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Glossary

Glossary

This glossary defines important terms used in this project so that AI agents and contributors use consistent terminology.

Documentation System Terms

SSOT (Single Source of Truth)

A design principle where documentation content exists in only one place. All generated documents (e.g., README.md, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md) are built from the docs/ directory, which is the single source of truth.

Docs Directory

The docs/ directory contains all documentation source files. These files are modular Markdown documents and should be edited instead of generated files.

Template

Template files define the structure of generated documents. Templates usually live in the template/ directory and include documentation files using include directives.

Example:

<!-- @include: docs/01_project/overview.md -->

Include Directive

A special comment directive used to include another Markdown file into a template or document.

Format:

<!-- @include: path/to/file.md -->

The include resolver replaces this directive with the contents of the referenced file.

Include Resolver

A component that processes include directives and expands them into actual content. It also handles recursive includes and circular include detection.

Generator

The generator is the main program that builds final documents from templates and docs sources.

Responsibilities:

  • Load templates
  • Resolve includes
  • Assemble documents
  • Write generated files

Pipeline

The documentation generation process consisting of multiple stages:

  1. Template Loading
  2. Include Resolution
  3. Recursive Expansion
  4. Document Assembly
  5. Output Generation

Generated Files

Files produced by the generator, such as:

  • README.md
  • CLAUDE.md

These files should not be edited manually.

Template Expansion

The process of resolving include directives inside templates and Markdown files to produce a final document.

Recursive Include

When an included file itself contains include directives that must also be resolved.

Example:

A.md includes B.md
B.md includes C.md

Final document becomes:

A + B + C

Circular Include

A circular reference between included files.

Example:

A.md includes B.md
B.md includes A.md

The system must detect and prevent circular includes.


Project Structure Terms

Modular Documentation

Documentation written as small reusable Markdown files instead of one large document.

Documentation as Code

Treating documentation like source code:

  • Version controlled
  • Modular
  • Reviewed
  • Generated
  • Tested

Template-Based Documentation

Final documents are not written directly. Instead, templates define structure and content is included from source files.


AI Documentation Terms

CLAUDE.md

A generated document intended to provide context and instructions for AI agents working in this repository.

AI Context

Information provided to AI tools so they understand:

  • Project structure
  • Documentation rules
  • Architecture
  • Terminology
  • Development workflow