08 · Glossary

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Each entry has a plain meaning, the stricter system meaning, a fictional example, and the mix-up the design is trying to prevent. Press / to focus the search.

Source

Plain meaning
A place a product is offered: a shop page, a feed, or a partner API.
In this system
A registered origin the collector is allowed to read. It is not the program that reads it.
Example
Fictional src_lumen_web is Lumen’s site. src_halden_us and src_halden_de are two Halden storefronts, not two collectors.
Often confused with
People say “source” when they mean the scraper.
See
Services and boundaries · collectors · Follow one product · story

Collector

Plain meaning
The worker that fetches a source and hands the bytes over.
In this system
A deployable that acquires evidence and stops at a durable receipt. It does not decide identity.
Example
Fictional ci_halden_fra_01 is one instance of cw_halden_us_browser. It may fetch src_halden_us. It does not own the listing.
Often confused with
A collector is not a source, and a heartbeat is not a product update.
See
Services and boundaries · collectors · Interfaces and trust · if_source_fetch

Product

Plain meaning
The exact thing a buyer means, independent of who sells it.
In this system
A catalog item: one variant or one pack, with its own identity. The product service presents it. It does not mint it.
Example
itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs is the heatsink variant. itm_ssd_p5_1t is the same family without that heatsink.
Often confused with
A product page URL is usually a listing, not the product.
See
Data and vocabulary · identity · Glossary · listing

Merchant listing

Plain meaning
One seller’s offer of a product at a particular URL.
In this system
A listing maps to one variant or one pack. Inventory hangs on the listing, the pool, and the time it was seen.
Example
lst_lum_p5_1t_hs is Lumen’s offer. The decision changes its reference from itm_ssd_p5_1t to itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs.
Often confused with
Correcting a listing mapping changes which item the listing references. It does not merge products.
See
Data and vocabulary · identity · Follow one product · decision

Variant

Plain meaning
A specific configuration of a product family.
In this system
An exact catalog item whose identity-relevant attributes differ from its siblings. Packaging is part of that identity.
Example
The heatsink flag makes itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs a different variant from itm_ssd_p5_1t inside fam_strata_p5.
Often confused with
A color or a pack count is not a cosmetic label if the rules treat it as identity.
See
Data and vocabulary · identity · Glossary · pack

Pack

Plain meaning
More than one unit sold as a single offerable item.
In this system
Its own catalog item. It is not a quantity of the single unit.
Example
itm_ridgeline_2x250g is not itm_ridgeline_500g. The design blocks that merge. Both are fictional Pantry & Pour items.
Often confused with
“Two bags” is not the same identity as “one bag of the combined weight.”
See
Data and vocabulary · identity · Glossary · variant

Capture

Plain meaning
One observation of a source at a time.
In this system
The durable record that points at artifacts, the collector, the source, and observed_at. A new fetch is a new capture even when the bytes match.
Example
cap_lum_0310 is the fictional Lumen page used through this guide. cap_pp_feed_1011 is the Pantry & Pour stand-in.
Often confused with
A capture is not the decision, and it is not yet public.
See
Follow one product · intake · Glossary · artifact

Artifact

Plain meaning
The bytes that were fetched.
In this system
A write-once object addressed by checksum. The capture cites it. The object is not rewritten when a parser improves.
Example
art_0310_html is the HTML for cap_lum_0310. The example checksum is the sha256 used on the upload.
Often confused with
The same checksum can be cited by more than one capture. That does not make the observations the same moment.
See
Follow one product · intake · Glossary · evidence

Evidence

Plain meaning
What a later reader can still inspect.
In this system
The artifact, its locator, and the capture that ties them to a source and a time. Claims cite evidence. They do not replace it.
Example
dec_0141 cites cap_lum_0310. Replay reads those same bytes.
Often confused with
A model paragraph is not evidence. A claim without a locator is rejected.
See
Follow one product · extraction · Glossary · claim

Claim

Plain meaning
A proposed fact taken from evidence.
In this system
A field, a value, a method, a parser or model version, and a locator in a capture. Proposed claims are not accepted facts.
Example
The heatsink claim is proposed because pa_lumen_product@0.9.1 missed it. The human correction sets storage:heatsink to true.
Often confused with
A claim is not a decision, and two models agreeing is not a second observation.
See
Follow one product · extraction · Glossary · observation

Observation

Plain meaning
What was true of the source at the time it was seen.
In this system
The capture’s observed_at plus the artifact. Later processing does not move that time.
Example
The Lumen page was observed at 2026-10-10T03:31:55Z. The receipt was stored at 2026-10-10T03:32:01Z.
Often confused with
Processing time, acceptance time, and publication time are later clocks.
See
Data and vocabulary · time · Glossary · freshness

