Documentation / Global properties

Global properties

global is the entity that stands for your whole program. What you add to it reaches every entity of every file.

Reference

At a glance

Statement	Effect
`global@targets.add(t);`	Build every entity for `t`, unless its file or the entity names its own targets.
`global@acceptanceCriteria.add({ ... });`	Add a requirement the whole program must meet, reviewed once.
`trait.apply(global);`	Apply a trait to every entity of every file.

Targets

def/targets.lfy

global@targets.add(mainApp);

An entity is built for its own @targets. If that list is empty, it uses its file's list, and if that's empty too, it uses global's. Most projects with one target add it to global and never think about it again.

Global criteria

def/rules.lfy

global
  @acceptanceCriteria
  .add({ behavior = `No output writes a secret to a log` })
  .add({ behavior = `Every user facing message is in plain English` });

A global criterion is a requirement of the whole program. Every unit's request includes it, and the verifier reviews it once, against the whole output, in a global review that runs after the batches are merged. A global criterion reviewed as violated plans the units whose output answers for it again.

Run the global review on its own with:

Terminal

elfie verify --global

Its result is written to elfie-requests/global.reviews.json.

Global traits

def/rules.lfy

trait logged: `Logs each call` {
  where (`It is called`) -> `One line naming {{@identifier}} is written to the log`;
}

logged.apply(global);

Every entity of every file now carries logged, and each gets the trait's criteria with {{@identifier}} rendered as its own name.

Global versus target guidance

Where you write it	Who follows it	Reviewed
`global@acceptanceCriteria`	Every unit	Yes, once, in the global review
A target const's `@acceptanceCriteria`	Every unit of that target	No. It is guidance.
A layer's criteria	Every unit of targets using the layer	No. It is guidance.

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