What is guaranteed cross-language

What Is Guaranteed Cross-Language

Strata is designed to make cross-language behavior boring.

If two independent implementations follow the specification, they must agree. Not approximately. Not logically. Byte-for-byte.

This page defines exactly what is guaranteed across languages.

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Canonical bytes

For any valid Strata value:

• Canonical encoding is unique

• Encoding produces exactly one byte sequence

• That byte sequence is identical across implementations

If Rust and JavaScript encode the same value, the output bytes must match exactly.

No normalization. No heuristics. No platform variance.

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Hash stability

Hashes are computed over canonical bytes.

This guarantees:

• Identical hashes across languages

• Identical hashes across machines

• Identical hashes across time

If two implementations disagree on a hash, at least one is wrong.

Hashing is not an optimization. It is a contract.

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Value semantics

The following semantics are guaranteed across languages:

• null, bool, int, string, bytes, list, map

• Integers are signed 64-bit

• Strings are UTF-8

• Byte arrays are raw and opaque

• Lists preserve order

• Maps are sorted canonically by UTF-8 byte order of keys

A value constructed in one language must decode to the same structure in another.

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Map ordering

Map ordering is deterministic and enforced.

• Keys are strings only

• Keys are sorted by UTF-8 byte order

• Sorting happens during encoding

• Decoding preserves canonical order

Different insertion orders must not affect encoded output.

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Integer encoding

Integers are encoded canonically:

• Signed 64-bit range

• Encoded using SLEB128

• No alternative encodings

• No implicit widening or narrowing

The same integer must always encode to the same byte sequence.

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Error behavior

Certain failures are guaranteed to be detected consistently:

• Invalid tags

• Truncated input

• Invalid varints

• Invalid UTF-8

• Trailing bytes

Error categories and offsets must align across implementations.

Exact error wording may differ. Error meaning must not.

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Decode then re-encode stability

For any valid canonical payload:

• decode(bytes) succeeds

• encode(decoded) produces identical bytes

• hash(bytes) equals hash(encode(decoded))

This is enforced by Northstar tests.

Roundtripping is mandatory.

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Cross-language tests

Strata guarantees are enforced through:

• Shared golden vectors

• Northstar T1, T2, and T3 tests

• Independent implementations

• Zero shared code

Passing these tests is required for compliance.

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Transport independence

Strata guarantees survive transport layers:

• Files

• HTTP

• Streams

• Framed protocols

As long as canonical bytes are preserved, behavior is identical.

Transport does not affect meaning.

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Determinism over convenience

Strata guarantees determinism even when inconvenient.

This includes:

• Rejecting malformed input

• Rejecting ambiguous encodings

• Refusing silent coercions

• Failing early and explicitly

Convenience is optional. Correctness is not.

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Summary

Strata guarantees that:

• Same value → same bytes

• Same bytes → same hash

• Same bytes → same decoded structure

• Same failures → same error class

Across languages. Across platforms. Across time.

If this sounds strict, that is the point.