Observed time

Plain meaning
When the source was seen.
In this system
observed_at on the capture. Replay and redelivery must not change it.
Example
evt_0142 carries observed_at 2026-10-10T03:31:55Z even though it was accepted the next day.
Often confused with
The receipt’s received_at is not the observation.
See
Data and vocabulary · time · Glossary · processing-time

Processing time

Plain meaning
When the system worked on an observation.
In this system
received_at, extraction time, accepted_at, and applied time. None of them rewrite observed_at.
Example
The receipt for rcpt_0310 says received_at 2026-10-10T03:32:01Z. Acceptance of evt_0142 is 2026-10-11T09:12:20Z.
Often confused with
A faster pipeline does not make the page newer.
See
Data and vocabulary · time · Glossary · observed-time

Freshness

Plain meaning
How recently an answer was observed, and whether it is still fit to use.
In this system
Stock and price stay tied to observed_at. A stale shipping policy can be kept, warned, and kept out of a definitive ranking.
Example
Northfield’s stale policy, mer_northfield, is retained and warned. It is not treated as a current shipping promise.
Often confused with
Freshness is not the same as “the projection was rebuilt today.”
See
Data and vocabulary · shipping · Operations and improvement · budget

Acceptance

Plain meaning
The resolver has committed the fact.
In this system
Decision or rule, fact rows, and outbox rows commit in one transaction. The product service has not applied it yet, and readers cannot see it yet.
Example
dec_0141 commits with outbox evt_0141 and evt_0142. That commit is private.
Often confused with
Accepted does not mean public. The event field published_at is not a release.
See
Follow one product · states · Glossary · application

Application

Plain meaning
The product service has folded an accepted event into its projection.
In this system
Inbox row and projection change commit together. A duplicate or an older revision is ignored. A missing dependency is parked.
Example
evt_0142 applies listing lst_lum_p5_1t_hs at revision 2 only after catalog item itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs revision 1 is already applied.
Often confused with
Ack of a parked event does not fill the gap.
See
Interfaces and trust · delivery · Glossary · publication

Publication

Plain meaning
An authorized release has been applied and can be read.
In this system
A separate command, POST /v1/publications with publications:write. Acceptance and application of a correction do not publish by themselves.
Example
The reader sees lst_lum_p5_1t_hs only after that release is applied. Until then the correction stays private.
Often confused with
published_at on evt_0142 is the time the event was relayed, not approval to show it.
See
Follow one product · states · Glossary · acceptance

Job delivery

Plain meaning
One hand-off of a queue message to a worker.
In this system
At least once. A second delivery of the same job is not permission to spend money again.
Example
A resolution job can be delivered twice after a crash. The attempt already on record is reused.
Often confused with
Delivery count and paid-attempt count are different counters. The design has not reconciled “3 deliveries” with “dead-letter after 5.”
See
Operations and improvement · redelivery · Glossary · paid-attempt

Tenant

Plain meaning
Whose private catalog this is.
In this system
ten_primary in the fixtures. A proposed tenant boundary. Collectors cannot switch tenant at registration time.
Example
Receipts and events for this walkthrough are stamped ten_primary. Another tenant would not read them.
Often confused with
A tenant is not a catalog, and not an execution region.
See
Data and vocabulary · tenancy · Glossary · catalog

Catalog

Plain meaning
The identity space inside a tenant.
In this system
cat_primary is the proposed catalog for the fixture tenant. Shared catalogs with overlays are a recorded future alternative, not the current proposal.
Example
evt_0142 names both ten_primary and cat_primary. The product projection is for that pair.
Often confused with
Putting two brands in one catalog is a modeling choice Jonathan has not closed.
See
Data and vocabulary · tenancy · Glossary · tenant

Execution region

Plain meaning
Where the collector process runs.
In this system
Declared by the operator on the instance. It is not the shopper’s country and not the warehouse.
Example
ci_halden_fra_01 declares a Frankfurt host, country DE. That does not make the Halden US storefront a German market.
Often confused with
Do not copy this field into shipping.
See
Data and vocabulary · geography · Glossary · outbound-geography

Outbound geography

Plain meaning
Where the collector’s network request leaves from.
In this system
Recorded egress. It may differ from the execution region. It is still not the buyer’s destination.
Example
The same Frankfurt instance records egress country DE, verified false in the fixture. Unverified egress stays labeled unverified.
Often confused with
Egress is not a shipping promise.
See
Data and vocabulary · geography · Glossary · execution-region

Storefront market

Plain meaning
Which shop the listing belongs to.
In this system
The source’s market, such as src_halden_us versus src_halden_de. It is chosen by the site, not by the collector’s city.
Example
A browser in Frankfurt can still be aimed at the US storefront. The listing remains a US offer.
Often confused with
The machine’s region does not relabel the storefront.
See
Data and vocabulary · geography · Glossary · shipping-destination

