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CKS Specifications

The Canonical Knowledge Structure (CKS) project is defined by a family of implementation-independent specifications.

Each specification describes one aspect of the CKS ecosystem.

Together they define the canonical semantic model, reference behaviour, and conformance requirements shared by every implementation.

Specification Philosophy

The specifications are designed to be:

  • implementation-independent;
  • language-neutral;
  • deterministic;
  • versioned;
  • composable.

Implementations are free to choose their internal algorithms provided that they preserve the observable behaviour defined by the specifications.

Core Specification Set

CKS-000 — Foundations

Defines the terminology, design philosophy, and fundamental principles of the Canonical Knowledge Structure.

Topics include:

  • knowledge and representation;
  • canonical semantics;
  • representation independence;
  • observational purity;
  • determinism.

CKS-001 — Canonical Semantic Model

Defines the immutable semantic model used throughout the CKS ecosystem.

Introduces:

  • ObjectIdentity;
  • KnowledgeObject;
  • CanonicalRelation;
  • KnowledgeStructure;
  • Structural Equivalence.

CKS-002 — Knowledge Construction

Defines the canonical process for constructing Knowledge Structures from individual Knowledge Objects.

Topics include:

  • construction rules;
  • admissibility;
  • canonical composition;
  • structural integrity.

CKS-003 — Canonical Serialization

Defines the canonical serialization model.

Topics include:

  • canonical JSON;
  • round-trip guarantees;
  • serialization invariants;
  • representation independence.

CKS-004 — Structure Evolution

Defines admissible transformations of Knowledge Structures.

Topics include:

  • structural evolution;
  • semantic preservation;
  • evolution operations;
  • compatibility.

CKS-005 — Validation

Defines the canonical validation model.

Topics include:

  • structural validation;
  • semantic validation;
  • diagnostics;
  • validation results.

CKS-006 — Reference Engine

Defines the canonical Reference Engine responsible for executing the operations specified throughout the CKS ecosystem.

Topics include:

  • execution model;
  • canonical operations;
  • implementation independence;
  • deterministic behaviour.

CKS-007 — Canonical Knowledge Interface

Defines the public interface exposed by conforming implementations.

Topics include:

  • construction;
  • parsing;
  • serialization;
  • validation;
  • inspection;
  • comparison;
  • projection;
  • extraction;
  • evolution.

CKS-008 — Conformance

Defines the observable requirements that every implementation must satisfy.

Topics include:

  • conformance criteria;
  • behavioural equivalence;
  • implementation requirements;
  • reference behaviour.

CKS-009 — Reference Knowledge Corpus

Defines the canonical corpus used for interoperability testing and reference validation.

Topics include:

  • canonical datasets;
  • interoperability;
  • regression testing;
  • validation examples.

Reference Implementation Specifications

The reference implementation is additionally documented by implementation-specific specifications.

CKS-B001 — Python Reference Implementation

Defines the canonical Python implementation.

Topics include:

  • module organisation;
  • package structure;
  • public API;
  • implementation notes.

Additional implementation specifications may be introduced for other programming languages in future releases.

Specification Relationships

The specifications are designed to build upon one another.

```text id="6mnhhf" CKS-000 │ ▼ CKS-001 │ ├─────────────┐ ▼ ▼ CKS-002 CKS-003 │ │ └──────┬──────┘ ▼ CKS-004 │ ▼ CKS-005 │ ▼ CKS-006 │ ▼ CKS-007 │ ▼ CKS-008 │ ▼ CKS-009 

Each specification extends, but does not replace, the previous documents.

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# Versioning

Every specification is independently versioned.

The CKS project follows semantic versioning for both:

* the specifications;
* the reference implementations.

Minor revisions may clarify wording without changing canonical behaviour.

Major revisions introduce formally versioned semantic changes.

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# Reference Implementation

The current Python implementation is intended to serve as the first complete reference implementation of the CKS specifications.

Repository components include:

* reference engine;
* validator;
* serializer;
* canonical public API;
* conformance test suite;
* examples;
* documentation.

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# Reading Order

New readers are encouraged to study the specifications in the following order.

1. CKS-000 — Foundations
2. CKS-001 — Canonical Semantic Model
3. CKS-003 — Canonical Serialization
4. CKS-005 — Validation
5. CKS-006 — Reference Engine
6. CKS-007 — Canonical Knowledge Interface
7. Remaining specifications as required.

This order introduces the conceptual model before implementation details.

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# Related Documentation

The repository documentation complements the formal specifications.

Recommended reading order:

```text id="5wppwk"
README
    ↓
Getting Started
    ↓
Concepts
    ↓
Architecture
    ↓
API Reference
    ↓
Examples
    ↓
CKS Specifications

Together these documents provide both an accessible introduction and a complete formal description of the Canonical Knowledge Structure ecosystem.