.Net: Clarification on Helper Functions for Independent Memory Connectors

[azaddhirajkumar]

I am building an independent memory connector for Couchbase following the contributing guidelines in this repository. The documentation mentions that any memory connector should be developed as separate plugin. However, I noticed that some essential helper functions (e.g., those in the Data folder like VectorStoreRecordPropertyReader) are tightly coupled with your project and are not included in the published NuGet packages.

The link to the files I'm talking about:

https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel/blob/main/dotnet/src/InternalUtilities/src/Data/VectorStoreErrorHandler.cs
https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel/blob/main/dotnet/src/InternalUtilities/src/Data/VectorStoreRecordMapping.cs
https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel/blob/main/dotnet/src/InternalUtilities/src/Data/VectorStoreRecordPropertyReader.cs

However, since they are unavailable in the NuGet package, I am unsure whether I should:

1. Copy these methods from the repo directly into my project.
2. Rely on another package (if available).

Also, do we have any other memory connector that is built as an external plugin for reference?

[dmytrostruk]

@azaddhirajkumar Thanks for your question!

Yes, at the moment, we are using these helper classes internally only, so if you want to re-use them, you can copy these methods in your own implementation. In the future we could make them public, so it will be possible to use them directly.

Also, do we have any other memory connector that is built as an external plugin for reference?

At the moment I'm not aware about publicly available external memory connectors, but I think there will be some implemented in the future. If that would be the case, we will leave the links in our documentation.

Let us know when your connector will be available, it would be great to learn more about it and your experience in its development. Thanks again!

[azaddhirajkumar]

@dmytrostruk Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to respond!

Since there are no publicly available external memory connectors yet, I was wondering if it might be possible to contribute Couchbase support directly to the Semantic Kernel repository. I believe this approach could benefit the community by ensuring alignment with existing guidelines and providing a centralized option. I’d love to explore this way of contributing, if it aligns with your vision.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you.