Skip to main content

Intermediary Language

The Intermediary Language (IL) is a documented, human-readable notation for expressing CRADLE scenario concepts as short declarative statements. It is intended to help people review and discuss an environment before working with the formal CRADLE block syntax.

Why IL exists​

Formal CRADLE syntax is precise, but it can be unfamiliar to non-developers. IL represents many of the same relationships using statements such as:

instance Client has os ubuntu 20.04
network lan_0 has endpoint Client DHCP

This format can make an early scenario review easier for researchers, exercise designers, domain specialists, and developers collaborating on the same environment.

Relationship to CRADLE​

ILCRADLE
Human-readable design notationFormal domain-specific language
One statement per property or relationshipNamed blocks containing comma-separated properties
Useful for review and conceptual mappingConsumed by the CRADLE compiler
No production parser in the current reference branchActive grammar and compiler implementation exist

Conceptually, an IL statement maps to a CRADLE declaration or property. That conceptual mapping does not guarantee automatic conversion, semantic equivalence, or lossless round trips.

Appropriate uses​

IL is useful for:

  • explaining a scenario to readers who are new to CRADLE
  • reviewing systems, networks, events, and artifacts in a concise form
  • drafting a scenario before translating it into formal CRADLE syntax
  • documenting intended mappings for a future conversion component

When to use formal CRADLE instead​

Use formal CRADLE syntax when:

  • the scenario will be processed by the current compiler;
  • exact property names, argument boundaries, or quoting matter;
  • compiler-supported extensions are required;
  • validation against the grammar or structured model is required; or
  • the scenario forms part of a supported product workflow.

Current coverage​

The documented IL notation covers:

  • environment name, event type, and remote repository
  • instances, operating systems, objects, configurations, and roles
  • networks, subnets, and endpoints
  • pre-event, main-event, and post-event membership
  • common event properties
  • object locations
The current notation does not define a complete mapping for all compiler features, including heuristic annotations, I/O definitions, local repositories, execution-flow settings, advanced wait conditions, and some role details.

Conversion boundaries​

Until an IL implementation is supplied and tested:

  • whitespace and quotation rules remain documentation conventions rather than a parser contract;
  • free-text values can be ambiguous;
  • unsupported CRADLE properties may be lost during manual translation;
  • names and references must be checked manually;
  • IL-to-CRADLE and CRADLE-to-IL equivalence is not guaranteed; and
  • IL should not be advertised as an accepted product input format.

Continue exploring​