Glossary

Page Maps

graph LR
  family["Reproducible Research"]
  program["Deep Dive Snakemake"]
  section["Operating Contexts Execution Policy"]
  page["Glossary"]
  capstone["Capstone evidence"]

  family --> program --> section --> page
  page -.applies in.-> capstone

flowchart LR
  orient["Orient on the page map"] --> read["Read the main claim and examples"]
  read --> inspect["Inspect the related code, proof, or capstone surface"]
  inspect --> verify["Run or review the verification path"]
  verify --> apply["Apply the idea back to the module and capstone"]

This glossary keeps the language of Module 08 stable. The goal is practical clarity: operating-context review gets much easier when the same words keep the same meaning.

Terms

Term	Meaning in this module
operating context	The environment in which the workflow runs, such as local, CI, or scheduler-backed execution.
execution policy	Settings that change how the workflow runs or is observed without changing workflow meaning.
semantic drift	A change in workflow meaning, trusted outputs, or contract behavior that should not be happening through operating policy alone.
profile	A configuration surface that encodes operating policy such as executor defaults, logging, retries, or latency settings.
policy leak	A case where profile or context settings start changing workflow semantics instead of only operations.
context-invariant meaning	The idea that rule contracts, config meaning, and trusted outputs should stay stable across operating contexts.
failure discipline	The explicit operating model for retries, latency waits, incomplete outputs, and failure evidence.
transient failure	A failure plausibly caused by operational conditions such as scheduling or visibility delay.
deterministic failure	A failure caused by a repeatable defect in workflow logic, runtime, or environment rather than transient operations.
latency wait	A policy setting that allows for delayed output visibility, especially on slower or shared filesystems.
incomplete output	A partially written or interrupted output that requires explicit handling rather than casual trust.
staging	Temporary movement or placement of data during execution before promotion into trusted paths.
scratch space	A temporary execution surface, often local to one machine or node, that is not itself a contract surface.
policy evidence	The files, dry-runs, and audit bundles that let a reviewer compare operating contexts honestly.
profile audit	A side-by-side review of profiles and dry-runs to confirm that context differences remain policy rather than semantic drift.

How to use these terms

If an operating-context discussion starts to feel vague, ask which term has become unclear:

• is this a policy difference or a semantic leak?
• is this output on scratch or on a trusted contract path?
• is this retry change explaining failures or postponing diagnosis?

That question usually exposes the real operating-boundary issue quickly.