Context Object Specification (COS)

Version: 0.2
Chapter: 320 — Lifecycle
Status: Normative — Runtime Profile
Category: Pipeline Model

1. Purpose

This chapter defines the lifecycle model of the Context Object Specification (COS).

The Lifecycle describes how a Context Object is:

• created
• initialized
• made available
• consumed
• updated
• invalidated

during its runtime existence.

2. Conceptual Role

Lifecycle defines the temporal behavior of COS.

If:

• Core Model defines what a Context Object contains
• Pipeline defines how a Context Object is generated

Then:

Lifecycle defines when and why Context Object states change.

3. Lifecycle Definition

A Context Object Lifecycle represents the sequence of states that a Context Object passes through during its existence.

Conceptually:

User Interaction

      ↓

Selection Created

      ↓

Context Initialized

      ↓

Pipeline Enrichment

      ↓

Context Available

      ↓

Context Updated / Invalidated

4. Lifecycle States

COS defines the following lifecycle states:

type ContextLifecycleState =
  | "created"
  | "initialized"
  | "processing"
  | "available"
  | "updated"
  | "invalidated";

5. State Definitions

5.1 Created

A Context Object lifecycle begins when a Selection event occurs.

Example:

• user highlights text
• user selects PDF region
• user selects code block

At this stage:

Available:

Selection

Not available:

Source
Context

5.2 Initialized

The system creates the initial ContextState.

The initialized state MUST contain:

• Selection
• Source

Example:

ContextState

├── Selection
└── Source

5.3 Processing

The Pipeline is executing enrichment stages.

During this phase:

• stages may execute sequentially
• stages may execute asynchronously
• ContextState may be partially enriched

5.4 Available

A Context Object becomes available when the required core components for a Consumer are present.

The minimum available Context Object SHOULD contain:

• Source
• Selection
• Context

Example:

Context Object

├── Source
├── Selection
└── Context

A Consumer MAY:

• display context actions
• send context to AI models
• store context
• trigger user interfaces

5.5 Updated

A Context Object enters Updated state when additional enrichment occurs.

Examples:

• additional context relations added
• extension data added
• meta stages updated

Update MUST preserve existing valid context.

An Updated state emits a new Context Object version.

5.6 Invalidated

A Context Object becomes invalid when its source context is no longer valid.

Examples:

• source document changed
• selection removed
• source content version changed

Invalidation MUST NOT silently delete historical information.

6. Lifecycle Flow

The default lifecycle:

Created

   ↓

Initialized

   ↓

Processing

   ↓

Available

   ↓

Updated*

   ↓

Invalidated*

* indicates optional transitions.

7. Selection Change Lifecycle

Selection is the primary lifecycle trigger.

When user attention changes:

Example:

Old Selection

      ↓

New Selection

The system SHOULD create a new Context Object lifecycle.

A Context Object MUST NOT silently change its Selection identity.

8. Incremental Enrichment

COS supports incremental enrichment.

Example:

Initial:

Context Object

Selection
Source
Context

Later:

Context Object

Selection
Source
Context
Extensions
Meta

The lifecycle remains continuous, but each externally visible update emits a new immutable Context Object version.

9. Async Enrichment Lifecycle

Optional enrichment stages MAY complete asynchronously.

Example:

User Selection

      ↓

Basic Context Available

      ↓

Optional Processing

      ↓

Extensions Updated

      ↓

Meta Updated

Consumers SHOULD be able to receive intermediate states.

10. Context Versioning

Each Context Object SHOULD maintain a version identifier.

Example:

interface ContextVersion {
  version: number;
  createdAt: number;
}

Version changes when:

• enrichment occurs
• extension data changes
• context structure changes

11. Context Persistence

COS does not require persistence.

A Context Object MAY exist as:

• temporary runtime state
• cached context
• persisted context record

Persistence behavior is implementation-specific.

12. Lifecycle Events

Implementations SHOULD expose lifecycle events.

Example:

type ContextEvent =
  | "context.created"
  | "context.initialized"
  | "context.processing"
  | "context.available"
  | "context.updated"
  | "context.invalidated";

13. Event Ordering

Lifecycle events MUST follow chronological ordering.

Example:

Valid:

created

↓

initialized

↓

processing

↓

available

Invalid:

updated

↓

created

14. Error Handling

Pipeline failures MUST produce lifecycle-aware results.

Example:

Processing

      ↓

Optional Enrichment Failed

      ↓

Available With Core Context

Failure MUST NOT automatically invalidate Context Object.

15. Relationship to Pipeline

Pipeline defines execution.

Lifecycle defines state transition.

Relationship:

Lifecycle

    controls

Pipeline Execution

    produces

Context Object

16. Relationship to Consumer

Consumers SHOULD react to lifecycle changes instead of polling Context Object state.

Example:

context.available

        ↓

Render AI Actions


context.updated

        ↓

Refresh Suggestions

17. Design Notes

Lifecycle is intentionally independent from:

• AI provider
• UI framework
• storage mechanism

It defines protocol behavior, not implementation details.

18. Summary

Lifecycle defines the temporal model of COS.

It describes how Context Objects are created, made available, consumed, updated, and invalidated.

Together with Pipeline and Pipeline Stages, Lifecycle completes the runtime model of the Context Object Specification.