repeatdepends
Repeatdepends is a term used in dependency management to describe a process in which the system repeatedly reevaluates the dependency graph as dependencies themselves change state. The goal is to reach a stable point where no further changes propagate through dependent tasks.
In practice, repeatdepends occurs in build systems, task runners, and data pipelines that must adapt to dynamic
- An initial evaluation creates a dependency graph and triggers execution of tasks with satisfied prerequisites.
- When a task completes, its outcome or state can alter dependencies of other tasks, triggering a
- The system repeats re-evaluations until a fixpoint is reached or a configured maximum number of iterations
- Safeguards may include cycle detection, change-based triggering, and timeouts to prevent runaway loops.
- Monorepos with late-bound dependencies or code generation steps.
- Data pipelines where data quality, schema, or source availability changes propagate downstream.
- Dynamic service orchestration where runtime conditions affect dependency resolution.
Limitations and considerations:
- Potential performance overhead and the risk of non-termination if graphs are not well-formed.
- Debugging complexity due to repeated state changes across the graph.
- Requires careful configuration, observability, and clear criteria for convergence.
- Fixpoint, re-evaluation, incremental build, dependency resolution.