #70 — re-running against a partially-migrated prod DB must not throw). Wrap the generated AddColumn/AlterColumn calls with existence guards via migrationBuilder.Sql(...):

migrationBuilder.Sql(@"
IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.columns WHERE Name='ElementDataType' AND Object_ID=Object_ID('TemplateAttributes'))
    ALTER TABLE [TemplateAttributes] ADD [ElementDataType] nvarchar(50) NULL;");
migrationBuilder.Sql(@"
IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.columns WHERE Name='ElementDataType' AND Object_ID=Object_ID('InstanceAttributeOverrides'))
    ALTER TABLE [InstanceAttributeOverrides] ADD [ElementDataType] nvarchar(50) NULL;");
migrationBuilder.Sql("ALTER TABLE [TemplateAttributes] ALTER COLUMN [Value] nvarchar(max) NULL;");
migrationBuilder.Sql("ALTER TABLE [InstanceAttributeOverrides] ALTER COLUMN [OverrideValue] nvarchar(max) NULL;");

Replace the auto-generated AddColumn/AlterColumn statements with the guarded SQL above (keep the .Designer.cs snapshot the tool generated — only the Up/Down body becomes guarded SQL). Provide a Down that drops the columns if present and restores nvarchar(4000).

Step 4 — Verify no model drift. Run: dotnet build src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase.csproj Then confirm there are no pending model changes:

dotnet ef migrations has-pending-model-changes \
  --project src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase \
  --startup-project src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host

Expected: "No changes have been made to the model since the last migration" (or exit 0).

Step 5 — Commit.

git add src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ConfigurationDatabase
git commit -m "feat(db): migration for ElementDataType + widen attribute Value to nvarchar(max) (idempotent)"

Acceptance: project builds; no pending model changes; migration Up/Down are guarded/idempotent.


Task MV-4: Flatten carries ElementDataType into ResolvedAttribute

Classification: small Estimated implement time: ~3 min Parallelizable with: MV-2, MV-3 Blocked by: MV-1

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.TemplateEngine/Flattening/FlatteningService.cs:177 (and any other site that constructs a ResolvedAttribute)
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.TemplateEngine.Tests/Flattening/FlatteningServiceTests.cs

Step 1 — Failing test: flatten a template whose attribute is DataType.List / ElementDataType=String and assert the ResolvedAttribute has DataType=="List" and ElementDataType=="String"; assert an instance override of that attribute keeps ElementDataType (override replaces value, not element type).

Step 2 — Run, expect FAIL.

Step 3 — Implement: wherever ResolvedAttribute is built (e.g. DataType = attr.DataType.ToString()), also set ElementDataType = attr.ElementDataType?.ToString(). Grep for new ResolvedAttribute and DataType = in FlatteningService.cs to find every construction site and the override-merge path.

Step 4 — Run, expect PASS.

Step 5 — Commit: feat(template): carry ElementDataType through flatten/override.


Task MV-5: Semantic validation for List attributes

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-6, MV-8, MV-9 (different files) Blocked by: MV-1, MV-2

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.TemplateEngine/Validation/SemanticValidator.cs:18-21,130-193
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.TemplateEngine/Validation/ValidationService.cs
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.TemplateEngine.Tests/Validation/SemanticValidatorTests.cs

Rules to enforce (write a failing test for each first):

  1. DataType.List requires a non-null ElementDataType that is a valid element scalar (AttributeValueCodec.IsValidElementType); a scalar attribute must have ElementDataType == null. Violation → validation Error.
  2. An authored default Value on a List attribute, if present, must AttributeValueCodec.Decode without throwing (catch FormatException → Error with the element type and message).
  3. A List attribute used as an operand in a numeric trigger (HiLo / RangeViolation) or a binary trigger → Error. Extend the existing NumericDataTypes operand check (~line 130-193): a List operand is never numeric and never a valid binary operand.

Steps: failing tests → run (FAIL) → implement the three checks → run (PASS) → commit feat(validation): semantic checks for List attributes (element type, default value, trigger operands).


