This diagram pack maps the documentation system as a set of authorities,
processes, data stores, review gates, and published derivatives. The maintained
Mermaid sources live under labtalk/diagrams in the implementation repository;
the SVGs on this page are reviewed renderings.
For the larger boundary around the database engine, DotTalk++, DotScript, this documentation system, and the Laboratory Campus, see the Ecosystem Relationship Map.
The governing doctrine is:
Runtime proves.
Source defines.
HELP explains.
Metadata organizes.
CMDHELPCHK validates.
SelfDoc preserves provenance.
MDO curates.
Manualgen packages reviewed drafts.
Manuals, diagrams, and websites publish derivatives.
Inspect the diagrams: select any diagram to open its full-resolution SVG. Use browser zoom to examine individual processes, stores, gates, and flows, then return to this page for the accompanying definitions.
Context DFD
External tools and AI assistants may submit candidate findings. They do not become authority without source, runtime, evidence, and human review gates.
Level 1: Complete System Flow
The main stores remain deliberately separate:
| Store family | Role |
|---|---|
| Source and registries | Implementation, command/function identity, comments, usage, and contracts |
| Compiled fallback messages and reference headers | Bootstrap-safe generated runtime/reference artifacts |
| Active messaging workspace | Locale-aware SYSTEM_MESSAGES and SYSTEM_MESSAGE_TEXT DBF/DTX data plus CDX/LMDB indexes |
| HELP DATA v2 | Topics, sections, lines, and typed artifacts used for organized explanation |
| Metadata catalogs | SYSCMD, SYSSUBCMD, SYSFUNC, SYSARGS, and SYSMSG normalization and crosswalk data |
| SelfDoc and proof | Manifests, policies, reports, transcripts, hashes, screenshots, and canaries |
| MDO and manualgen | Work orders, decisions, maps, validation reports, manifests, and draft workspaces |
| Publication | Reviewed manual sections, canonical diagram sources, website source, artifact manifests, and versioned public output |
Level 2: Runtime Messages, HELP, and Metadata
The runtime message resolver follows an override/fallback model:
- keep compiled fallback text available for startup and recovery;
- load the active messaging workspace when reviewed DBF/DTX artifacts exist;
- resolve by message symbol and locale;
- apply locale fallback and message variables;
- emit runtime output without making HELP DATA a startup dependency.
HELP DATA is assembled from source contracts, registries, stable message
symbols, compatibility references, metadata, and curated prose. Raw runtime
strings are not mined into HELP DATA by default. CMDHELPCHK compares identity
and coverage across these stores and emits drift evidence rather than silently
repairing authority surfaces.
Level 2: SelfDoc, Proof, MDO, and Publication
The promotion side is conservative:
- collectors and probes are report-only by default;
- scanner confidence and status labels survive curation;
- runtime transcripts and screenshots are evidence, not automatic claims;
- MDO records accept, reject, defer, and relabel decisions;
- manualgen inventories, validates, checks parity, and builds draft workspaces;
- human review authorizes narrative and diagram promotion;
- public-content, provenance, route, and build guards run before publication;
- website technical prose cannot flow backward into the manual by default.
Gate Matrix
| Gate | Protects | Required signal |
|---|---|---|
| Build/runtime proof | Runtime claims | Build, smoke, canary, or runtime observation |
| Reviewed metadata mutation | Live DBFs and indexes | Explicit authorization, schema review, import path, backup/rollback |
| CMDHELPCHK/drift | Command/help identity | Cross-lane validation and classified findings |
| Evidence honesty | Status and confidence | Source/runtime/help/manual labels retained |
| Human promotion | Manuals and diagrams | Accepted MDO decision or equivalent reviewed packet |
| Public-content/provenance | Website and artifact room | Clean build, valid links, no local paths, attachment/provenance record |
| Reverse-flow exception | Manual authority | Public-only artifact is separately maintained and non-derivable upstream |
Current-State Qualification
This is a consolidated source-derived draft, not a claim that every target generator is complete. The message loader, compiled fallback, HELP DATA model, SelfDoc manifests, proof registry, manualgen report-only commands, and website publication gates exist in current source. Some canonical metadata population, reference-header generation, automatic crosswalks, and end-to-end promotion steps remain partial or reviewed procedures.
See SelfDoc Feed Pipeline, SelfDoc Website Publication, and Coding Standards.