Docs / The format
Levels and proof
Tellscripts come in four levels, from product to file, and three proof levels, from described to proven by a model from another lab.
Levels
Tellscripts are layered like the software itself. The product file holds what is true everywhere; below it sit feature files, contract files and, rarely, file files.
| Level | tell: prefix | What it holds | Write it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | product/ | Purpose, users, terms, principles | Always |
| Feature | feature/ | One flow with statements, states and texts | Always |
| Contract | contract/ | What other systems use, byte-exact | Always |
| File | file/ | Interface and rules of one code file | Once the file is proven and others depend on it |
Proof levels
The proof key in the front matter says how far a file can be trusted, and which edition got it there. Proof is earned by checks, not declared.
| Proof level | Reached when |
|---|---|
described | Written from the code or by hand. Useful as a map, not yet a source. |
bound | Every statement has a check that fails when it no longer holds. |
proven · edition N | A model from another lab rebuilt it from the Tellscript alone, in an empty folder, and passed every check, including the hidden ones. |