== Normative Sources

When behavior is evaluated, authority is ordered as follows:

1. Language specification (``/spec/``)
2. Conformance test corpus (normative executable examples)

Implementation behavior is not authoritative by itself.

Reference parser authority and divergence handling are governed by ``./reference-parser-status-policy.md``.

== Divergence Rule

If spec prose and conformance tests diverge:

- Treat as a release blocker.
- Do not ship until both are aligned.
- Resolution requires explicit owner decision recorded in changelog/decision note.

Conformance corpus evolution is governed by ``./conformance-corpus-governance.md``.

== Conformance Corpus Requirements

The conformance corpus must include:

- Valid parsing examples with expected AST snapshots.
- Invalid/malformed cases with expected fallback behavior.
- Expected diagnostics (code + level) for malformed/recovery cases.
- Canonical serialized output snapshots for selected cases.
- Compatibility fallback cases for unsupported profile/version constructs.
- External-config precedence over in-source profile hints.
- Precedence and escape interaction cases.
- Cross-feature interaction cases for neighboring precedence tiers.

For every new inline token or precedence change, these cases must be represented in the conformance corpus (``tests/``). The corpus is the sole record — there is no separate prose matrix.

== Release Gate

A release is conformant only if:

1. Conformance tests pass on the reference parser.
2. No unresolved spec-vs-test divergence exists.
3. Any intentional behavior change includes updated spec text and updated tests in the same change.

Cross-implementation validation requirements are governed by ``./cross-implementation-validation-policy.md``.

Implementation compliance claims are governed by ``./compliance-levels-policy.md``.

== Authoring Rule for New Features

Every language proposal must provide, before merge:

- at least one canonical success case,
- at least one malformed/unclosed case,
- at least one escape case,
- at least one precedence-neighbor interaction case.

== Related

- [``./diagnostics-policy.md``](/latest/policies/diagnostics-policy)
- [``./diagnostic-code-registry-policy.md``](/latest/policies/diagnostic-code-registry-policy)
- [``./canonical-serialization-policy.md``](/latest/policies/canonical-serialization-policy)
- [``./compatibility-fallback-policy.md``](/latest/policies/compatibility-fallback-policy)
- [``./conformance-corpus-governance.md``](/latest/policies/conformance-corpus-governance)
- [``./compliance-levels-policy.md``](/latest/policies/compliance-levels-policy)
- [``./compliance-evidence-freshness-policy.md``](/latest/policies/compliance-evidence-freshness-policy)
- [``./compliance-failure-response-policy.md``](/latest/policies/compliance-failure-response-policy)
- [``./cross-implementation-validation-policy.md``](/latest/policies/cross-implementation-validation-policy)
- [``./reference-parser-status-policy.md``](/latest/policies/reference-parser-status-policy)