CIF Conformance Levels

CIF defines explicit conformance levels to allow partial or strict implementations.

CIF-Core

Minimum required behavior:

  • Serial execution
  • Control prefix recognition
  • BEGIN / END block handling
  • ON_ERROR handling
  • No implicit reordering

CIF-Core MAY allow limited inference if not prohibited by intent.

CIF-Strict

Superset of CIF-Core with additional guarantees:

  • STRICT interpretation enforced
  • No inference or assumption
  • Unrecognized commands are fatal errors
  • Intent contracts are mandatory if present
  • Executor demeanor restrictions apply

CIF-Strict is REQUIRED for any system claiming full CIF compliance.