flow snapshot

flow snapshots are components that are datasets and represent the evolutionary steps of the node flow.

flow snapshots have corresponding distributions and are the connective tissue between nodes and their RDF-based representation.

Relationship to node flows

flow snapshots are the successive realizations of node flow.

Relationship pattern:

node flows have at least two snapshots:

current version (_current/)
working draft (_next)
versioned snapshots

Ontology data node Example

/my-ontology/               ← data node: Conceptual, data-oriented "thing"
├── _meta-flow/                   ← meta flow (metadata)
│   ├── _current/           ← flow snapshot (current metadata)
│   ├── _next/              ← flow snapshot (working draft)
│   ├── _v1/                ← flow snapshot (version 1 metadata)
│   └── _v2/                ← flow snapshot (version 2 metadata)
└── _data-flow/                  ← data node flow (ontology definition--by-dataset)
    ├── _current/           ← flow snapshot (current definition)
    ├── _next/              ← flow snapshot (working draft)
    └── _v1/                ← flow snapshot (version 1 definition)

In this example:

_current/, _v1/, _v2/, _next/ are all flow snapshots
Each contains actual data files and distributions
They represent specific temporal states of their parent node flows

Temporal Nature

flow snapshots capture datasets at specific moments:

Current versions (_current/) - The latest version.
Next versions (_next/) - Draft content for future release
Historical versions (_v1/, _v2/) - Immutable snapshots from the past

Content Structure

flow snapshots contain:

Data files - The actual dataset content (.ttl, .rdf, .jsonld)
Distributions - Multiple format representations of the same data
Metadata - Information about the specific version/snapshot

Example Structure

_current/
├── my-ontology.ttl         ← Distribution
├── my-ontology.rdf         ← Distribution  
└── my-ontology.jsonld      ← Distribution

Immutability

version snapshot (historical flow snapshots, i.e., versioned folders like _v1/, _v2/) should be treated as immutable once created. This provides reliable references for external systems and ensures accurate provenance and history.

current snapshot (the latest "woven" flow snapshots, _current) should not be modified directly by users, but will be updated "on weave" if the next snapshot has evolved.

next snapshot (working flow snapshots, _next/) are mutable:

Can be edited and updated during development
Represent evolving state of the node flow

Creation and Lifecycle

flow snapshots are created through:

Initial authoring - Creating _current/ content
Versioning - Snapshotting _current/ to _v1/, _v2/ during concept.weave (Private)
Draft preparation - Working in _next/ for future releases

node flow - Parent conceptual entities
Versioning - Process of creating versioned flow snapshots
Weave Process - Operation that manages flow snapshot lifecycle

Children

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