Section 35 of 51
89. Intermediate Representation Versioning
Stable section ID: S05-CON-008-SECTION-35 · 16 content blocks
Every formal Intermediate Representation shall have an identifiable schema and version.
IR versioning shall define:
compatible additions;
breaking changes;
deprecated structures;
migration rules;
required compiler capabilities;
serialization requirements;
integrity behavior;
- loss-of-information conditions.
- An IR version shall not be inferred solely from the compiler version.
- A compiler may read, write, or migrate only the IR versions it explicitly supports.
Migration shall preserve identities, provenance, authority, uncertainty, and engineering meaning. Where complete preservation is impossible, the migration shall report affected entities and restrict inappropriate use.
- A newer IR shall not silently replace the IR preserved with an approved historical compilation.
- Execution packages shall identify the exact IR and target-schema versions from which they were generated.
IR versioning shall allow independent evolution of internal architecture while maintaining reproducibility and controlled interoperability among compiler services, plugins, registries, and certified tools.