A New Internal Structure Archetype (ISA): The Evidence & Contract-Driven Architecture

The AXIOMS ISA replaces the vague "dependency inversion" with a concrete, multi-layered structure where each layer's responsibility is defined by the type of contract it fulfills:

Layer Primary Concern Contract Type Evidence Mechanism
Domain Core Business logic & entities Ontology, Taxonomy, Semantics Property-based tests, domain invariant checks
Application Services Use cases & workflows Context, Semantics Use-case fitness functions, idempotence tests
Adaptor & Gateway External communication & data translation Topology, Semantics Protocol conformance tests, fault injection tests
Infrastructure & Host Deployment, observability, security Topology, Epistemology Observability contract checks, policy enforcement tests

AXIOMS in a nutshell...

This is the "Evidence & Contract Driven Architecture." Its structure isn't just about where code lives; it's about what kind of proof each layer must provide. A component in the Infrastructure layer doesn't just "implement an interface"; it fulfills a specific Observability or Policy Contract, verified by specific Fitness Functions. The dependency arrows in the diagram are not just conventions—they are enforced by the Conformance Test Kit (CTK), which will fail the build if a Domain entity accidentally imports an HTTP client library.

Features

The foundational innovations that make AXIOMS a new class of architectural framework

The Active Knowledge Dimension

AXIOMS transforms requirements from a passive starting phase into a continuous, governing plane that actively steers the entire system.

  • Machine-Readable Intent: Formal COSTTE contracts, fitness functions, and axiom definitions in /knowledge/definitions/
  • Automated Evidence: Conformance proofs, test reports, and telemetry snapshots populate /knowledge/evidence/
  • Closed-Loop Governance: The Knowledge Dimension analyzes runtime evidence and issues commands to control mechanics, creating self-correcting systems.

The Architectural Cell: Your Atomic Unit

AXIOMS introduces the Cell – a self-contained, contract-bounded, and independently verifiable unit of software that replaces vague notions of services or modules.

More than a microservice, each Cell is a polymorphic architectural stem cell. It can be deployed as an independent unit, a module within a monolith, or a serverless function, adapting to the topology your system needs. Every Cell carries its complete specification and proof of integrity, ensuring predictable composition into systems-of-systems. This eliminates the guesswork and integration hell of traditional distributed architectures.

31 Axioms: Philosophy as Executable Code

Move beyond buzzwords and vague principles. AXIOMS provides a complete, operational epistemology through 31 concrete, testable axioms.

  • From Aspiration to Enforcement: Principles like "Resilience-First" and "Zero-Trust" are codified into verifiable constraints (e.g., A8: The Timeout Axiom, A16: The Zero-Trust Axiom).
  • Architecture as a Test Suite: Each axiom has a corresponding fitness function. Your architecture's correctness is no longer a matter of opinion but a suite of passing tests.
  • The End of Dogma: Replace arguments over style with evidence-based compliance to a formal, shared philosophy.

Built-In Enforcement of Process & Quality

In AXIOMS, Process (D4) and Quality (D5) are not separate concerns—they are intrinsic, automated properties of the architecture itself.

Your CI/CD pipeline becomes a servant of the Knowledge Dimension, executing the Conformance Test Kit (CTK) to validate every Cell. Quality attributes like 99.95% availability or GDPR compliance are defined as executable SLOs and policy contracts. A quality failure triggers automatic rollbacks via the control loop. This built-in enforcement inverts Conway's Law, allowing clean Cell boundaries to define autonomous team ownership and true DevOps flow.