Publication record

Canonical ID: codex:structural-vocabulary

Publication Status: Published

Version: 1.1

Artefact Type: Canonical Vocabulary

Normative Status: Normative definitions with informative explanation

Steward: Codex Resonance

Supersedes: Codex Structural Vocabulary v1.0

Purpose

The Codex Structural Vocabulary establishes the canonical public vocabulary through which semantic identity, meaning, relationship, provenance, trust, continuity and publication standing can be represented consistently across systems, actors, contexts and time.

It defines structural concepts rather than enterprise concepts.

It provides the semantic foundation upon which future Codex Commons artefacts, profiles, mappings and machine-readable representations may be built.

Structural scope

The Codex Structural Vocabulary is intentionally small.

Codex Commons does not attempt to define every concept in the world. It publishes the structural concepts required for coherent meaning.

The purpose of the Codex Structural Vocabulary is not to model the world. Its purpose is to model the structures through which meaning remains coherent.

Relationship to v1.0

Version 1.1 is the complete current vocabulary, not an amendment sheet.

It preserves all unchanged v1.0 concepts and incorporates the following revisions directly into the current definitions and normative notes:

• narrower and externally grounded Authority;
• clearer Commons-specific Canonical Artefact standing;
• stronger boundaries around Interpretation, Evidence and Scope;
• stronger Revision and Supersession history preservation;
• explicit Equivalence / Formal Identity boundary;
• cross-cutting Non-Promotion discipline;
• explicit public-access and usage-rights boundary.

Version 1.0 remains historically retrievable as the prior superseded version.

Vocabulary structure

The vocabulary is organised into six groups:

1. Identity — what something is, how it is recognised and how variant representations remain connected.
2. Meaning — concepts through which interpretation becomes possible.
3. Relationship — how concepts participate together within applicable contexts.
4. Trust — why a representation may be relied upon.
5. Continuity — how meaning survives change.
6. Publication — how public semantic standing is established and maintained.

Cross-cutting rule — Non-Promotion

No semantic role, publication status, mapping, assessment result, sufficiency determination, represented authority or lifecycle state should be treated as establishing another standing unless an explicit applicable basis supports that transition.

Examples:

• publication ≠ institutional authority;
• mapping ≠ equivalence;
• evidence ≠ acceptance;
• conformance ≠ permission;
• representation of authority ≠ authority;
• later revision ≠ rewritten history.

Group 1 — Identity

Identity establishes what something is, how it is recognised and how equivalent representations remain connected.

Identity

Canonical ID: codex:identity

Definition:

Identity is the structural condition through which a subject can be recognised as the same subject across representations, contexts and time.

Purpose:

To preserve recognisable sameness without requiring every representation of a subject to be identical.

Related Concepts:

Subject, Representation, Reference, Equivalence, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

Identity should be distinguished from any single label, description or representation.

Subject

Canonical ID: codex:subject

Definition:

A subject is that which is being identified, represented, described or related within a coherent semantic structure.

Purpose:

To separate the thing under consideration from the representations used to refer to it.

Related Concepts:

Identity, Representation, Reference, Relationship.

Normative Notes:

A subject should not be collapsed into one representation of that subject.

Representation

Canonical ID: codex:representation

Definition:

A representation is an expression, record or form through which a subject, concept or relationship is made available for interpretation.

Purpose:

Meaning must be carried in forms that can move across actors, systems, contexts and time.

Related Concepts:

Identity, Subject, Reference, Equivalence, Provenance.

Normative Notes:

A representation should retain sufficient context to support coherent interpretation. A representation of authority, acceptance, conformance or another standing does not itself create that standing.

Reference

Canonical ID: codex:reference

Definition:

A reference is a directed means of indicating a subject, concept, representation or artefact.

Purpose:

To make semantic connection possible without restating the whole thing being referred to.

Related Concepts:

Identity, Representation, Relationship, Canonical Artefact.

Normative Notes:

A reference should be resolvable within its declared context. Reference does not itself establish acceptance, authority or equivalence.

Equivalence

Canonical ID: codex:equivalence

Definition:

Equivalence is the recognised condition under which two or more representations are treated as referring to the same subject, concept or meaning for a declared purpose and scope.

Purpose:

To preserve connection between variant representations while retaining the conditions under which they are considered equivalent.

