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Artifact Document

What an Artifact Document is in Cuddler and how it relates to the governing standards and definitions.

Hierarchy

Where the Artifact Document sits

The Artifact Document is the concrete end of a chain of governing contracts. It is produced under the rules above it, not alongside them.

Topmost contractSpecification Root

Defines the publication contract that the versioned standards descend from.

Domain rule setDomain Specification

Classifies the domain and establishes the governing standard for that domain family.

Shared authoring ruleArtifact Specification

Defines how public Artifact Definitions are authored and published.

Specific artifact typeArtifact Definition

Defines one concrete artifact family and its required contract.

Implemented resultArtifact Document

The actual document, report, record, or workflow instance that satisfies the chain above it.

The document is concrete. The layers above it are the rules that make it interoperable.

An Artifact Document is the concrete implementation that results from the Cuddler publication and rendering model. It is not the standard itself and it is not the definition of an artifact type. It is the actual document, record, workflow, report, or other implemented artifact that follows the governing contracts.

How it fits the hierarchy

The hierarchy starts with the Specification Root, which defines the top-level publication contract. A Domain Specification classifies the domain. The shared Artifact Specification governs how public Artifact Definitions are authored. A specific Artifact Definition then defines one concrete artifact type. The Artifact Document is the implementation that satisfies that full chain.

What makes it concrete

An Artifact Document carries the real content for a particular use case. In practice, that means the document instance uses the exact schemas and rules required by its governing definition and supports the rendering workflow without contradicting the applicable standards.

Publication expectations

Artifact Documents are confidential by default unless a publisher explicitly designates an example or implementation as public. Public examples can help explain a definition, but they do not replace the governing standards or the Artifact Definition itself.