Authority Research Note

IMS DL/I Runtime Semantics: Opaque Boundary Evidence

IMS DL/I introduces runtime semantics that may not be fully provable from source artifacts alone. Segment navigation, PCB state, and runtime configurations can affect behavior. Deterministic guarantees terminate where runtime behavior cannot be proven.

What this construct does

DL/I calls operate against IMS databases through PCBs and segment structures. Behavior may depend on runtime-resolved resources and transaction state.

Why provability terminates

If the evidence set does not include sufficient IMS metadata and runtime contracts, deterministic guarantees cannot extend through all DL/I behavior. The authority must record the boundary rather than pretend completeness.

Governance consequence

Under strict regulated contexts, opaque runtime boundaries terminate deterministic migration guarantees. Proceeding requires an expanded evidence scope or remediation that eliminates the opaque dependency.

Authority boundary statement

Where provability terminates, authority terminates.

Evidence and verification

Legacy Lens records DL/I boundary evidence and binds it cryptographically to the bundle.
Legacy Lens does not infer runtime database behavior.
Replaying the bundle reproduces the same boundary record and hash.

Verified authority record

View a verified bundle where IMS boundary evidence appears: Download authority record (PDF)