This directory contains the language-neutral specification for Substrates — a deterministic signal circulation infrastructure.
- SPEC.md — The Substrates Specification (Version 2.9 — Draft)
- RATIONALE.md — Design Rationale (non-normative companion to SPEC.md)
The specification defines structural primitives, behavioral contracts, and lifecycle semantics for constructing computational networks in which typed values flow through governed topologies with precise ordering guarantees.
It is independent of any programming language, runtime, or transport mechanism. A conformant implementation may be realized as an in-process library, a networked service, or any combination thereof.
The specification covers:
- Core abstractions — Cortex, Circuit, Conduit, Pool, Pipe, Receptor, Fiber, Flow, Window, Cell, Port, Pin, Ticker, and their relationships
- Behavioral contracts — Deterministic ordering, emission semantics, cascading priority, temporal validity
- Lifecycle management — Scopes, resource cleanup, circuit shutdown sequences
- Identity system — Names, subjects, extents, and canonical identity guarantees
- Tenure model — Instance retention semantics (Interned, Ephemeral, Anchored)
- Conformance requirements — Required types, operations, and behavioral invariants
The Java projection of this specification can be found here. Appendix A.2 of the spec documents Java-specific binding decisions that are non-normative for other language projections.
Copyright © 2025 William David Louth. Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.