Foundations · Lesson 03 of 04
Declared, observed, and proved
Declared truth is contract intent, observed truth is a bounded witness, and proved truth requires Ota to reconcile the relevant identities and evidence.
Learning objectives
- Define all three truth levels with an example
- Explain why Ota refuses to treat declared as proved
- Identify where
not_provedboundaries belong
Prerequisites
Declared, observed, and proved are different evidence postures. Ota keeps them separate so a maintainer-authored claim cannot become verified truth merely because it parses.
A practical evidence ladder
A contract declaration is the expected state. An observation is a runner, filesystem, tool, provider, or adapter witness gathered at a defined boundary. A proof claim is available only when Ota can bind the declaration, selected execution, observation, and required identity relationships.
tasks: verify: replay_inputs: - id: fixtures kind: static_file path: tests/fixtures.json expected_identity: sha256:<64-lowercase-hex-characters>Supported, contradicted, and unknown
Contract-claim assurance evaluates available repository evidence without pretending it knows maintainer intent. A claim may be supported, contradicted, or unknown. Unknown is not a weaker spelling of supported; it means the evidence is insufficient for the selected claim.
Canonical terminology
Evidence boundary for this lesson
Establishes
- The worked examples establish the lesson's canonical Ota distinctions for its stated scope.
Does not establish
- Reading the lesson does not validate a repository, execute its tasks, or establish organizational acceptance.
Knowledge check
Why is an observed file path not the same as a proved artifact identity?
A path establishes location or shape. Proof of immutable identity requires the relevant content digest and its expected relationship to be verified at the selected boundary.