Declaration

Go up to Terms and Definitions

Discussion

A Declaration is an explicit, machine-processable statement that identifies a value, selection, relationship, constraint, capability, requirement, or intended condition within a defined language or information structure.

The language or information structure determines the permitted form, meaning, validation rules, and processing effect of the Declaration.

A Declaration makes information explicit rather than leaving a processing system to derive the information solely from defaults, inference, convention, or implementation behavior.

One or more Declarations may form part of a Declarative Description. Within a Crucible Description, Declarations may identify source locations, pinned versions, providers, machine-image requirements, infrastructure requirements, compliance posture, or target environments.

Definition

explicit, machine-processable statement that identifies a value, selection, relationship, constraint, capability, requirement, or intended condition within a defined language or information structure

Source

Generalised from programming languages, configuration languages, policy languages, modeling languages, and declarative-system usage.

Note

A Declaration does not necessarily establish a normative requirement. Its effect depends on the language, information structure, processing rules, and context in which it appears.

The controlled term applies when a statement has a defined machine-processable meaning. An ordinary spoken or written declaration does not necessarily satisfy this definition.

A declared value differs from a defaulted or inferred value because the applicable artifact explicitly states the declared value.

Example

A Crucible Description contains a Declaration that selects a Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) benchmark and enables remediation for a machine-image build.

© 2026 Dido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.