Canonical definitions for the Semantic Operating System and its components.
A
Agent
An entity executing workflows under orchestration rules.
Agents apply operators, read/write semantic memory through authorized pathways, and emit provenance for all actions.
Artifact
Any semantic object produced by an operator or engine, including derived structures, intermediate outputs, or final results.
Assumption
A declared, typed parameter or condition associated with an operator invocation or model. Must be recorded in provenance.
C
Constraint
A declarative restriction or condition applied to semantic objects or USIR graphs. Must be validated by domain modules or engines.
Contract (Lowering/Lifting)
A formal specification of preconditions, postconditions, invariants, and provenance requirements for transforming between representations.
Not an algorithm; a structural agreement.
Cross-Domain Coherence
A system-wide condition where representations across domains interoperate through shared type fragments, invariant structures, and USIR relations.
D
Decision Artifact
A semantic object representing an agent’s choice, including operator selection, routing, parameter binding, or workflow branching. Must be traceable via provenance.
Derived Object
Any semantic object produced through a transformation or operator application, with explicit provenance linking to inputs.
Domain Module
A bounded, versioned package containing schemas, invariants, operator families, validation rules, and tool adapters for a specific domain.
Domain Object
A semantic object defined within a domain module schema and validated by domain invariants.
E
Engine
A computational component that executes operators over USIR structures.
Engines emit typed outputs, validation artifacts, diagnostics, and complete provenance metadata.
Equivalence Relation
A formally defined criterion used to evaluate reproducibility for non-deterministic or approximate operator outputs.
Execution Context
Typed metadata describing the environment, engine/tool configuration, and state snapshot used during operator execution.
G
Graph (USIR)
A typed directed multigraph representing semantic structures, operator applications, workflows, or constraints.
I
Invariant
A declarative condition that must hold for semantic objects, USIR structures, or workflows.
Violations generate diagnostics and may halt execution.
Interface (Human)
A read-only or operator-mediated surface for inspection, visualization, and debugging of semantic structures and provenance.
Interpretation Layer (SIM)
A semantic exploration and inspection environment that exposes USIR, semantic memory, invariants, and provenance with consistent visualization contracts.
L
Lineage (Temporal)
The chain of creation, modification, and derivation events associated with a semantic object. Must be queryable.
Lowering
A structured transformation from a more abstract representation to a more concrete one, executed through a lowering contract.
M
Memory Access Protocol
Rules governing how agents read, write, or snapshot semantic memory under orchestration control.
Metadata (Execution)
Structured engine/tool information emitted during operator execution, including environment parameters, tolerances, and runtime status.
Module Boundary
The operational limits of a domain module, beyond which it must defer to USIR or other domains and may not violate global invariants.
Mutation Path
An operator-mediated modification to semantic objects. All mutations must be recorded via provenance.
O
Operator
A typed transformation with explicit signatures, preconditions, postconditions, effect scopes, and provenance emission requirements.
Operator Family
A set of operators within a domain or global layer sharing structure, inputs/outputs, or invariants.
Orchestration
The deterministic execution environment governing workflows, agent lifecycle, memory protocols, and provenance guarantees.
P
Pantheon IR
The Universal Semantic Intermediate Representation - a typed intermediate representation (IR) designed for cross-domain semantic transformations. Pantheon IR serves as the "assembly language for meaning," providing a common substrate for representing concepts, relationships, and operators across different domains (code, infrastructure, knowledge, computation).
Parameter (Typed)
An explicit value or configuration passed to an operator, validated against type requirements and recorded in provenance.
Persistent Object
Any semantic object stored durably in semantic memory with schema and version references.
Provenance
A structured record capturing lineage, operator invocation details, inputs/outputs, assumptions, environment, diagnostics, and state snapshots.
R
Relation (USIR)
A typed connection between USIR nodes with defined semantics and integrity rules (e.g., dependency, derivation, constraint, containment).
Replayability
The ability to re-execute a workflow with equivalent results under defined equivalence relations and snapshot semantics.
Reproducibility
A contract defining the expected stability of outputs for a given operator or engine (deterministic, bounded, or non-reproducible).
S
Schema
A versioned definition of the structure, fields, allowed relations, invariants, and types of a semantic object or USIR pattern.
Semantic Contract
A complete specification binding an operator, transformation, or system component, consisting of:
- Signature: input/output types, arity, required parameters
- Invariants: preconditions, postconditions, preserved properties
- Provenance requirements: emission rules, completeness guarantees
- Reproducibility guarantees: deterministic, bounded, or non-reproducible
- Effects: scope of mutations, side effects on semantic memory
All operators, domain modules, and engines operate under semantic contracts. Specialized contracts (lowering/lifting, reproducibility) are instances of this pattern.
Semantic Object
Any object stored in semantic memory, compliant with a schema, versioned, typed, and linked via provenance.
Semantic Memory
The persistent, typed, provenance-complete storage layer for all semantic objects and their relations.
SIM (Semantic Information Mesh)
The interactive environment exposing the structure of semantic memory, USIR, and workflows for navigation, exploration, and debugging.
Snapshot (State)
A versioned capture of relevant semantic memory and execution context used for reproducible runs and inspection.
T
Transformation
Any operator-driven modification to semantic objects, USIR structures, or workflows.
Type Fragment
A component of the USIR type system provided by core or domain modules. Must be versioned and validated.
Typed Relation
A relation with declared source and target types, validation rules, and semantics. Required for all USIR edges.
U
USIR (Universal Semantic Intermediate Representation)
A typed, explicit, graph-structured intermediate representation unifying cross-domain structures, operators, workflows, and transformations.
V
Validation
A process that checks schema correctness, type soundness, invariant satisfaction, and provenance completeness.
Versioned Identifier
A stable pair consisting of (id, version) used for semantic objects, schemas, operators, and domain modules.
W
Workflow
A versioned, structured operator graph with explicit dependencies, execution semantics, artifact bindings, and replay contracts. Workflow versions are immutable once committed and referenced in all execution provenance.