Section 12 of 51
66. Canonical Engineering Representation
Stable section ID: S05-CON-008-SECTION-12 · 32 content blocks
The Canonical Engineering Representation, or CER, is the compiler’s normalized, target-independent representation of the complete engineering meaning of a compilation subject.
The CER shall integrate:
engineering entities;
stable identities;
geometry and spatial relationships;
structural topology;
interfaces and capabilities;
materials;
utilities;
profiles;
constraints;
lifecycle states;
evidence;
certifications;
rules;
provenance;
authority relationships;
configuration status.
The CER shall distinguish among:
declared design intent;
resolved configuration;
proposed configuration;
approved configuration;
active BIOS configuration;
observed physical state;
derived analytical state;
- unresolved or conflicting state.
- Normalization shall not erase source meaning, authority, uncertainty, or provenance.
The CER shall provide a stable semantic basis for comparison, hashing, change analysis, reproducibility, certification, and generation of multiple target outputs.
Two source configurations that are canonically equivalent should produce equivalent CER content, excluding permitted non-semantic metadata.
The CER shall not be modified directly by a target Back End. Changes to engineering meaning shall return through a controlled source, profile, evidence, or configuration process and shall result in recompilation.
Every formal compilation shall be able to identify the exact CER revision used to generate its outputs.