Related Concepts:

Identity, Representation, Reference, Scope, Authority.

Normative Notes:

Equivalence should be stated, scoped and supportable; it should not be assumed from similarity alone.

Formal Identity Boundary:

Codex equivalence is qualified equivalence for a declared purpose and scope unless a stronger external equivalence relation is explicitly asserted under that relation's own semantics.

A Codex equivalence assertion must not be treated as owl:sameAs, owl:equivalentClass, owl:equivalentProperty, skos:exactMatch or another stronger formal relation unless that specific relation is explicitly intended, applicable and supported.

Qualified semantic equivalence ≠ formal identity.

Group 2 — Meaning

Meaning establishes the concepts through which interpretation becomes possible.

Concept

Canonical ID: codex:concept

Definition:

A concept is a coherent unit of meaning that can be defined, interpreted, related and reused.

Purpose:

To provide a stable semantic unit for coherent understanding.

Related Concepts:

Meaning, Definition, Interpretation, Semantic Coherence.

Normative Notes:

A concept should have a defined scope and should not rely on unstated interpretation.

Meaning

Canonical ID: codex:meaning

Definition:

Meaning is the interpreted significance of a concept, representation or relationship within a context.

Purpose:

So that representations can be understood consistently rather than merely stored or transmitted.

Related Concepts:

Concept, Definition, Interpretation, Context, Semantic Coherence.

Normative Notes:

Meaning should be interpreted with its context, boundary and constraint visible.

Definition

Canonical ID: codex:definition

Definition:

A definition is a bounded statement of the meaning of a concept.

Purpose:

To stabilise interpretation and reduce ambiguity.

Related Concepts:

Concept, Meaning, Boundary, Scope.

Normative Notes:

A definition should state meaning without silently expanding authority, scope or use.

Interpretation

Canonical ID: codex:interpretation

Definition:

Interpretation is the act of deriving meaning from a representation within a context.

Purpose:

Meaning is not carried by representation alone.

Related Concepts:

Meaning, Context, Constraint, Authority.

Normative Notes:

Interpretation should remain traceable to the representation, context and basis that support it.

Interpretation does not, by itself, establish fact, cause, authority, permission or universal applicability.

Semantic Coherence

Canonical ID: codex:semantic-coherence

Definition:

Semantic coherence is the condition in which meaning remains interpretable, connected and accountable across representations, contexts and time.

Purpose:

To preserve meaningful continuity as representations change or move.

Related Concepts:

Meaning, Context, Constraint, Lineage, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

Semantic coherence should not be inferred from consistency of wording alone.

Group 3 — Relationship

Relationship establishes how concepts participate together within applicable contexts.

Relationship

Canonical ID: codex:relationship

Definition:

A relationship is a stated connection between subjects, concepts, representations or artefacts.

Purpose:

To make participation and dependency visible.

Related Concepts:

Subject, Concept, Context, Scope, Reference.

Normative Notes:

A relationship should be named or described clearly enough to support interpretation. A relationship must not silently be promoted into a stronger relationship without an explicit basis.

Context

Canonical ID: codex:context

Definition:

Context is the surrounding condition within which meaning is interpreted and relationships apply.

Purpose:

To prevent meanings and relationships from being detached from the conditions that make them valid.

Related Concepts:

Meaning, Interpretation, Scope, Boundary, Constraint.

Normative Notes:

Context should be explicit where interpretation depends on it.

Scope

Canonical ID: codex:scope

Definition:

Scope is the declared range within which a concept, relationship, interpretation or artefact applies.

Purpose:

To limit application and avoid overextension.

Related Concepts:

Context, Boundary, Constraint, Publication Status.

Normative Notes:

Scope should be stated before an artefact is relied upon for a declared purpose.

Applicability within one declared scope does not automatically extend to another scope or intended use.

Boundary

Canonical ID: codex:boundary

Definition:

A boundary is the declared limit of what a concept, artefact or interpretation includes and excludes.

Purpose:

To prevent semantic overreach.

Related Concepts:

Scope, Constraint, Definition, Authority.

Normative Notes:

A boundary should identify what is not governed as well as what is governed.

Constraint

Canonical ID: codex:constraint

Definition:

A constraint is a stated condition that limits, qualifies or governs interpretation, relationship or use.

