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35. Schema, vocabulary, domain-pack, and migration control plane

The registry is executable governance. It supplies immutable schemas, canonicalization metadata, vocabulary definitions, validation shapes, policy bundles, migration programs and golden vectors. Runtime services resolve only content-addressed locks that…

Concept & directionLNK

The registry is executable governance. It supplies immutable schemas, canonicalization metadata, vocabulary definitions, validation shapes, policy bundles, migration programs and golden vectors. Runtime services resolve only content-addressed locks that were promoted through the registry state machine; they never execute definitions fetched from a user-controlled URL.

#35.1 Registry artifact manifest

Table
Content-addressed registry artifact
RegistryArtifact {
  artifactId, artifactKind, namespace, name, semanticVersion,
  contentDigest, canonicalProfile, mediaType, byteLength,
  dependencyConstraints[], resolvedDependencyLocks[],
  compatibilityClaims[], supersedes[], deprecates[],
  publisherPrincipalId, reviewerDecisionRefs[],
  sourceRevision, buildProvenanceRef, signatureRefs[],
  state, activatedAt?, deprecatedAt?, revokedAt?,
  testVectorManifestDigest, resourceBudget, licenseRef
}

artifactKind in {
  jsonSchema, vocabulary, graphShape, typeRecipe, domainPack,
  policyBundle, canonicalProfile, migrationProgram, testCorpus, sdkPackage
}

#35.2 Promotion state machine

StatePermitted useTransition gate
DRAFTauthor workspace onlySchema parses; namespace and ownership valid
CANDIDATEisolated test tenantsDependencies locked; static safety/resource scan passes
REVIEWEDrelease-candidate corpusIndependent semantic/security review decisions recorded
ACTIVEnew canonical writesCompatibility scan, golden vectors, migration/loss plan, signatures and rollout approval
DEPRECATEDhistorical read; new writes warn or deny by policyReplacement relation and end-of-write date published
REVOKEDverification/read only under explicit incident handlingSecurity/integrity incident and superseding advisory
RETIREDoffline archive interpretationAll supported writers migrated; retention and export path confirmed

Revocation blocks new use; it does not make historical bytes uninterpretable. Verifiers report both validity-at-signing and current registry/key status. Activation is monotonic per namespace/version and never reuses a version string for different bytes.

#35.3 Dependency resolution and pack sandbox

Table
Deterministic dependency resolver and validation sandbox
resolve(rootArtifacts, registrySnapshot):
  candidates = exact content-addressed versions in snapshot only
  solve semantic-version constraints deterministically:
    1. exact lock wins
    2. otherwise highest non-revoked version satisfying every constraint
    3. tie-break by bytewise artifactId
  reject cycles except vocabulary cross-reference groups explicitly marked cyclic
  reject namespace ownership conflict and duplicate term definitions
  emit RegistryLockfile(sorted artifacts, snapshotDigest, resolverVersion)

validate(pack):
  no network, filesystem, clock, randomness or process access
  bounded AST nodes, recursion depth, input graph size, output findings and CPU
  stratified deterministic rules only; no write or authorization side effects
  timeout/error => INDETERMINATE and fail closed for required safety/policy checks
  • A domain pack may add terms, recipes, constraints, mappings and stricter rules inside its declared scope. It cannot redefine kernel identity, time, evidence, rights, canonicalization or action semantics.
  • Validation and capability rules are pure functions over a bounded input snapshot. They return structured findings/proofs and cannot query live external services.
  • External registry adapters produce attributed mapping records. They never insert external class codes directly into core columns or promote a registry assertion into ownership.
  • Pack outputs carry the exact lockfile and evaluation engine digest so a later implementation can reproduce the result.

#35.4 Compatibility classification

ClassDefinitionRequired evidence
wire-backwardnew reader accepts every old valid canonical instanceComplete old corpus plus generated boundary values
wire-forwardold reader safely preserves/rejects every new instance as declaredUnknown-field/term and extension round-trip vectors
semantic-equivalentprojection under stated policy produces the same propositions and unitsBidirectional transform plus proof of no information loss
semantic-refinementnew form adds precision without contradicting old meaningDowncast loss manifest and query-equivalence tests
policy-breakingvisibility, authority, purpose or duty meaning changesNew policy/version, impact review, re-consent or explicit migration
digest-breakingcanonical bytes differ for previously valid inputNew canonical profile; dual verification and representation binding
storage-onlyindexes/partitions change with identical canonical behaviorReplay/golden digest equality and rollback plan

#35.5 Migration program contract

Table
Append-only schema migration
MigrationProgram {
  migrationId, fromSchemaLock, toSchemaLock, programDigest,
  engineProfile, preconditions[], mappingRules[],
  informationLossClasses[], defaultSources[],
  expectedFindingCodes[], goldenVectorsDigest,
  reviewerDecisionRefs[], activationWindow
}

MigrationReceipt {
  sourceRecordId, sourceDigest, targetRecordId, targetDigest,
  migrationId, programDigest, executedAt, executorWorkload,
  findings[], lossManifest[], validationResult, rollbackRelation
}

Rules:
- Historical RecordCore is never rewritten.
- Upcast creates a derived replacement record and explicit relation.
- A supplied default names its source and epistemic lane.
- A lossy transform cannot claim semantic equivalence.
- Bulk activation requires corpus scan counts and quarantine thresholds.

#35.6 Software and definition supply-chain gates

GateMinimum technical evidence
sourceimmutable revision, protected review path, named maintainers and source provenance
buildhermetic/reproducible where feasible, dependency lock, builder identity and SLSA-style provenance
packageartifact digest/signature, SBOM, license, vulnerability status and target compatibility
distributionTUF-style signed metadata roles, expiry, rollback/freeze protection and key rotation
activationcanary tenant/partition, conformance evidence, database migration proof and rollback/forward-fix plan
runtimeloaded digest exposed in health/receipts; unexpected definition or binary digest prevents readiness