Task MV-6: Script-accessor encode boundary

Classification: small Estimated implement time: ~3 min Parallelizable with: MV-8, MV-9 Blocked by: MV-2

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.SiteRuntime/Scripts/ScopeAccessors.cs:56,73
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.SiteRuntime.Tests/Scripts/... (accessor or runtime-context test; create if absent)

Problem: AttributeAccessor set/SetAsync currently do value?.ToString(), which turns a List<string> into "System.Collections.Generic.List1[System.String]"`.

Step 1 — Failing test: a fake/seam ScriptRuntimeContext.SetAttribute(name, encoded) capturing the encoded string; assert setting a List<string>{"a","b"} sends ["a","b"] and setting a scalar "x" still sends "x".

Step 2 — Run, expect FAIL.

Step 3 — Implement: replace both .ToString() sites with the codec:

set => _ctx.SetAttribute(Resolve(key), AttributeValueCodec.Encode(value) ?? string.Empty)
           .GetAwaiter().GetResult();
// and in SetAsync:
=> _ctx.SetAttribute(Resolve(key), AttributeValueCodec.Encode(value) ?? string.Empty);

Add using ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons.Types;.

Step 4 — Run, expect PASS.

Step 5 — Commit: fix(siteruntime): encode list attribute writes via AttributeValueCodec (was .ToString()).


Task MV-7: InstanceActor decode (load + static set + override merge)

Classification: high-risk Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: none Blocked by: MV-1, MV-2, MV-4, MV-6

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.SiteRuntime/Actors/InstanceActor.cs:114-122 (load), :307-320 (HandleSetStaticAttributeCore), and the static-override merge on load (grep GetStaticOverridesAsync usage)
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.SiteRuntime.Tests/Actors/InstanceActorTests.cs

Goal: _attributes holds a typed List<T> for List attributes so HandleGetAttribute returns a real list to scripts, and the canonical JSON string is what gets persisted + streamed.

Step 1 — Failing tests (use the existing InstanceActor test harness / TestKit):

  • Load a flattened config with a List attribute default ["a","b"]GetAttributeRequest returns an IEnumerable of {"a","b"} (not the raw string).
  • SetStaticAttributeCommand with Value = "[\"x\",\"y\"]" on a List attribute → subsequent get returns {"x","y"}; assert SetStaticOverrideAsync was called with the JSON string ["x","y"] (persisted form is canonical JSON).
  • A persisted SQLite override ["p","q"] applied on load decodes to a list.
  • Malformed stored value → attribute loads with Bad quality, actor does not throw (wrap Decode in try/catch → log + set quality Bad).

Step 2 — Run, expect FAIL.

Step 3 — Implement.

  • Add a small private helper on the actor:
    private object? DecodeAttributeValue(ResolvedAttribute attr, string? raw)
    {
        var dataType = Enum.Parse<DataType>(attr.DataType, ignoreCase: true);
        var elementType = string.IsNullOrEmpty(attr.ElementDataType)
            ? (DataType?)null
            : Enum.Parse<DataType>(attr.ElementDataType, ignoreCase: true);
        try { return AttributeValueCodec.Decode(raw, dataType, elementType); }
        catch (FormatException ex)
        {
            _logger.LogWarning(ex, "Attribute '{Attr}' on '{Instance}' has an undecodable value; marking Bad quality",
                attr.CanonicalName, _instanceUniqueName);
            return null; // caller sets quality Bad
        }
    }
    
  • Load loop (:116-121): _attributes[attr.CanonicalName] = DecodeAttributeValue(attr, attr.Value); and set quality Bad when a List value failed to decode (non-null raw but null result).
  • Apply the same decode when merging persisted static overrides (the GetStaticOverridesAsync merge).
  • HandleSetStaticAttributeCore (:309): look up the ResolvedAttribute for command.AttributeName; store DecodeAttributeValue(resolved, command.Value) in _attributes (so reads are typed) while continuing to persist and publish command.Value (the canonical JSON string) unchanged. The published AttributeValueChanged keeps carrying the canonical string — StreamRelayActor (MV-9) handles encoding uniformly.

Step 4 — Run, expect PASS.

Step 5 — Commit: feat(siteruntime): decode List attributes to typed lists in InstanceActor (load/set/override).

Acceptance: scripts read List attributes as List<T>; persisted + streamed form is canonical JSON; undecodable values degrade to Bad quality without crashing the actor.