Purpose:

To preserve meaning under conditions where unrestricted interpretation would create ambiguity or drift.

Related Concepts:

Context, Scope, Boundary, Authority, Evidence.

Normative Notes:

A constraint should be explicit, traceable and capable of being applied consistently.

Group 4 — Trust

Trust establishes why a representation may be relied upon.

Provenance

Canonical ID: codex:provenance

Definition:

Provenance is information about the origin, stewardship or publication history of a representation or artefact.

Purpose:

To support reliance by making origin and standing visible.

Related Concepts:

Evidence, Lineage, Stewardship, Publication.

Normative Notes:

Provenance should not be treated as proof of truth; it establishes traceable origin and standing.

Lineage

Canonical ID: codex:lineage

Definition:

Lineage is the traceable sequence through which a representation, concept or artefact has developed.

Purpose:

To make continuity and change intelligible.

Related Concepts:

Provenance, Revision, Supersession, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

Lineage should preserve enough history to explain material change.

Evidence

Canonical ID: codex:evidence

Definition:

Evidence is the supporting basis through which a representation, interpretation, relationship or claim can be assessed.

Purpose:

To make reliance accountable rather than merely asserted.

Related Concepts:

Trust, Provenance, Authority, Constraint.

Normative Notes:

Evidence should be relevant to the claim, purpose, scope and context for which it is relied upon.

Evidence sufficient for one declared use is not automatically sufficient for another.

Trust

Canonical ID: codex:trust

Definition:

Trust is the warranted reliance placed on a representation, relationship or artefact within a declared context.

Purpose:

To distinguish supported reliance from unsupported assumption.

Related Concepts:

Evidence, Provenance, Authority, Context.

Normative Notes:

Trust should be contextual, supported and bounded. Trust does not itself create authority or permission.

Authority

Canonical ID: codex:authority

Definition:

Authority is externally or institutionally constituted standing to make, maintain or govern a specified class of claim, interpretation, decision or artefact within a declared scope.

Purpose:

To make the source and limits of governing standing explicit.

Related Concepts:

Stewardship, Publication, Provenance, Trust, Scope.

Normative Notes:

Authority should be attributed to its applicable source, proposition, scope and context.

A representation of authority does not itself create, transfer or expand that authority.

Publication or stewardship within Codex Commons establishes Commons publication or stewardship standing only. It does not establish legal, regulatory, clinical, cultural, operational or enterprise authority.

Group 5 — Continuity

Continuity establishes how meaning survives change.

Version

Canonical ID: codex:version

Definition:

A version is an identified state of an artefact, representation or concept at a point in its publication or development history.

Purpose:

To distinguish one recognised state from another.

Related Concepts:

Revision, Supersession, Continuity, Publication Status.

Normative Notes:

A version should be identifiable and referable.

Revision

Canonical ID: codex:revision

Definition:

A revision is a change to a representation, concept or artefact that creates a new recognised state.

Purpose:

To allow change while preserving traceability.

Related Concepts:

Version, Lineage, Supersession, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

A revision should preserve a record of material change.

A later revision creates a new recognised state. It must not retroactively rewrite the historical standing of an earlier identified version.

Supersession

Canonical ID: codex:supersession

Definition:

Supersession is the condition in which a later artefact, version or representation replaces an earlier one for a declared purpose and scope.

Purpose:

To prevent conflicting versions from being treated as simultaneously current without qualification.

Related Concepts:

Version, Revision, Publication Status, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

Supersession should state what is replaced, for what purpose/scope and from when.

Supersession is purpose- and scope-relative and should preserve the identity and reconstructability of the superseded artefact.

Continuity

Canonical ID: codex:continuity

Definition:

Continuity is the preserved connection of identity, meaning, lineage or standing through change.

Purpose:

So that change does not break coherent interpretation.

Related Concepts:

Identity, Semantic Coherence, Lineage, Revision.

Normative Notes:

Continuity should be supported by lineage, version and revision records.

Group 6 — Publication

Publication establishes public semantic standing.

Publication

Canonical ID: codex:publication

Definition:

Publication is the act through which an artefact is given declared public standing, version and status.

Purpose:

To distinguish accepted public artefacts from drafts, research notes or internal material.

Related Concepts:

Canonical Artefact, Publication Status, Stewardship, Provenance.

