Comprehensive feature proposals for next-generation stackview

[Copilot]

Addresses Issue #177 requesting proposals for stackview's future development. Provides strategic analysis and technical roadmap based on codebase review, 110 GitHub issues, and competitive analysis.

Documents Created

Strategic Planning

• PROPOSALS_INDEX.md - Navigation hub
• EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md - Strategic overview, priorities, metrics
• DELIVERABLES_SUMMARY.txt - Quick reference

Feature Specifications

• NEXT_GENERATION_PROPOSALS.md - 29 features across 6 priority tiers with APIs and complexity estimates
• IMPLEMENTATION_ROADMAP.md - Technical specs, code examples, architecture decisions
• VISUAL_ROADMAP.md - Timeline, dependency tracking, milestones

Market Analysis

• FEATURE_COMPARISON.md - Competitive matrix vs napari/ipyvolume/matplotlib, positioning strategy

Top 5 Priorities

Feature	Effort	Impact	Issue
Scale bars	2 weeks	HIGH	#167
Performance (large images)	4 weeks	HIGH	#61
Multi-image curtain	3 weeks	MED	#80
Measurement tools	6 weeks	HIGH	-
3D volume rendering	12 weeks	HIGH	#140

Strategic Direction

Maintain: Simple API, Jupyter-native, lightweight
Add: Professional features (measurements, 3D, scale bars)
Avoid: Feature bloat, desktop app, competing with napari

Positioning: "Easy napari" for quick exploration - simpler than napari, more interactive than matplotlib.

Example: Proposed Measurement API

# Proposed API for measurement tools
measurement_widget = stackview.measure(
    image,
    tools=['line', 'angle', 'circle'],
    units='microns',
    scale=0.5
)

# Access measurements as DataFrame
measurements = measurement_widget.get_measurements_df()

Timeline

• Q1 2026: Quick wins (scale bars, keyboard shortcuts)
• Q2 2026: Performance optimization
• Q3-Q4 2026: Strategic features (3D, measurements)
• Q1-Q2 2027: Ecosystem (plugins, ML integration)

Metrics (12 months)

• Downloads: 2.5K → 5K/month (2x)
• Test coverage: 20% → 80% (4x)
• Open issues: 17 → <10
• Contributors: 2 → 10 (5x)

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Start reading: PROPOSALS_INDEX.md for navigation or EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.md for 15-minute overview.

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Next generation stackview</issue_title>
<issue_description>Check this repository and make proposals for how to develop stackview further. What could be useful new features?</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes Next generation stackview #177

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