MASS4.Graph.Dataflow 1.1.0

MASS4.Graph.Dataflow

Pull-based data evaluation over the core graph model. Depends only on MASS4.Graph; control and state machines compose with it through the core IDataPlane contract.

Register each port type's CLR storage with DataflowSemantics.AddValueType<T> for unmanaged values or AddReferenceType<T> for references. Bind evaluation through AddNode and IDataflowNode/DataflowNode. Coercions and explicit conversion nodes extend the Conversions compatibility strategy; generic ports use wildcard type inference. Generated declarations emit these registrations consistently.

Evaluation and caching

Compile with Compile(document, layout, diagnostics) using a shared InstanceLayoutBuilder. The resulting DataflowProgram pulls dependencies when a value is read. Non-volatile subgraphs stay cached per instance; volatile nodes evaluate once per evaluation epoch. Variable writes invalidate the instance cache. Declared RequiredFeatures flow into the compiled graph and must be present in the evaluation context.

Behaviors see storage only through DataflowContext, which wraps a DataflowFrame. DataflowProgram is the interpreter's frame; generated backends supply their own, so one behavior runs unchanged on every backend.

Control and state behaviors may publish data through IDataPlane.Write only to outputs that dataflow does not compute. Such outputs are volatile roots; every publish advances the epoch. Publishing to an input or a dataflow-computed output throws.

Variables and declared outputs

Call DataflowNodes.Register(registry) for the built-in variable-read and output nodes. GetVariable uses a VariableReference payload and infers its output type from the referenced variable. Define a host-visible result as a VariableScope.Output variable targeted by one DataflowNodes.Output node. Hosts read it by variable identity through ICompiledGraph, independently of the backend. Output variables cannot be read inside the graph.

Rules and compilation reject data cycles, unresolved/conflicting types, unknown variables, invalid output roles and duplicate output definitions. Diagnostic codes are MG1001–MG1011. Supply Conversions and Rules to GraphEditor for edit-time validation.

See the shader and compositor samples and semantics tests.