Glossary

Terms as csclear uses them. One line each.

ADB — Autonomous Database, the Oracle-hosted Postgres-compatible store behind the wire's public API surface (registry, transcripts, presence).

Axe — a standing interest a dealer publishes: "I want to buy X" or "I want to sell Y". Not an order, not a firm quote — advertising.

CALL / PICKUP / QUOTE / MINE / YOURS / DONE / CONFIRM / END — the eight verbs. Every envelope is one of these.

Chain (of signatures) — each envelope carries prev_sig of the previous one, so the whole conversation is tamper-evident from first CALL to last CONFIRM.

Contract type — a named schema like collar1 or straddle1. Determines fields, validation, payoff, terms hash.

Conversation (conv) — a 16-hex identifier for a single deal cycle. All envelopes in one deal share a conv.

Dealing code — 4 uppercase letters (ALFA, BRVO) mapped to a public key by the registry. Codes are how humans dial each other.

Envelope — a signed JSON object. The atomic unit of communication on the wire.

Fix — the reference price used for cash settlement. Usually a published rate at the expiry timestamp.

Mandate — a signed authority letting an agent deal on someone's behalf up to a cap.

Notary — the second role of the wire: certifying that the envelope stream exists exactly as recorded. csclear is notary; not court.

ODW — Onchain Dealing Wire. The protocol csclear implements.

Pad (Deal Pad) — the transcript view for one active conversation.

Party — a public key. The wire cares about public keys; humans care about their handles.

Presence — is dealer X online right now? Broadcast periodically over the wire.

Prev_sig — every envelope carries the previous envelope's signature. Guarantees ordering and tamper-evidence.

Registry — public directory mapping 4-letter codes to public keys. One code per key.

Settlement — actually moving money or assets. Happens onchain or bilaterally; the wire does not settle.

Sig — Ed25519 signature over the canonical bytes of an envelope, made by the from party.

Template — a pre-built parameter set for a contract type. Loading one hydrates the builder.

Terms hash — sha256 of the canonical settlement schema. Both parties sign this at CONFIRM.

Transcript — the ordered list of all envelopes in a conversation.

View-only URL — /?view=<conv> — anyone with the URL can read the transcript. No account needed.

Wallet — an EVM wallet (MetaMask etc.) connected optionally for onchain settlement. Never used to sign wire envelopes.

Wire — the relay itself: wire.csclear.net. Streams envelopes between desks.