# Technical Terms
**Domain:** Software Engineering / Information Systems / AI
**Doc Type:** Technical Concept Router
**Maturity:** Developing
**Related:** [[wiki/Software Architecture|Software Architecture]], [[wiki/Markdown|Markdown]], [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]], [[wiki/Tooling|Tooling]], [[wiki/Structure|Structure]]
---
## Purpose
This router connects the technical vocabulary used across Bryant McGill's recovered and continuing software projects. The terms are not isolated definitions: they describe a recurring engineering philosophy in which durable structures, portable contracts, inspectable files, generated distributions, and narrow host adapters allow the same thought to survive changes in language and runtime.
## Foundations
- [[wiki/Modern Technical Translation Map|Modern Technical Translation Map]]
- [[wiki/Software Architecture|Software Architecture]]
- [[wiki/Structure|Structure]]
- [[wiki/Tooling|Tooling]]
- [[wiki/Markdown|Markdown]]
- [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]]
- [[wiki/Programming Languages|Programming Languages]]
- [[wiki/Capability-Oriented Architecture|Capability-Oriented Architecture]]
## Portable capability contracts
- [[wiki/Portable Contract|Portable Contract]]
- [[wiki/Canonical Capability Name|Canonical Capability Name]]
- [[wiki/Input Rules|Input Rules]]
- [[wiki/Normalized Output|Normalized Output]]
- [[wiki/Error Behavior|Error Behavior]]
- [[wiki/Shared Fixtures|Shared Fixtures]]
- [[wiki/Conformance Testing|Conformance Testing]]
- [[wiki/Cross-Runtime Capability Parity|Cross-Runtime Capability Parity]]
- [[wiki/Deterministic Transformation|Deterministic Transformation]]
## Packaging and execution
- [[wiki/Lazy-Loading Facade|Lazy-Loading Facade]]
- [[wiki/Generated Packaging|Generated Packaging]]
- [[wiki/Generated Combined Distribution|Generated Combined Distribution]]
- [[wiki/Single-File Portability|Single-File Portability]]
- [[wiki/Dynamic Dispatch|Dynamic Dispatch]]
- [[wiki/Capability Registry|Capability Registry]]
- [[wiki/Host Adapter|Host Adapter]]
## Data and persistence
- [[wiki/Flattening and Expanding Structures|Flattening and Expanding Structures]]
- [[wiki/Data Serialization|Data Serialization]]
- [[wiki/Output Projection|Output Projection]]
- [[wiki/Filesystem as Source of Truth|Filesystem as Source of Truth]]
- [[wiki/Rebuildable Projection|Rebuildable Projection]]
- [[wiki/Offline Precomputation|Offline Precomputation]]
- [[wiki/Access Geometry|Access Geometry]]
## Documents, workflows, and AI
- [[wiki/Context Engineering|Context Engineering]]
- [[wiki/Layered Context Architecture|Layered Context Architecture]]
- [[wiki/Hierarchical Instruction Files|Hierarchical Instruction Files]]
- [[wiki/Repository-Scoped Instructions|Repository-Scoped Instructions]]
- [[wiki/Progressive Disclosure|Progressive Disclosure]]
- [[wiki/Just-in-Time Context|Just-in-Time Context]]
- [[wiki/Filesystem-Based Agent Skills|Filesystem-Based Agent Skills]]
- [[wiki/Agentic Memory|Agentic Memory]]
- [[wiki/Agentic Workflow|Agentic Workflow]]
- [[wiki/Durable Execution|Durable Execution]]
- [[wiki/Model Context Protocol|Model Context Protocol]]
- [[wiki/Structured Outputs|Structured Outputs]]
- [[wiki/Tool Contract|Tool Contract]]
- [[wiki/Resource Addressing|Resource Addressing]]
- [[wiki/Retrieval-Augmented Generation|Retrieval-Augmented Generation]]
- [[wiki/Semantic Retrieval|Semantic Retrieval]]
- [[wiki/Knowledge Graph|Knowledge Graph]]
- [[wiki/Document Graph|Document Graph]]
- [[wiki/Executable Markdown|Executable Markdown]]
- [[wiki/Domain-Specific Language|Domain-Specific Language]]
- [[wiki/Intermediate Representation|Intermediate Representation]]
- [[wiki/Natural Language to DSL Compilation|Natural Language to DSL Compilation]]
- [[wiki/Permissioned Capability|Permissioned Capability]]
- [[wiki/Multi-Pass Processing|Multi-Pass Processing]]
- [[wiki/Named Target|Named Target]]
- [[wiki/LangChain|LangChain]]
## Publishing architecture
- [[wiki/Flat-File CMS|Flat-File CMS]]
- [[wiki/Headless CMS|Headless CMS]]
- [[wiki/Content Atomization|Content Atomization]]
- [[wiki/Derivative Asset Pipeline|Derivative Asset Pipeline]]
- [[wiki/Create Once Publish Everywhere|Create Once, Publish Everywhere]]
- [[wiki/Content Syndication|Content Syndication]]
- [[wiki/Content Negotiation|Content Negotiation]]
- [[wiki/Semantic Annotation|Semantic Annotation]]
- [[wiki/Derived Artifact|Derived Artifact]]
- [[wiki/Parameterized Syndication|Parameterized Syndication]]
- [[wiki/Folder-Native Architecture|Folder-Native Architecture]]
- [[wiki/Convention-Based Routing|Convention-Based Routing]]
- [[wiki/Multi-Tenant Architecture|Multi-Tenant Architecture]]
## Architecture translations
- [[wiki/Convention over Configuration|Convention over Configuration]]
- [[wiki/Local-First Software|Local-First Software]]
- [[wiki/Modular Monolith|Modular Monolith]]
- [[wiki/Plugin Architecture|Plugin Architecture]]
- [[wiki/Ports and Adapters|Ports and Adapters]]
- [[wiki/Polyglot API|Polyglot API]]
- [[wiki/Reconciliation Loop|Reconciliation Loop]]
- [[wiki/Materialized View|Materialized View]]
- [[wiki/Component-Based Development|Component-Based Development]]
- [[wiki/Rapid Application Development|Rapid Application Development]]
- [[wiki/Information Architecture|Information Architecture]]
- [[wiki/Hybrid Retrieval|Hybrid Retrieval]]
- [[wiki/Lexical Knowledge Graph|Lexical Knowledge Graph]]
- [[wiki/Metadata Grounding|Metadata Grounding]]
## Project map
- [[projects/welcome|Projects — Systems, Language, Knowledge, and Influence]] — public-facing router from modern AI vocabulary into the project archaeology.
- [[projects/Ten Years Building a Symbolic Language Engine|Ten Years Building a Symbolic Language Engine]] — linguistic representations, offline precomputation, and access geometry.
- [[projects/Shazam - A Portable Perl Capability Library|Shazam]] — modular capabilities, lazy-loading façade, generated packaging, and combined distribution.
- [[projects/X and XApps - Drop the Folder and It Runs|X and XApps]] — cross-runtime contracts, host adapters, and minimal-dependency deployment.
- [[projects/XDO - Executable Markdown and Portable Workflows|XDO]] — executable Markdown, DSL design, scopes, targets, and natural-language compilation.
- [[projects/AutoSites - Folder-Native Publishing and Distribution|AutoSites]] — folder-native routing, derived publishing artifacts, and programmable syndication.
- [[projects/Software I've Bought and Used Over the Years|Software I've Bought and Used Over the Years]] — the historical toolchain in which these patterns developed.