6. Conformance

This section defines mandatory requirements that an implementation MUST satisfy in order to claim conformance with Trust-State Standard v1.0.

6.1 Normative Annex Binding

Conformance SHALL require full adherence to the following normative annexes:

• Annex A — Canonical Serialization
• Annex B — Rule Identity Derivation
• Annex C — Deterministic Replay Equivalence
• Annex D — Deterministic Test Vectors
• Annex E — Conformity Artifact Structure

Failure to comply with any mandatory annex SHALL constitute non-conformance.

6.2 Conformance Requirements

An implementation claiming conformance MUST:

• Produce byte-identical canonical serialization under Annex A.
• Derive rule identity hashes exactly as defined in Annex B.
• Ensure deterministic replay equivalence as defined in Annex C.
• Construct conformity artifacts exactly as defined in Annex E.
• Successfully reproduce test vector results defined in Annex D.

All hash computations SHALL use SHA-256 as defined in FIPS 180-4. No alternative hash function SHALL be substituted.

6.3 Conformity Artifact Integrity

The artifact hash MUST:

• Be computed over the canonical serialized artifact structure.
• Be independently reproducible.
• Change deterministically upon any modification to artifact content.

Replay under identical canonical inputs and rule identity conditions MUST reproduce an identical artifact hash.

6.4 Prohibited Modifications

An implementation MUST NOT claim conformance if:

• Canonical ordering rules are altered.
• Rule identity derivation is modified.
• Replay conditions permit non-deterministic variance.
• Artifact structure fields are omitted or redefined.

6.5 Conformance Declaration

An implementation claiming conformance MUST publish a declaration including:

• The implemented version of the Trust-State Standard.
• The implementation release date.
• A statement affirming adherence to all mandatory annexes.

Conformance claims SHALL explicitly reference “Trust-State Standard v1.0”.