Chapter 10: Documents Get Updated
VeloForge refines its recycling process for alloy ALX88. Recycled content goes from 80% to 87%. They issue a new version of the material certificate, place it on their data plane, and update the catalog.
How does FerroLink find out?
Notifications. When VeloForge updates the certificate, it sends a lightweight message: "New version of cert-ALX88 available." The message doesn't contain the document — just the reference. FerroLink then pulls the new version through the normal flow: catalog, contract, download.
FerroLink updates its own component documentation and notifies downstream. LumenDrive and NebulaFlow each react in turn.
VeloForge ──notify──► FerroLink ──notify──► LumenDrive
──► NebulaFlow
VeloForge ──notify──► NebulaFlow
QuantisSeal ──notify──► LumenDrive
──► NebulaFlow
The chain stays in sync because each company reacts independently. Notifications don't bypass any step — they replace polling.
Signals and data stay separate
This separation is a core principle:
| Layer | What it carries |
|---|---|
| Notification | A signal — something changed, here's the reference |
| Catalog | Metadata — what's available and under what terms |
| Contract | Authorization — agreed access rights |
| Data plane | The actual document |
Notifications travel through the same infrastructure and follow the same credential and policy rules. A notification about a document you're not authorized to access won't reach you.