Handledvary

Handledvary is a design concept in software engineering that describes managing multiple variants of a resource through opaque handles. A handle is a lightweight reference that stands in for a specific variation of a resource, rather than the resource data itself. The variation is defined in a variation set that groups related variants under a common identity. The term emphasizes decoupling the identity of a resource from its variant content, enabling flexible selection and reuse.

Implementation typically centers a variant registry or manager. When a handle is created, it encodes a key that selects a variant from the variation set. The manager resolves a handle to the concrete data, potentially loading it on demand or retrieving it from a cache. Variants may be versioned or parameterized, allowing safe evolution of resources as contexts change. Operations include creating handles for specific variants, resolving handles to data, replacing or updating variants, and invalidating caches when variants change.

Applications include asset management in graphics engines, where different textures or shaders exist for lighting conditions; configuration and feature-flags in software systems; and experimentation frameworks that compare outcomes across variant resources. The approach helps reduce duplication, supports lazy loading, and enables consistent references across subsystems.

Challenges include ensuring consistency between handles and their variants across updates, debugging difficulty when resolution is deferred, and potential performance costs for frequent resolution or cache management. Proper versioning, lifecycle management, and clear documentation are important for reliability.

See also: handle, variant, resource management, lazy loading.