Task MV-8: DCL OPC UA array read coercion

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-5, MV-6, MV-9 Blocked by: MV-1, MV-2

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.DataConnectionLayer/Adapters/RealOpcUaClient.cs (read/subscription value handling) — and the InstanceActor handler that ingests a DCL value for a data-sourced attribute (grep for where incoming tag values update _attributes / publish AttributeValueChanged).
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.DataConnectionLayer.Tests/...

Goal: when a data-sourced attribute is declared DataType.List, an incoming OPC UA array value becomes a typed list with each element coerced to ElementDataType; element-type mismatch → Bad quality + log (non-fatal). The write path needs no change (RealOpcUaClient.WriteValueAsync already wraps in Variant, which serializes a List<T>/T[] as an OPC UA array — add a test asserting an array value writes without exception).

Steps: failing tests (array read → typed list of correct element type; mismatched element → Bad quality; array write via Variant succeeds) → run (FAIL) → implement coercion using AttributeValueCodec/Convert per element → run (PASS) → commit feat(dcl): coerce OPC UA array reads to typed list attributes; Bad quality on element mismatch.


Task MV-9: StreamRelayActor canonical-JSON encode

Classification: small Estimated implement time: ~2 min Parallelizable with: MV-5, MV-6, MV-8 Blocked by: MV-2

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Actors/StreamRelayActor.cs:48
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication.Tests/...

Step 1 — Failing test: relay an AttributeValueChanged whose Value is a List<string>{"a","b"} → assert the produced AttributeValueUpdate.Value == "[\"a\",\"b\"]"; relay a scalar string "x" → assert Value == "x" (unchanged).

Step 2 — Run, expect FAIL.

Step 3 — Implement: replace Value = ValueFormatter.FormatDisplayValue(msg.Value), with Value = AttributeValueCodec.Encode(msg.Value) ?? string.Empty, (add the using). This is additive — List is a new type, no existing wire consumer relies on comma-joined lists; the proto string value field is unchanged.

Step 4 — Run, expect PASS.

Step 5 — Commit: feat(comm): stream List attribute values as canonical JSON.


Task MV-10: ManagementActor add/update attribute handlers

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-11 not (blocks it); MV-12/13 share contract Blocked by: MV-1, MV-2, MV-5

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ManagementService/ManagementActor.cs:~1441-1461 (add/update attribute), :526 (the DataType.ToString() serialization for read-back)
  • Modify: the management command/message contract that carries an attribute (add ElementDataType — additive field; grep for the AddAttribute/UpdateAttribute command records in Commons/Messages/...)
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.ManagementService.Tests/...

Goal: the add/update-attribute path accepts an optional element-type, validates (DataType, ElementDataType, Value) via the MV-5 rules + AttributeValueCodec, and persists both columns. Read-back includes ElementDataType.

Steps: failing tests (add a List attribute with element type String + JSON default → persisted with both columns; add List without element type → rejected; add List with bad default → rejected) → run (FAIL) → implement parse/validate/persist → run (PASS) → commit feat(mgmt): accept + validate ElementDataType on attribute add/update.


Task MV-11: CLI element-type + JSON value

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~4 min Parallelizable with: MV-12, MV-13 Blocked by: MV-10

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CLI/Commands/TemplateCommands.cs:140-199 (attribute add/update) and the instance-override command if present
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CLI/README.md (document --element-type + JSON --value)
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CLI.Tests/... (option parsing)

Goal: add --element-type <Scalar>; --value accepts a JSON array for List attributes. Validate element type client-side before sending; surface server validation errors.

Steps: failing test (parse --data-type List --element-type String --value '["a","b"]' → request carries List + String + JSON) → run (FAIL) → implement option + plumb to the management call → run (PASS) → commit feat(cli): --element-type and JSON --value for List attributes.


Task MV-12: Transport DTO + importer field

Classification: small Estimated implement time: ~3 min Parallelizable with: MV-4, MV-9, MV-11, MV-13 Blocked by: MV-1

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Commons/Types/Transport/... or src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Transport/Serialization/EntityDtos.cs:77-83 (TemplateAttributeDto)
  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Transport/Import/BundleImporter.cs:~2300-2306
  • Test: tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Transport.Tests/... (round-trip export→import of a List attribute)

Goal: the export/import DTO carries ElementDataType; a List attribute survives an export→import round-trip. Old bundles without the field import as scalars (null element type) — assert backward-compat.

