Replaced `os.path.exists()` + `os.path.getmtime()` with a single `os.stat()` call in `scripts/web_dashboard.py` to reduce syscalls by 50% for cache checks. Also pre-calculated static file paths at module level to avoid redundant `abspath` and `join` calls on every request.
Impact:
- Reduces filesystem operations per request.
- Improves code cleanliness by centralizing path constants.
- Verified with existing tests and manual curl check.
💡 What: Separated the /health endpoint from the main dashboard rendering logic. It now returns a lightweight JSON response.
🎯 Why: The previous implementation rendered the full Markdown dashboard for every health check, consuming unnecessary CPU and I/O resources during frequent polling.
📊 Impact: Reduces health check processing time from file reading + markdown parsing (~milliseconds) to a simple JSON return (~microseconds).
🔬 Measurement: Verified with new test script scripts/test_web_dashboard.py and updated render.yaml/app.yaml to use the new endpoint.
- Implemented a Flask-based web dashboard in `scripts/web_dashboard.py` to serve project status and documentation.
- Integrated the web dashboard into `config/startup_config.json` as a managed component.
- Updated `requirements.txt` with `flask` and `markdown` dependencies.
- Added `/health` endpoint for cloud platform health checks.
- Verified system integrity with existing validation and testing scripts.
