Terminology

The following terms apply throughout this specification. A section that introduces a more specialized term defines it where it is first used. Terms are listed alphabetically.

accepted event. A trigger event whose payload passed manifest validation and whose delivery was admitted for initiation or subscription processing.

action. A named operation published by a connector and available for a workflow to invoke. An action’s manifest entry declares its inputs, outputs, and operational behavior.

activation predicate. A condition on a Workfile’s source structure or resolved dependencies that requires a capability or profile. The condition applies whether or not the affected path is reached during execution.

ambiguous result. An action result for which the requested success was not observed and an external effect can remain in doubt.

attempt. One invocation of an action or embedded program by the executor. A step can have several attempts; an attempt is not a step or binding.

binding. A name associated with one value or scope during a run. A binding is created once and is not reassigned.

boundary decoding. Interpretation of a carrier according to its declared type at a type boundary, producing a Workfile value. Distinct from complete validation of shape, presence, and constraints; see Object Types and the Workfile Schema Dialect.

capability. A named, independently claimable unit of optional functionality whose complete conformance requirements are defined by this specification or by the specification identified by its namespace. When a capability’s activation predicate is satisfied, the Workfile requires that capability without a separate declaration. Declaring implementation support for a capability is a conformance claim.

carrier. The external or native representation from which a Workfile value is decoded at a type boundary, such as timestamp text or a file-reference object. See Object Types and the Workfile Schema Dialect.

catalog. A service or collection that publishes versioned connector manifests, filter packages, and other resolvable artifacts.

classified failure. A definite connector failure whose stable code and retry class are declared by the connector contract.

conformance claim. A statement that identifies the implementation targets, document formats, profiles, and capabilities of this specification to which an implementation claims conformance.

connection. Deployment-supplied configuration and credentials through which an executor reaches one account or instance of a connector. A connection is not an ordinary workflow value.

connector. A named integration that publishes actions or triggers through a connector manifest. A connector describes an integration contract, not the software that implements it or a particular configured account.

construct. An operation defined by this specification and identified in a step by a reserved wf. key. Workfile Core and profiles can define constructs; vendors cannot define or reinterpret names in the wf.* namespace.

Core workflow. A workflow whose Workfile satisfies no profile activation predicate. A Core workflow can still require one or more optional capabilities.

definite failure. A failure result that asserts that the requested success was not produced and that no external effect is in doubt. Classified failures and evaluation faults are definite failures; an ambiguous result is not.

deployment. The configured environment in which a Workfile is validated or executed. Deployment configuration supplies connections, policy, available execution capabilities, and workflow identity when required. The implementation using that configuration performs the corresponding validation, initiation, or execution function.

dispatch. The point at which the executor has handed an attempt’s request to the connector implementation such that an external effect can have begun. A failure before dispatch cannot leave an external effect in doubt; loss of a result after dispatch is governed by the action’s declared effects.

durable boundary. A point from which the executor can continue without repeating a completed external effect or losing a binding, decision, timer, subscription, attempt result, or pending ambiguity.

evaluation fault. A definite failure raised while evaluating an otherwise valid expression, interpolation, projection, template, or dynamically checked value.

executor. An implementation that evaluates and runs a workflow. An executor can interpret a Workfile directly, compile it, or lower it onto another execution engine.

expression-bearing value structure. A scalar, list, or map in a Workfile whose scalar leaves can be interpolations and whose keys and structure are data.

extension region. A connector-schema region declared defined_by: connection, whose fields are supplied by the selected connection’s schema overlay. See Connections and Schema Overlays.

filter package. A named, versioned collection of expression filters published through a catalog.

held. The state of a durable run waiting for reconciliation or operator resolution of an ambiguous action.

implementation. A concrete realization of one or more document formats, implementation targets, capabilities, or profiles of this specification, such as a validator, executor, catalog, or supporting tool.

