Learn

Use Learn to understand and apply the system. Use Standards when you need the governing contract.

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 with which published Document Roles comply.

Role rule setDocument Role

Defines what job the artifact plays and establishes the governing standard for that role under the Specification Root.

Shared authoring ruleArtifact Specification

Defines how public Artifact Definitions are authored and published.

Specific artifact typeArtifact Definition

Defines one concrete artifact family and complies with both the governing Document Role and the shared Artifact Specification.

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 is the canonical root for published Document Roles. A Document Role then tells you what job the artifact plays in the system and complies with that root. The shared Artifact Specification separately governs how public Artifact Definitions are authored. A specific Artifact Definition then defines one concrete artifact type and complies with both its governing Document Role and the shared Artifact Specification. The Artifact Document is the implementation that satisfies that combined contract.

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.