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# ASL/FEDERATION/1 -- Core Federation Semantics
Status: Draft
Owner: Architecture
Version: 0.1.0
SoT: No
Last Updated: 2025-01-17
Tags: [federation, domains, visibility, determinism]
**Document ID:** `ASL/FEDERATION/1`
**Layer:** L2 -- Federation semantics (no transport, no encodings)
**Depends on (normative):**
* `ASL/1-CORE`
* `ASL/1-CORE-INDEX`
* `ASL/LOG/1`
* `ASL-STORE-INDEX`
**Informative references:**
* `ENC-ASL-CORE-INDEX` -- domain/visibility fields (`tier1/enc-asl-core-index.md`)
* `ASL/SYSTEM/1` -- unified system view
* `ASL/FEDERATION-REPLAY/1` -- cross-node deterministic replay
* `ASL/DAM/1` -- Domain Authority Manifest
* `ASL/POLICY-HASH/1` -- policy hash
---
## 0. Conventions
The key words **MUST** , **MUST NOT** , **REQUIRED** , **SHOULD** , and **MAY** are to be interpreted as in RFC 2119.
ASL/FEDERATION/1 defines **semantic rules** for multi-domain visibility and cross-domain references. It does not define transport, replication, or encodings.
---
## 1. Purpose
ASL/FEDERATION/1 defines the **multi-domain model** for ASL-based systems:
* Domain isolation and visibility rules
* Published vs internal state
* Cross-domain reference constraints
* Snapshot identity and deterministic reconstruction
---
## 2. Core Concepts
| Term | Definition |
| -------------------- | ---------- |
| Domain | Logical namespace with its own ASL store, log, and snapshot lineage. |
| Internal state | Artifacts/snapshots visible only within the domain. |
| Published state | Artifacts/snapshots visible to other domains. |
| Federated snapshot | Snapshot with visibility state that may be imported by other domains. |
| Cross-domain reference | Reference to a published artifact from another domain. |
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| Federation view | A deterministic view constructed by combining local internal state with admitted published state from other domains. |
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---
## 3. Domain Semantics
1. **Domain isolation**
* Each domain has its own store, index, and log.
* Internal state is invisible outside the domain.
2. **Published state**
* Published artifacts and snapshots are visible to other domains.
* Published artifacts MUST satisfy ASL immutability and snapshot safety rules.
3. **Cross-domain references**
* Only published artifacts MAY be referenced by other domains.
* Cross-domain references are read-only and immutable.
* The consuming domain indexes imported artifacts using normal ASL index semantics.
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* Imported entries MUST preserve origin metadata (domain identity and visibility) for deterministic replay.
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---
## 4. Snapshot Identity
* Snapshot IDs are unique per domain.
* Federated snapshot identity is `(DomainID, SnapshotID)` .
* A federated snapshot MAY include cross-domain references only to published artifacts.
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* Replay of federated state MUST be bounded by the source domain's `{SnapshotID, LogPrefix}` .
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---
## 5. Visibility Rules
| Object | Internal Domain | Other Domains |
| ----------------------------------- | --------------- | ------------------- |
| Internal artifact | visible | hidden |
| Published artifact | visible | visible (read-only) |
| Internal snapshot | visible | hidden |
| Published snapshot | visible | visible |
| Block supporting published artifact | visible | visible |
| Block supporting internal artifact | visible | hidden |
* Index entries follow the same visibility rules.
* Determinism is defined per-domain and per-snapshot view.
---
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## 6. Federation View Construction
To construct a federation view for a domain:
1. Start with the local domain's internal + published state at `{SnapshotID, LogPrefix}` .
2. For each admitted foreign domain, include only published state that is:
* Visible under that domain's `{SnapshotID, LogPrefix}` , and
* Allowed by the receiving domain's admission and policy rules.
3. Apply normal ASL index shadowing and tombstone rules within each domain's log order.
Federation MUST NOT bypass ASL/LOG/1 ordering or ASL/1-CORE-INDEX semantics.
---
## 7. Cross-Domain Operations
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1. **Import published artifacts**
* A domain MAY import a published artifact from another domain.
* Imported artifacts MUST be treated as immutable.
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* Import MUST be gated by admission and policy compatibility (see `ASL/DAP/1` and `ASL/POLICY-HASH/1` ).
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2. **Export published artifacts**
* Internal artifacts MAY be promoted to published state.
* Promotion MUST be snapshot-bound and log-ordered.
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* Publication MUST respect the domain's policy hash and DAM roles.
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3. **Federation log propagation**
* Each domain maintains its own append-only log.
* Federation MAY replicate published log-visible state.
---
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## 8. Provenance and Traceability
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* Execution receipts MAY include cross-domain inputs.
* Provenance MUST preserve origin domain and snapshot identity.
* Deterministic replay MUST be possible given `{Snapshot, LogPrefix}` for each domain.
---
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## 9. Normative Invariants
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1. **Determinism:** Reconstructing CURRENT in a domain yields the same visible state given the same snapshot and log prefix.
2. **Immutability:** Published artifacts and snapshots are immutable.
3. **Domain isolation:** Internal artifacts and snapshots are never visible to other domains.
4. **Federation safety:** Cross-domain references are read-only.
5. **Snapshot integrity:** Federated snapshots reference only published artifacts.
---
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## 10. Integration with Other Layers
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| Layer | Role in Federation |
| ------------------ | ------------------ |
| ASL/1-CORE | Artifact immutability and identity |
| ASL/1-CORE-INDEX | Semantic mapping and shadowing |
| ASL-STORE-INDEX | Sealing, retention, snapshot pinning |
| ASL/LOG/1 | Log-ordered visibility |
| ENC-ASL-CORE-INDEX | Domain/visibility metadata in records |
---
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## 11. Non-Goals
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* Transport protocols
* Network replication
* Witness signatures
* Domain admission and trust policy
---
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## 12. Summary
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ASL/FEDERATION/1 defines the semantic rules for multi-domain visibility and cross-domain reference. It keeps federation deterministic, snapshot-safe, and read-only across domain boundaries.