Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
278 lines (201 loc) · 9.46 KB

identity-addressing.md

File metadata and controls

278 lines (201 loc) · 9.46 KB

Identity Addressing

Table of Contents

Introduction: the Power of Names

"To name a thing is to know a thing." This ancient wisdom holds true in software as much as in mythology. In complex systems, clear identity becomes not just a convenience but a necessity—the foundation upon which awareness, communication, and trust are built.

S8r's approach to identity draws inspiration from both natural systems (where each cell knows its place and purpose) and human social structures (where hierarchies of belonging help organize complexity). The result is a naming system that provides both technical precision and intuitive understanding.

The Identity Concept

At the heart of S8r's identity approach lies the concept of a clear, formal identity—a declaration of a component's existence, lineage, and place within the system.

Elements of identity

An S8r identity typically includes:

  1. Unique Identifier: A machine-readable ID that uniquely identifies the component
  2. Creation Time: The moment the component came into existence
  3. Creator Information: The parent or process that created the component
  4. Type Designation: The category or class of component
  5. Purpose Statement: A human-readable description of the component's role
  6. Version Information: The component's iteration in evolutionary terms
  7. Signatures: Cryptographic validations of authenticity (in secure systems)

Implementation example

public class Identity {
    private final String id;
    private final Instant creationTime;
    private final String creatorId;
    private final String typeName;
    private final String purpose;
    private final Version version;
    private final byte[] signature;
    
    // Constructor and accessors
    
    public boolean isValid() {
        // Validation logic
        return id != null && !id.isEmpty() &&
               creationTime != null &&
               typeName != null && !typeName.isEmpty();
    }
    
    public boolean isAuthenticatedBy(PublicKey key) {
        // Signature verification
        return signature != null && 
               SignatureUtils.verify(this.toBytes(), signature, key);
    }
    
    // Additional methods
}

Hierarchical Addressing Scheme

S8r uses a hierarchical addressing scheme that reflects the organizational structure of the system. This approach provides both locality (understanding a component's neighborhood) and globality (uniquely identifying it within the entire system).

Addressing levels

The standard addressing format follows this pattern:

  1. Component Level: CO<ID> (e.g., CO7)
    • A single atomic processing unit
  2. Composite Level: C<ID>.CO<ID> (e.g., C3.CO2)
    • A component within a specific composite
  3. Machine Level: M<ID>.C<ID>.CO<ID> (e.g., M0.C1.CO4)
    • A component within a composite within a specific machine
  4. System Level: S<ID>.M<ID>.C<ID>.CO<ID> (e.g., S5.M2.C8.CO1)
    • For distributed systems with multiple interconnected systems

Semantic addressing

Beyond pure identifiers, S8r often uses semantic addressing to improve human understanding:

DataValidator.InputProcessor.CO3
|             |             |
|             |             +-- Component number
|             +-- Composite name (semantic)
+-- Machine name (semantic)

This approach combines machine efficiency with human readability.

Identity in Practice

Identity is not merely a label but a foundational aspect of component functionality:

Identity-based operations

  1. Communication Routing: Messages directed to specific components
  2. Authentication: Verifying the source of requests
  3. Authorization: Determining permitted operations
  4. State Tracking: Associating state information with specific components
  5. Monitoring: Collecting performance metrics by component
  6. Logging: Structured logging with component context
  7. Dependency Management: Tracking component relationships

Identity lifecycle

Components transition through identity stages:

  1. Creation: Issuance of identity
  2. Registration: Enrollment in the system registry
  3. Active Life: Period of normal operation
  4. Retirement: Graceful shutdown and deregistration
  5. Historical Record: Maintained for audit and analysis

Addressing Patterns

Several patterns emerge in how components reference each other:

Direct addressing

The most straightforward approach, where a component specifies the complete address of its target:

public void sendMessage(String targetAddress, Message message) {
    AddressResolver resolver = AddressResolver.getInstance();
    Component target = resolver.resolveAddress(targetAddress);
    if (target != null) {
        target.receive(message);
    } else {
        throw new AddressNotFoundException("Cannot resolve: " + targetAddress);
    }
}

Relative addressing

Similar to relative file paths, where components reference others relative to their own position:

// From M1.C2.CO3
../CO4      // Refers to M1.C2.CO4 (sibling)
../CO*      // Refers to all components in M1.C2 (siblings)
../*       // Refers to all components in M1.C2 (parent and siblings)
../../C3/* // Refers to all components in M1.C3 (cousin composite)

Pattern matching

Using wildcards and patterns to address groups of components:

// All validation components in any composite
resolver.resolvePattern("*.*.Validator*");

// All components in degraded state in the DataProcessor machine
resolver.resolvePattern("DataProcessor.*.*", 
                     state -> state.getState() == State.DEGRADED);

Service discovery

For dynamic systems, service-oriented addressing where components are found by capability rather than specific identity:

// Find components offering a specific service
List<Component> validators = resolver.findByCapability("data-validation");

Advanced Identity Concepts

For sophisticated systems, additional identity mechanisms provide enhanced capabilities:

Federation and cross-system addressing

When systems need to communicate across boundaries:

external://OtherSystem/PaymentProcessor.TransactionManager.CO2

Temporal addressing

Referring to components at specific points in time:

// Reference the state of a component as it existed at a specific time
historical://2023-04-15T08:30:00Z/OrderProcessor.C2.CO4

Virtual and logical addressing

Creating abstract addresses that may map to different physical components:

// A logical address that might route to different physical components
// based on load balancing, availability, or other factors
logical://ValidationService

Implementation Guidelines

When implementing identity and addressing:

  1. Ensure Uniqueness: Prevent address collisions through careful allocation
  2. Balance Human and Machine Needs: Addresses should be both efficient and comprehensible
  3. Implement Resolution Performance: Address lookups occur frequently and should be optimized
  4. Consider Security: In secure systems, address forgery should be prevented
  5. Plan for Growth: Addressing schemes should accommodate system evolution
  6. Document Conventions: Maintain clear documentation of addressing patterns
  7. Provide Tools: Create utilities for address manipulation and validation

Example: address resolution system

public class AddressResolver {
    private static AddressResolver instance;
    private final Map<String, Component> addressRegistry;
    
    // Singleton pattern
    public static AddressResolver getInstance() {
        if (instance == null) {
            instance = new AddressResolver();
        }
        return instance;
    }
    
    private AddressResolver() {
        addressRegistry = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
    }
    
    public void register(String address, Component component) {
        addressRegistry.put(address, component);
    }
    
    public void unregister(String address) {
        addressRegistry.remove(address);
    }
    
    public Component resolveAddress(String address) {
        return addressRegistry.get(address);
    }
    
    public List<Component> resolvePattern(String pattern) {
        // Pattern matching logic
        Pattern compiledPattern = Pattern.compile(convertGlobToRegex(pattern));
        return addressRegistry.entrySet().stream()
            .filter(entry -> compiledPattern.matcher(entry.getKey()).matches())
            .map(Map.Entry::getValue)
            .collect(Collectors.toList());
    }
    
    // Additional methods
}

"The true identity of a system emerges not from its individual components, but from the relationships they form and the journey they share."

← Return to Core Concepts | Explore Component Patterns →