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:
- Template Loading
- Include Resolution
- Recursive Expansion
- Document Assembly
- 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.mdFinal document becomes:
A + B + CCircular Include
A circular reference between included files.
Example:
A.md includes B.md
B.md includes A.mdThe 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