# MazeXChain Protocol Vocabulary

This document defines the active MazeXChain terminology. Public documentation, UI copy, whitepaper text, and future code comments should use these terms consistently.

## 1. Primary Positioning

| Term | Chinese | Definition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cognitive Advancement Protocol | 认知推进协议 | The protocol class that turns structural discovery into verifiable cognitive state advancement. |
| Verifiable Structural Intelligence | 可验证结构智能 | The ability to recover behavior structure, construct a bounded executable model, and pass deterministic behavior verification. |
| Cognitive State | 认知状态 | The accumulated protocol state produced by valid Solve events and inherited by future Steps. |
| Cognitive Advancement | 认知推进 | A valid state transition triggered by a verified structural discovery. |
| Cognitive Resource | 认知资源 | Protocol resource released by valid cognitive advancement. MAZEX is the native resource unit. |

## 2. Challenge and Observation Terms

| Term | Chinese | Definition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Continuous Challenge | 连续挑战 | The sequential challenge pressure generated by Layer / Step progression. |
| Challenge Behavior | 挑战行为 | The observable input-output behavior exposed by the current Step, represented as `A(x,y) -> B(u,v)`. |
| Challenge Behavior Interface | 挑战行为接口 | The sampling interface used by Solver to observe current Step behavior. |
| Behavior Observation | 行为观测 | The act of collecting samples from the challenge behavior interface. |
| Behavior Commitment | 行为承诺 | A public commitment to the current Step behavior, usually represented by `behavior_root` and related hashes. |
| Behavior Root | 行为根 | A deterministic root over encoded behavior leaves. It commits to behavior without exposing private generation material. |

## 3. Solver and Proof Terms

| Term | Chinese | Definition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Solver | Solver / 求解者 | An AI, agent, cluster, or participant that observes challenge behavior and submits a candidate model. |
| Candidate Model | 候选模型 | A bounded executable explanation submitted by Solver. |
| Proof of Understanding | 理解证明 | A valid candidate model that reproduces committed challenge behavior under deterministic verification. |
| Solve Event | Solve 事件 | The accepted event produced when a candidate model passes verification. |
| Solve Block | Solve 区块 | The chain record that stores Solver attribution, answer hash, behavior root, settlement, state root, and next Step commitment. |

## 4. State and Chain Terms

| Term | Chinese | Definition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Layer | 层 | A high-level difficulty and state-progression level. |
| Step | 步骤 | The minimum challenge unit. A Step advances only after a valid Solve Block. |
| State Transition | 状态转换 | The deterministic update from one valid chain state to the next. |
| Chained State Inheritance | 链式状态继承 | The rule that each next Step commitment is derived from previous valid state, solve data, and chain-derived randomness. |
| State Root | 状态根 | The commitment to current replayable chain state. |
| Next Step Commitment | 下一 Step 承诺 | The public commitment generated after a valid Solve Block for the next Step. |

## 5. Resource and Fee Terms

| Term | Chinese | Definition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MAZEX | MAZEX | The native protocol resource released through valid Solve events and used for fees and transfers. |
| Cognitive Unlock | 认知解锁 | The resource-release process triggered by a valid cognitive advancement. |
| Submission Fee | 提交费 | The fee deducted from a successful Solve reward. Invalid local answers do not broadcast. |
| Fee Burn | 费用销毁 | The permanent removal of collected protocol fees from circulating balance. |

## 6. Legacy Term Mapping

The term `blackbox` was used in early prototypes to describe hidden challenge behavior. In the active protocol vocabulary, it is no longer the primary public concept.

| Legacy Term | Active Term | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blackbox | Challenge Behavior Interface | Use only when referring to historical notes or legacy implementation aliases. |
| Blackbox behavior | Challenge Behavior | Use in all current public documentation and UI copy. |
| Blackbox kernel | Challenge Behavior Kernel | Use in architecture and module descriptions. |
| Puzzle / riddle | Challenge / Step | Do not use as protocol positioning. |
| Unknown structure | Challenge structure / structural discovery target | Avoid as the top-level positioning; use only when technically necessary. |

## 7. Implementation Alias Rule

Some runtime files and identifiers still use `blackbox` for compatibility, especially `src/lib/blackbox.js` and legacy import paths. These names are implementation aliases. New documentation and new code comments should describe their role as challenge behavior evaluation, not as the protocol identity.