Normative Notes:

Publication should identify status, version, steward and scope.

Publication into Codex Commons establishes Commons public standing only. It does not establish institutional authority, acceptance, conformance or permission elsewhere.

Stewardship

Canonical ID: codex:stewardship

Definition:

Stewardship is the responsibility for maintaining the standing, coherence and continuity of an artefact or vocabulary.

Purpose:

To make maintenance responsibility explicit.

Related Concepts:

Authority, Publication, Provenance, Continuity.

Normative Notes:

Stewardship should be stated so reliance is not anonymous. Stewardship does not automatically create authority outside the declared stewardship scope.

Canonical Artefact

Canonical ID: codex:canonical-artefact

Definition:

A canonical artefact is a published artefact that holds canonical Codex Commons standing for its identified semantic content, scope, version and publication status.

Purpose:

To provide stable public semantic standing within Codex Commons.

Related Concepts:

Publication, Publication Status, Version, Authority.

Normative Notes:

Canonical Commons standing establishes the published identity and version of the artefact within Codex Commons.

It does not by itself establish external institutional, legal, regulatory, clinical, cultural or operational authority.

Publication Status

Canonical ID: codex:publication-status

Definition:

Publication Status is the declared state of an artefact in its publication lifecycle.

Purpose:

To clarify whether an artefact is draft, candidate, accepted for publication, published, superseded, deprecated or withdrawn.

Related Concepts:

Publication, Version, Supersession, Canonical Artefact.

Normative Notes:

Publication Status should be visible wherever an artefact is relied upon. Publication status does not silently promote any other semantic or institutional standing.

Boundary of the vocabulary

The Codex Structural Vocabulary does not define:

• Customers
• Products
• Invoices
• Orders
• Employees
• Assets
• Services
• Policies
• Processes
• Enterprise authorities
• Decision rights
• Intent Scopes
• Enterprise Products

These belong to enterprise constitutional or domain vocabularies rather than the Codex Structural Vocabulary.

The Codex Structural Vocabulary defines the structural grammar through which those vocabularies may later be represented coherently. It does not define the enterprise concepts themselves.

This boundary preserves the distinction between public semantic structure and institutional authority.

Relationship to Commons profiles

The Structural Vocabulary defines the common grammar.

More specialised Commons profiles may apply that grammar to recurring semantic problems.

Examples currently under controlled publication preparation include:

• RRAP — representation-role assignments;
• QMAP — qualified mapping assertions;
• Assessment Assertion Profile — basis-bound assessment findings.

Those profiles do not replace the Structural Vocabulary. They specialise it for particular semantic responsibilities.

Relationship to Arqua

Codex Commons publishes reusable public semantic structure.

Arqua establishes how an institution determines what is accepted, governed, relied upon and acted upon within that institution's own authority.

Codex Resonance investigates. Codex Commons publishes reusable semantic structure. Arqua realises institutional architecture. Customers remain sovereign.

External semantic standards

Codex Commons should reuse established external vocabularies where their semantics genuinely apply rather than redefine them.

Examples include:

• PROV-O for provenance and derivation;
• SKOS for concept-scheme mapping where applicable;
• OWL identity/equivalence only where its stronger formal semantics are explicitly intended;
• SHACL for graph validation where a specific implementation/version is authorised.

Use of an external mapping, validation or provenance relation does not automatically establish institutional acceptance, authority or runtime permission.

Public access and usage

Codex Commons is publicly accessible, but public availability does not itself grant unrestricted implementation, redistribution, commercialisation, branding, conformance or derivative-product rights.

For this artefact:

• public reading is permitted;
• reference and citation with appropriate attribution are permitted;
• unrestricted redistribution is not granted;
• commercialisation or derivative-product rights are not granted;
• Codex or Arqua branding/alignment claims are not granted;
• conformance/certification claims are not granted;
• implementation rights are not granted unless separately and expressly authorised.

Publication lineage

Prior version: 📚Codex Structural Vocabulary v1.0

Publication gate evidence: CC-PUB-GATE-01 — internal controlled record.

Owner publication decision: CC-PUB-DEC-01 — internal controlled record.

Current standing

Codex Structural Vocabulary v1.1 is the complete current published Structural Vocabulary.

Version 1.0 remains historically retrievable as the superseded prior version.