Version: 0.1.0
Status: Public (Alpha)
This glossary defines all canonical terms used throughout the Proof‑of‑Contribution Protocol Core.
- Shared understanding
- Deterministic interpretation
- Governance clarity
- Audit readiness
- Cross‑language consistency
Every term in this document is normative unless otherwise noted.
A contributor‑initiated behavior that results in a contribution event.
Examples: code commit, documentation update, governance vote.
The deterministic component that sums integer scores from all applicable scoring rules.
A structured JSON object representing a contributor action.
Must include: event_id, type, timestamp, payload, metadata.
Deterministic checks that determine whether a scoring rule applies to an event.
The degree to which an implementation matches the reference protocol behavior exactly.
The atomic unit of work in the protocol.
Represents a single contributor action.
The final output of the protocol pipeline, containing:
- Event
- Validation result
- Score result
- Protocol version
- Optional signature
The requirement that all implementations (JS, Python, Rust, etc.) produce identical outputs for identical inputs.
The guarantee that the same input always produces the same output.
No randomness. No external state. No environment‑dependent behavior.
A contribution type representing improvements to documentation.
A boundary condition that must be tested to ensure deterministic behavior.
The first stage of the protocol pipeline.
Performs schema validation and timestamp sanity checks.
A canonical JSON file used for deterministic testing and conformance validation.
The process by which protocol changes are proposed, reviewed, approved, and versioned.
A contribution type representing participation in governance decisions.
Any system that constructs events, runs validation/scoring, or consumes proofs.
A deterministic error produced by the event intake layer.
The requirement that JSON structures be serialized consistently across implementations.
The full sequence from contributor action → event → validation → scoring → proof.
Optional contextual information included in an event.
Must not affect determinism.
A version bump that introduces new rules or validators without breaking existing behavior.
The structured data associated with an event.
Must be validated by payload validators.
The component that produces the final contribution proof.
A function with no side effects and deterministic output.
A validator that prevents duplicate or regressive events.
The component that determines which scoring rules apply to an event.
The semantic version of a scoring rule.
The deterministic component that evaluates rules and produces integer scores.
A deterministic, versioned rule that assigns an integer score to an event.
The versioning system used by the protocol:
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.
A cryptographic signature attached to a proof.
Must not affect determinism.
The official set of fixtures and tests required for protocol compliance.
####:Threat Model The document describing security assumptions, risks, and mitigations.
A deterministic check ensuring timestamps are valid and reasonable.
A validator that ensures the event type is recognized.
The deterministic sequence of validators applied to an event.
A deterministic, stateless, versioned function that checks event correctness.
The requirement that integrators specify exact versions of rules, validators, and protocol.
This glossary is now ready for:
- Documentation site
- Specification
- Governance RFCs
- Audit packages
- Integrator onboarding