Roots and ProofLists

MALT is root-centric. A root is the verifier-facing handle for one committed semantic structure snapshot.

For the fuller system model, see Server Runtime Model. For current transport details, see Root-Centric HTTP API and ProofLists.

Root-Centric Read

Resolve(root, segments) -> target + ProofList
VerifyResolve(request, result) -> valid / invalid

Read(root, query) -> result + ProofList
VerifyRead(root, query, result, ProofList) -> valid / invalid

The root is supplied by the caller. It may come from an application manifest, signed publication record, release channel, consensus protocol, or local workflow. MALT does not define that publication layer.

ProofList

A ProofList is the evidence needed to verify that a returned result matches a query under a root. It is assembled by the server runtime or local runtime and checked by the client.

ProofLists are useful because they keep the server runtime out of the trust base:

• the server runtime can be wrong or stale
• the reader can reject invalid results locally
• the application chooses which roots are trusted
• freshness policy stays outside MALT core

Snapshot Correctness

MALT guarantees snapshot semantic correctness relative to a trusted root. It does not by itself guarantee that the root is the latest root.

That distinction is intentional. It lets MALT focus on authenticated structure while allowing different applications to choose different publication, freshness, and merge policies.