Shipping destination

Plain meaning
Where the buyer wants the goods sent.
In this system
An input to policy evaluation. Missing policy or a missing postcode stays unknown. It is never guessed from the collector.
Example
Halden US to Nevada without a postcode: eligibility, free shipping, and cost stay unknown. Halden DE can be eligible while free terms and cost stay unknown.
Often confused with
Destination is not execution region, egress, or storefront market.
See
Data and vocabulary · shipping · Glossary · storefront-market

Decision

Plain meaning
A person’s or a rule’s committed answer.
In this system
An immutable row: action, actor, expected case revision, evidence, and the facts it applied. A correction is a new decision. Models do not write this row.
Example
dec_0141 corrects rc_0007 at expected revision 2 and creates itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs. A confident uncontested match can instead be accepted by an authorized rule.
Often confused with
The reviewer’s advice is not a decision. A model proposal is not a decision. A stale revision returns 409 and changes nothing.
See
Follow one product · decision · Glossary · event

Event

Plain meaning
The accepted fact packaged for another service.
In this system
An outbox row relayed at least once. It names tenant, catalog, revision, dependencies, evidence, and history epoch.
Example
evt_0142 is listing_mapping.corrected for lst_lum_p5_1t_hs revision 2. It depends on itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs revision 1.
Often confused with
Receiving an event is not applying it, and applying it is not publishing it.
See
Interfaces and trust · delivery · Glossary · outbox

Outbox

Plain meaning
The resolver’s list of events that must leave only after the facts commit.
In this system
Rows written in the same transaction as the decision. A relay publishes them afterward. A crash can publish twice. It must not publish a rollback.
Example
AW-01 inserts evt_0141 and evt_0142 with dec_0141. The relay is a later step.
Often confused with
The outbox is not a second database the product service writes.
See
Services and boundaries · writes · Glossary · event

Projection

Plain meaning
The product service’s readable copy of accepted facts.
In this system
Built only from applied events and snapshots. It never mints identity. A reader query hits this copy.
Example
After evt_0142 is applied, the listing projection points at itm_ssd_p5_1t_hs. Before that, the reader still sees the previous release.
Often confused with
Rebuilding a projection does not rewrite resolver history.
See
Services and boundaries · product-service · Glossary · rebuild

Replay

Plain meaning
Run a new parser against bytes already stored.
In this system
Pins the artifact and the new adapter version. observed_at stays. Differences become claims, not silent overwrites.
Example
imp_0003 proposes pa_lumen_specgrid@1.0.0 against cap_lum_0310. It is a fictional draft, not an issue-tracker ticket.
Often confused with
Replay is not a new observation and not a freshness gain.
See
Operations and improvement · replay · Glossary · observed-time

Rebuild

Plain meaning
Construct a new projection from a pinned snapshot and the events after it.
In this system
The snapshot’s rows and cursor must describe the same history. A shadow cursor catches up. Cutover swaps the pointer. An older history epoch is ignored, not relabeled.
Example
The fixture epoch on evt_0142 is history-demo-1. Events from an older epoch stay fenced.
Often confused with
A rebuild is not a replay, and the workbench recovery screen is a simulation.
See
Operations and improvement · recovery · Glossary · replay

Receipt

Plain meaning
The collector’s proof that the capture is durable.
In this system
Returned only after the artifact is stored and the capture, receipt, and job row commit. The same submission returns the same receipt.
Example
rcpt_0310 names cap_lum_0310, status stored, received_at 2026-10-10T03:32:01Z.
Often confused with
A receipt is not a resolution result and not a public release.
See
Follow one product · intake · Glossary · capture

Parser adapter

Plain meaning
A versioned deterministic parser for one source shape.
In this system
Selected by supports(). A miss or a failure opens an LLM fallback. A newer version is replayed. It does not edit the artifact. This is not an infrastructure adapter.
Example
pa_lumen_product@0.9.1 misses the heatsink. pa_lumen_specgrid@1.0.0 is the proposed successor. pa_shopfeed_json@1.1.0 reads the fictional feed. Profiles such as np_coffee normalize fields.
Often confused with
A parser adapter is not the collector, not a prompt, and not the port that stores bytes or talks to a queue.
See
Follow one product · extraction · Glossary · infrastructure-adapter

Infrastructure adapter

Plain meaning
A replaceable port for storage, a queue, a database, or the process that hosts a service.
In this system
The domain calls the port. The adapter is the local filesystem, a private bucket, a queue binding, Hyperdrive, or a Node process. Swapping it does not change what a parser accepts.
Example
The hosted sketch uses a private R2 bucket, queues, and Hyperdrive. The local sketch uses files and PostgreSQL on one machine. ADR-007 records both as proposals.
Often confused with
An infrastructure adapter does not parse a listing. A parser adapter does not choose the database.
See
Implementation roadmap · hosted · Glossary · adapter

The workbench’s own glossary is kept, unchanged, at workbench-glossary.md. Where a word in that file points at a workbench screen, use the chapter links above. Those screens are not in this package.

Local reference