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feat: add an "Alternatives" section
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Maniktherana committed Dec 14, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -52,6 +52,31 @@ As stated above, `_created` lines can appear anywhere after its associated metr

## Alternatives

### Do nothing

Continue using the OM text format in its current state and further optimize CPU usage through PRs that build on [github.com/prometheus/prometheus/issues/14823](https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/issues/14823) . This is desirable if we wish to keep backwards compatibility but we would have to live with an inefficient solution.

### Storing CTs Using a `# HELP`-Like Syntax

In addition to the `TYPE`, `UNIT`, and `HELP` fields, we can introduce a `# CREATED` line for metrics that have an associated creation timestamp (CT). This approach allows us to quickly determine whether a CT exists for a given metric, eliminating the need for a more time-consuming search process. By parsing the `# CREATED` line, we can associate it with a specific hash corresponding to the metric's label set, thereby mapping each CT to the correct metric.

However, this method still involves the overhead of storing the CT until we encounter the relevant metric line. A more efficient solution would be to place the CT inline with the metric itself, streamlining the process and reducing the need for intermediate storage.

Furthermore the `CREATED` line itself might look somewhat convoluted compared to `TYPE` , `UNIT` , and `HELP` which are very human readable. This new `CREATED` line can end up looking something like this:

```
# HELP foo Counter with and without labels to certify CT is parsed for both cases
# TYPE foo counter
# CREATED 1520872607.123; {a="b"} 1520872607.123
foo_total 17.0 1520879607.789 # {id="counter-test"} 5
foo_total{a="b"} 17.0 1520879607.789 # {id="counter-test"} 5
foo_total{le="c"} 21.0
foo_created{le="c"} 1520872621.123
foo_total{le="1"} 10.0
```

When the same MetricFamily has multiple label sets with their own CTs we'd have to cram all the timestamps with the additional labels with a delimiter in between.

## Action Plan


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