RFC Authoring Standards                                          Appendix A
Category: Standards Track                                         Glossary

Appendix A: Glossary

← Review | Index | Next →

Term Definitions

Architecture RFC

An RFC of Kind: Architecture that describes system design conceptually without implementation details. Architecture RFCs focus on what a system does and why, not how it is implemented.

BCP (Best Current Practice)

An RFC of Kind: BCP that documents operational guidelines and recommended practices. BCPs use SHOULD/RECOMMENDED rather than MUST, acknowledging that practices may need adaptation.

Category

A classification of RFC purpose: Standards Track (intended for implementation), Informational (documentation), or Experimental (evaluation proposals).

Falsifiable

A property of invariants meaning it is possible to determine when the invariant has been violated. Non-falsifiable invariants cannot be validated.

Invariant

A rule that MUST always hold true in the architecture. Invariants are numbered, use RFC 2119 keywords, and are falsifiable.

Kind

A classification of RFC that determines its structure and purpose. Valid kinds: Standards, Architecture, Specification, BCP.

Normative

Defining requirements that MUST be followed for conformance. Normative statements use RFC 2119 keywords.

RFC (Request for Comments)

A document proposing, documenting, and preserving architectural decisions for platform systems.

RFC 2119 Keywords

Standard keywords (MUST, SHOULD, MAY, etc.) for expressing requirement levels in technical documents.

Specification RFC

An RFC of Kind: Specification that defines how to implement an architecture without containing code. Includes prerequisites, phases, resources, validation, testing, and risks.

Standards RFC

An RFC of Kind: Standards that defines how to write other RFCs. Standards RFCs are self-referential—they follow the rules they define.

Superseded

An RFC status indicating the RFC has been replaced by a newer RFC. Superseded RFCs are frozen (no further changes).

Abbreviations

End of Appendix A — RFC Authoring Standards