Vocabulary used across ODS. Each entry points to where the concept lives in the spec or code. If a term is missing, propose it in a PR.
The person writing an ODS spec for an application. Usually a citizen developer or domain expert, not a software engineer. Contrast with framework implementer (someone working on the renderers themselves).
When a parent record’s identifying field is updated, ODS can
propagate the new value to all linked rows in child data sources.
Configured on an update action via the cascade map. Canonical
shape: {childDataSource, childLinkField, parentField} (flat keys).
See CONVENTIONS.md for cross-family conventions and
the cascade conformance scenario for behavior pinning.
A renderable unit on a page. form, list, button, text,
kanban, chart, summary, tabs, detail. Defined in
Specification/; rendered by both frameworks. Not
every spec uses every component.
A (name, spec, capabilities, run) tuple in
Frameworks/conformance/ that runs
identically against every renderer. Each scenario asserts an
observable behavior (e.g., “form submit inserts a row,” “ownership
hides other users’ rows”). Drivers that don’t declare the required
capabilities skip the scenario. The contract is documented in
docs/adr/0001-conformance-driver-contract.md.
A named handle for one logical table, declared under
dataSources in a spec. Has a url (typically local://tableName),
a method (GET / POST / PUT / DELETE), optional fields,
optional seedData, and optional ownership config. Multiple data
sources can share a URL with different methods (e.g., tasksReader
for GET, tasksWriter for POST + PUT).
A renderer-specific adapter that implements the
OdsDriver contract so
conformance scenarios can drive that renderer the same way. Today:
ReactDriver
and FlutterDriver.
A self-contained ODS world with its own spec schema and renderers.
Each family lives in its own monorepo: ods-pages (this repo) for
data-driven page apps; ods-chat, ods-workflow, ods-game
planned. See CONVENTIONS.md and the
org landing.
A computed field value evaluated at render time from other fields
in the same form. {quantity} * {unitPrice} for number fields,
{firstName} {lastName} for text. Read-only; not persisted.
Implemented by formula-evaluator.ts (React) /
FormulaEvaluator (Flutter); both must produce the same output for
the same input — pinned by conformance scenario s14.
A renderer that turns an ODS spec into a running application.
Frameworks/flutter-local/ (Flutter + SQLite, single-user-on-device)
and Frameworks/react-web/ (React + PocketBase, multi-user web).
Sometimes used interchangeably with renderer.
A data source whose url starts with local://. The framework
manages persistence — SQLite on Flutter, PocketBase on React. The
suffix after local:// is the table/collection name.
A default value on a field that the renderer expands at form-fill
time. Currently: CURRENTDATE and NOW (resolved using the active
clock); +7d / +1m for relative dates;
CURRENT_USER.NAME / .EMAIL / .USERNAME for the logged-in user.
Pinned by conformance scenario s09 for date defaults.
A spec with auth.multiUser: true. Triggers user-account flows:
admin setup, login, optional self-registration, role-based access.
Single-user specs (the default) skip all of this.
ODS’s anti-lock-in promise: when a builder outgrows the framework, they can export their data and generate real source code (a complete Flutter or React project) they own outright. Implemented by data_exporter.dart and code_generator.dart.
Row-level security on a data source. With ownership.enabled: true,
inserts auto-tag rows with the current user id and reads filter to
the current user’s rows (admins see all if adminOverride: true).
The owner column (default _owner) is auto-added to the schema by
setupDataSources. Pinned by conformance scenario s16.
Synonym for framework in the implementation sense. The thing that takes a spec and turns it into pixels.
An action attached to each row of a list (or kanban card). Examples:
“Mark Done” (update), “Delete” (delete), “Copy” (copyRows). Defined
in list.rowActions[]. Pinned by conformance s06 (delete) + s13
(update).
The URL-safe identifier of a loaded app inside a multi-app
framework. React derives the slug from the app name; the React
homepage routes to /<slug>/.... Internal to the renderer; not
part of the spec.
A JSON file describing an ODS application — its pages, components,
data sources, actions, and (optionally) auth + theming. The schema
is documented in Frameworks/react-web/spec.md. Builders typically
work in JSON directly or have an AI Build Helper draft it.
An optional array of guided tour steps in a spec
(tour: [{title, content, page}]). Renderers display these as a
walkthrough overlay on first launch. Distinct from help, which is
an always-available reference.
A conditional visibility rule on any component. Two shapes:
field-based ({form, field, equals|notEquals}) and data-based
({source, countEquals|countMin|countMax}). Pinned by conformance
scenarios s07 (field) and s08 (data count). Defined in
ods-visible-when.ts /
ods_visible_when.dart.