Determinism

Kind: principle

Layer: Computation Core

Record: architecture:determinism

Severity: recommended

Scope: function, process, build, test

Canonical: Ontology

A design rule that the same inputs and state always produce the same result, with time and randomness passed in as inputs.

Listed in Architecture principles, after Choreography and before Predictability.

Requires

• Controlled State
• Controlled State

Reinforces

• Predictability
• Reproducibility

Enables

• Reliable Testing

Conflicts with

• Hidden Time/Randomness/Global State

In tension with

• Runtime Adaptivity
• Artificial Intelligence Architecture
• Agentic Architecture
• Artificial Intelligence Architecture / Determinism
• Agentic Architecture / Determinism

Tensions

• Determinism / Runtime Adaptivity

Contracts

• Computation Core

Violated by

• Hidden Time/Randomness/Global State

Refactored by

• Inject Clock and Randomness
• Encapsulate State

Severity

• recommended

Category

• Correctness / Determinism / Verification

Enforced by

• codemods/entrypoints/sink.entrypoint.ts
• rules/eslint/no-raw-file-write.eslint.rule.ts

Reinforced by

• Referential Transparency
• Pure Functions
• Write Scope and Read Population
• One-Sided Liveness
• Declare-Before-Read Order
• Derived Party Count
• Externally Resolved Slot

Linked from

• One correct answer
• Computation and resource
• Debt and leverage
• From intent to predicate
• A cell that resists an invariant
• Scale follows determinism
• Contracts / Interfaces / Compatibility
• Correctness / Determinism / Verification
• Model Architecture
• Schema / Canonical Data / Semantics
• Coordination Surfaces
• Taxonomy / Classification / Naming
• Core Modular Design
• Correctness / Determinism / Verification
• Architectural Clusters
• Severity levels
• The resolutions