Instances
How shared configuration grammar becomes organization-specific setup and runtime facts.
Configuration instances
The O2A standard is the configuration meta-model, not any organization's actual values. An instance is where the grammar becomes concrete. Two kinds of instance are kept strictly apart: one carries the configuration that follows the grammar, the other carries the runtime data that follows after.
How It Works
An organization's configuration instance follows the O2A configuration grammar and carries the dependency-constrained configuration. Runtime operational data is valid only after the governing configuration basis exists and is never a substitute for missing configuration. The O2A standard itself is neither — it is the grammar both are read against.
Statements
- An organization's configuration instance follows the O2A configuration grammar.
- A configuration instance carries the dependency-constrained configuration.
- Runtime operational data follows after the governing configuration basis.
- Runtime operational data is never a substitute for missing configuration.
- The O2A standard is the configuration meta-model, distinct from any organization's configuration instance or runtime data.
Why It Matters
Collapsing configuration and runtime data into one artifact breaks the configuration-before-operations rule. Keeping them separate stops runtime data from silently backfilling missing configuration and keeps the meta-model distinct from any single organization's instance.
Related
- Grammar — the rules a configuration instance follows.
- Operational Readiness — the validated basis before runtime data.
- Templates — reusable subsets of a configuration instance.