incomplete. A validation result stating that required input, usable dependency content, or capability-owned validation was unavailable, so the corresponding validity or support result was not determined.

initiation implementation. An implementation that activates trigger bindings and admits events or scheduled occurrences under a claimed initiation capability. It can hand admitted work to a separate executor.

invalid. A validation result establishing a violation of an applicable document or resolved-validity requirement. Distinct from unavailable deployment support or an incomplete validation result; see Static Validation.

manifest. A document that describes a connector or filter package and the contract it publishes.

materialize. To produce a Workfile Data Model value from its representation, recursively interpreting members according to the declared type. See Object Types and the Workfile Schema Dialect.

outcome. The standardized result of a step or run. An outcome is distinct from the value, if any, produced by successful execution.

pin. A recorded exact dependency identity and content digest used to verify subsequent use of that dependency. See Resolution and Pinning.

profile. A named set of additional requirements that extends Workfile Core or another defined format or target for a particular class of use or execution. An implementation conforms to a profile only if it satisfies every prerequisite and every requirement of that profile. A profile can require specified capabilities but does not alter the requirements it extends.

record (verb). To retain information under Recording, including during validation and resolution.

recovery generation. One recorded recovery attempt and the decisions and work performed for it.

run record. A portable inspection projection of a retained run, defined by wf.run-records; its serialized form is a run record document.

redo set. The recovery-selected set of previously completed steps whose work is executed again.

resolution. Selection and recording of the exact identities and content of a workflow’s dependencies; also the resulting record. See Resolution and Pinning.

run. One execution of a workflow with particular resolved dependencies, deployment inputs, and trigger data, if any.

scope. A context containing bindings and determining which enclosing bindings are visible to expressions; constructs can expose nested scopes through their results. See Scopes.

specification. The normative prose document that defines a Standard revision.

Standard. The versioned whole comprising this specification, its Standard Library, conformance suite, and machine-readable schemas. Normative registries and grammars contained in this specification are part of the specification rather than separate artifacts.

Standard Library. The normative collection of connector and filter-package definitions published with and versioned as part of each Standard revision. Standard Library artifacts have independent identities within the corresponding Library edition.

state-form Workfile. A Workfile whose executable body is declared with top-level states and initial. See State Document Form.

step. One named unit of work in a workflow. A step invokes either a Workfile construct or a connector action and can make an outcome and value available to later steps.

step-form Workfile. A Workfile whose executable body is declared with top-level steps. See Document Structure.

step list. An ordered sequence of named steps, used at the top level or within a construct or modifier. See Steps for its representation and ordering.

suspended. The state of a durable run waiting for a timer, event, child run, recovery decision, or other profile-defined input.

target. In a conformance claim, the implementation role being claimed: Document Validator, Core Validator, or Core Executor. In deployment-support assessment, the target deployment. See Conformance and Static Validation.

target deployment. The configured execution environment whose support a validator is assessing. Its available capabilities and profiles are distinct from the validator’s own conformance claims.

trigger. A declared event source, schedule, or polling condition that can start a run.

trigger activation. Establishing a configured trigger source for initiation or subscription processing. Its timing is defined by the containing construct; see Trigger Configuration. Distinct from satisfying a capability or profile activation predicate.

trigger binding. The payload binding selected for one trigger entry, including its declared or default name.

type boundary. A point at which an external or native representation is materialized and validated as a Workfile Data Model value.

unsupported. A result establishing that a particular target deployment cannot run the Workfile because a required revision, dependency, connection, capability, profile, or resource is unavailable or incompatible. A known support failure does not establish document or resolved validity.

validator. An implementation that determines whether a document and its available dependencies satisfy the applicable static requirements of this specification.

Workfile. A document in the format defined by Workfile Core. A Workfile describes one workflow.

Workfile Core. The base requirements for Workfile validation and execution that apply without activation of an optional capability or profile.

workflow. The executable definition represented by a resolved Workfile. A workflow is distinct from both its source document and any run of that definition.