FPF Reference

    A.6.B:0 — Conventions

    Preface node heading:a-6-b-0-conventions:9770

    What this page is

    This is generated FPF reference text from the specification preface or supporting sections. It helps interpret FPF; it is not FPF Reference product documentation.

    Methodology

    Use it to understand how the specification wants to be read, then return to a route, pattern, or work packet for active work. Cite generated IDs only when the wording changes the task decision.

    Content

    Keywords. The key words MUST, MUST NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, MAY, and SHALL are to be interpreted as in RFC 2119/8174. Lower-case must, may, and should in explanatory prose is descriptive, not normative.

    Quadrant labels. This pattern uses the classification labels L / A / D / E as statement quadrants:

    • L — Laws & Definitions
    • A — Admissibility & Gates
    • D — Deontics & Commitments
    • E — Work‑Effects & Evidence

    These labels are claim-classification labels for statements, not MVPK face kinds and not pattern identifiers.

    Statement identifiers (recommended). Classifiable statements SHOULD be given stable IDs with a quadrant prefix: L-*, A-*, D-*, E-*. Other sections and views SHOULD reference these IDs rather than restating the same constraint in new words.

    Non-collision note (informative). The A-* prefix here is “Admissibility”, not Part-A numbering and not MVPK’s AssuranceLane face kind. If this is a readability hazard in your program, prefer an explicit G-* (“Gate”) local convention while keeping the quadrant name “Admissibility”. Also avoid introducing single-letter mnemonics for MVPK face kinds inside this cluster; spell face kinds in full to reduce collisions.

    Atomic claim. An atomic claim is a sentence (or bullet) that performs exactly one logical role and is classifiable under exactly one quadrant. If a sentence mixes roles, it is not atomic and MUST be split before it can be classified.

    Adjudication substrate (for classification). For the purposes of this square, an atomic claim is classified by where its own truth condition or governance content is settled. This tells you how to classify the sentence; it does not make a commitment, grant, or finding exist.

    • In-description or in-theory: an L-* truth condition is settled by inspecting, proving, or type-validating the description; for a D-* claim, the description fixes the normative content and names the duty, commitment, or grant that the claim concerns.
    • In-work or in-execution: deciding satisfaction requires observing executed work, inspecting carriers produced in work, or both.

    Note (important). Writing a D-* claim records what the boundary says; it does not make the named duty, commitment, or grant exist or establish compliance. When the wording is about permission, use the permission-word branch in §8.4.1 to recover the exact object, what makes it obtain, and the evidence needed before reliance.

    Modality family. A claim is either:

    • Truth‑conditional: definitions, invariants, typing rules (“is”, “iff”, “∀”).
    • Governance: governance conditions, obligations, commitments, and exclusions (the RFC keywords MUST, SHOULD, and MAY, “is admissible”, “is blocked”, “commits to”).

    Last Updated: 2026-07-28 — upstream FPF commit 17edd955 (github.com/ailev/FPF)