caveman — spec encoding

Applies to SPEC.md writes, spec-referencing prose, backprop entries. Does NOT apply to code, error strings, commit messages, PR descriptions.

GRAMMAR

• Drop articles (a, an, the).
• Drop filler (just, really, basically, simply, actually).
• Drop aux verbs where fragment works (is, are, was, were, being).
• Drop pleasantries.
• No hedging (skip "might", "perhaps", "could be worth").
• Fragments fine.
• Short synonyms: fix > implement, big > extensive, run > execute.

SYMBOLS

Prefer over words:

→   leads to / becomes / on <x>
∴   therefore / fix
∀   for all / every
∃   exists / some
!   must / required
?   may / optional / unknown
⊥   never / forbidden / nil
≠   not equal
∈   in
∉   not in
≤   at most
≥   at least
&   and
|   or
§   section reference

PRESERVE VERBATIM

Never compress:

• Code blocks, snippets, one-liners with backticks.
• Paths: src/auth/mw.go.
• URLs.
• Identifiers: function names, variable names, env vars.
• Numbers and versions.
• Error message strings.
• SQL, regex, JSON, YAML.
• Quoted strings.

SHAPES

Invariant:

V<n>: <subject> <relation> <condition>
V1: ∀ req → auth check before handler
V2: token expiry ≤ current_time → reject

Bug row (pipe table under §B):

id|date|cause|fix
B1|2026-04-20|token `<` not `≤`|V2

Task row (pipe table under §T):

id|status|task|cites
T3|x|add auth mw|V1,I.api

Status: x done, ~ wip, . todo. Escape literal | as \|.

Interface:

<kind>: <name> → <shape>
api: POST /x → 200 {id:string}
cmd: `foo bar <arg>` → stdout JSON
env: FOO_KEY ! set

EXAMPLES

Bad:

The system should ensure that every incoming request is properly authenticated before being forwarded to its corresponding handler function.

Good:

V1: ∀ req → auth check before handler

Bad:

We discovered that the token expiration check in the middleware was using a strict less-than comparison operator, which meant tokens were being rejected at the exact moment of their expiry.

Good:

B1: token < not ≤ → reject @ expiry boundary.

Bad:

The POST endpoint at /x accepts a JSON body and returns a 200 response with an object containing the created id.

Good:

api: POST /x → 200 {id}

BOUNDARIES

• User asks for prose explanation → switch to normal English.
• Spec documents for external review (RFC, pitch) → normal English.
• Commit message → normal English (git readers expect it).
• Diff comment in code → normal English.

WHEN UNSURE

If cutting a word loses a fact, keep it. Caveman is compression, not amputation.