Interface Contract

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Discussion

An interface contract identifies a version-controlled specification governing the exchange of structured information across an attachment_point.

An interface contract defines the structural, semantic, operational, and governance expectations that apply at an attachment point. These expectations support consistent exchange, validation, interpretation, traceability, and conformance evaluation.

An interface contract differs from an implementation interface. An implementation interface realises an exchange mechanism through a selected technology. An interface contract defines the governed architectural expectations for the exchange independently of the selected implementation technology.

Definition

version-controlled specification governing the exchange of structured information across an attachment_point

Source

Structured Information Processing reference_architecture

Note

An interface contract provides a governed basis for evaluating whether information exchange across an attachment point preserves required structure, meaning, authority, and lifecycle control.

Example

An interface contract specifies the required structure, semantic interpretation, validation rules, version identifier, and governance constraints for structured information exchanged between a data_plane service and a downstream processing service.

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