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Application and Software glossary #
These terms describe different layers. Keeping them separate makes release, support, and rollback decisions easier to explain.
Product definition and customer application #
| Term | Meaning | Configured in |
|---|---|---|
| Device Class | Reusable contract for one hardware product, including architecture, I/O, customer controls, and optional Software | Engineering |
| Binding | Stable role that connects a Device Class to a Product Application, such as gateway, bay, or controller | Product Application Build |
| Product Application draft | Editable models, behavior, access, presentation, integrations, Processes, and offline datasets | Product Application workspace |
| Product Version | Immutable published snapshot of a Product Application definition | Product Application Release |
| Product Instance | One Product Version provisioned for one downstream customer | Customer Portal attachment and provisioning |
| Application Workspace | Customer surface for Overview, Work, Exceptions, Records, Map, and enabled-device controls | Product Application Presentation and Access |
Behavior and execution #
| Term | Meaning | Not the same as |
|---|---|---|
| Rule | Immediate reaction to a reading, record change, or event | A workflow that waits and resumes |
| Operation | Deliberate application action invoked by a user, API client, Rule, or Process | A direct device-side action |
| Device Class action | Lightweight request to one device capability | A durable Product Application command |
| Command | Durable invocation of a bound Device Class action with acknowledgement, execution, terminal result, expiry, cancellation, and controlled redelivery state | Exactly-once physical behavior |
| Process | Durable multi-step workflow that can branch, wait, update records, invoke commands, or call integrations | A Linux process or container |
| Scenario | Repeatable sandbox fixture, trigger, deterministic response set, and assertions used to test application behavior | A production Product Instance |
| Execution | One retained run of a published Process definition | The editable current Process draft |
| Edge segment | Explicit atomic group of bounded local steps inside a Mixed Process | Transparent cloud-to-edge failover |
Device Software and operating system #
| Term | Meaning | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Device Class workspace for Containers, I/O, OS, Builds, and Delivery | Engineering |
| Container | One OCI application workload attached to a Device Class | Your organisation or Dataplicity for managed examples |
| Container version | Uploaded or published release of one container | Image publisher |
| Class Software | The optional on-device container delivery path: the containers a Device Class selects, reconciled by the supervisor through a container runtime your image provides | Your organisation |
| I/O | Device Class streams, actions, settings, and related product-interface definitions | Product engineer |
| Software Build | Versioned composition of container versions and, optionally, an OS image for a Device Class | Your release decision |
| Cohort | Tag-selected audience assigned a Software Build | Fleet operator |
| Delivery | Resolution, download, apply, start, inventory, and outcome evidence for a selected Build | Dataplicity control plane and device runtime |
| OS image | Linux root filesystem, kernel, packages, agent, and supporting product runtime built for the device | Product-image owner |
| Factory image | Flashable image used to initialise a device, such as a Dataplicity OS .wic image | Product-image owner |
| RAUC bundle | Signed update artefact accepted by a compatible A/B device | Product-image signer |
| Device firmware | Firmware for a modem, microcontroller, bootloader, or other named hardware component | Component or product owner |
Do not call a Software Build the complete appliance firmware unless your product release process deliberately makes those versions equivalent.
Software is the workspace where you configure a release. Class Software is what the device actually runs from it. A product can expose streams, settings, and actions through the local broker without using Class Software at all.
Agent generations #
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Modern agent | Rescue and supervisor architecture used for current product-runtime features |
| Rescue | Narrow connectivity and recovery plane |
| Supervisor | Optional product plane for broker, desired state, offline data, Software, and update reconciliation |
| Legacy agent | Compatibility-frozen public 0.5.x agent used by older installations; it is not the supervisor shipped in Dataplicity OS |
Identify the installed generation before following service, upgrade, recovery, or local-path instructions.