Steps: failing round-trip test → run (FAIL) → add ElementDataType to the DTO + importer mapping → run (PASS) → commit feat(transport): round-trip ElementDataType for List attributes.


Task MV-13: Central UI — TemplateEdit list editor

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-11, MV-12, MV-14 Blocked by: MV-10

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CentralUI/Components/Pages/Design/TemplateEdit.razor:82,484-491,556-566
  • (Optional) Create: a small AttributeListEditor.razor shared component under CentralUI/Components/Shared/
  • Test/verify: Playwright fixture if the harness covers TemplateEdit; otherwise manual verification noted in the task.

Use the frontend-design skill for the editor UI (clean corporate Bootstrap, no third-party component frameworks — per CLAUDE.md).

Goal: when the attribute DataType dropdown = List, reveal an ElementDataType dropdown (the 6 scalars) and a repeatable add/remove row editor bound to the JSON value. Inline per-element validation by element type. The dropdown already enumerates Enum.GetValues<DataType>(), so List appears automatically — gate the element-type + list editor on _attrDataType == DataType.List.

Steps: implement the conditional editor; bind to AttributeValueCodec.Encode of the rows for submit; decode existing JSON into rows on edit; build dotnet build src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CentralUI/...; verify (Playwright or manual) → commit feat(ui): List attribute editor in TemplateEdit.


Task MV-14: Central UI — InstanceConfigure override list editor

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: MV-13 Blocked by: MV-10

Files:

  • Modify: src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.CentralUI/Components/Pages/Deployment/InstanceConfigure.razor
  • Reuse: the AttributeListEditor.razor component from MV-13 if created.

Goal: overriding a List attribute on an instance uses the same list editor (whole-list replacement; element type shown read-only — fixed by base). Clearing the override removes it.

Steps: implement using the shared editor; element-type dropdown is read-only here; build CentralUI; verify → commit feat(ui): List attribute override editor in InstanceConfigure.


Task MV-15: Integration verification + docs/README sync

Classification: standard Estimated implement time: ~5 min Parallelizable with: none Blocked by: all (MV-1 … MV-14)

Files:

  • Modify: README.md and/or docs/requirements/Component-*.md if a DataType/attribute capability note needs updating (Template Engine / Commons).
  • Modify: docs/plans/2026-06-16-multivalue-attribute-design.md — mark Status complete.

Steps:

  1. Full-solution build: dotnet build ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.slnx — expect 0 errors.
  2. Run the feature's targeted test classes across the touched test projects (codec, flatten, validation, InstanceActor, DCL, comm, transport, CLI).
  3. End-to-end smoke (optional, if exercising the cluster): bash docker/deploy.sh, then via CLI create a template with a List attribute (--data-type List --element-type String --value '["WO-1","WO-2"]'), deploy an instance, and confirm the value flows to the DebugView as ["WO-1","WO-2"].
  4. Update docs; sync the design-decision note if the high-level requirements track the DataType set.
  5. Commit: docs: mark multi-value attribute feature complete; sync README/component notes.

Acceptance: full build green; all targeted tests pass; (if run) the value round-trips end-to-end through the cluster.


Parallelization summary

  • Wave 1: MV-1 (foundation, solo).
  • Wave 2 (after MV-1): MV-2, MV-3, MV-4, MV-12 in parallel (disjoint files).
  • Wave 3 (after MV-2): MV-5, MV-6, MV-8, MV-9 in parallel; MV-7 after MV-6.
  • Wave 4 (after MV-5): MV-10; then MV-11, MV-13, MV-14 in parallel after MV-10.
  • Wave 5: MV-15 (final, solo).

Risk notes

  • MV-3 (migration) and MV-7 (actor model) are the high-risk tasks — full review chain.
  • The migration must be idempotent (open follow-up #70 is the cautionary precedent).
  • The gRPC change (MV-9) is additive — List is a brand-new type, so no existing wire consumer breaks; the proto field is unchanged.