4 IPC Protocol and Data Models

IPC Protocol and Data Models

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• src/models/message.rs
• src/models/mod.rs

corpus-ipc serves as the authoritative owner of the wire protocol and data schemas used for communication between Rust-based services and external compute engines src/models/mod.rs:3-5. Since #68 (18a5a29, LIM-1547) the shipped README and rustdoc name no sibling repositories; only the contributor notes in CLAUDE.md still name thalamic-relay and brainstem-daemon as the producer and consumer. This page provides a high-level overview of the IpcMessage envelope, typed batch payloads, metadata structures, and configuration types defined in src/models/ src/models/mod.rs:3-46.

For implementation details, refer to the following child pages:

• IpcMessage Protocol
• Batch Data Types
• NeuromodulatorSnapshot and Neuromodulator Packet
• StimulusBatch and Runtime Ingress
• Deserialization Hooks and Model Compat Aliases

---

IpcMessage Protocol

The top-level wire protocol is encapsulated by the IpcMessage tagged enum src/models/message.rs:32-57. It organizes traffic into input messages sent to compute engines, output messages received from compute engines, and control signals src/models/message.rs:13-18.

The enum implements validation via the Validate trait, recursively delegating protocol limit checks down to its variants src/models/message.rs:59-73.

For detailed coverage of serde tagging, session correlation, and variant stability, see IpcMessage Protocol.

Sources: [src/models/message.rs:13-73]()

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Batch Data Types

Data flows across the IPC boundary in structured batches designed for efficient multi-stream routing and session isolation src/models/mod.rs:6-24. These wire types are distinct from in-memory training batches that other libraries also call SpikeBatch / TraceBatch (spike-train arrays, unstructured e-prop traces), and the two definitions must not be merged src/models/mod.rs:6-24. CLAUDE.md names SynapticDistill.jl as the library in question; the rustdoc no longer does.

Data Flow Diagram: Natural Language to Code Entity

The following diagram maps high-level conceptual entities to their corresponding Rust implementations in src/models/.

graph TD
    subgraph "NaturalLanguageSpace"
        A["NeuralPulse"]
        B["FeatureVector"]
        C["LearningSignal"]
        D["SystemConfig"]
    end

    subgraph "CodeEntitySpace_src_models"
        A --> B1["SpikeBatch / SpikeEvent"]
        B --> B2["EmbeddingBatch"]
        C --> B3["GradientBatch / TraceBatch"]
        D --> B4["ConfigPayload / ConfigValue"]
    end

    B1 -- "batch_id" --> M["BatchMetadata"]
    B2 -- "batch_id" --> M
    B3 -- "batch_id" --> M

Loading

Sources: [src/models/mod.rs:6-46]()

For field semantics, JSON key stability, and type definitions, see Batch Data Types.

Sources: [src/models/mod.rs:6-46]()

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NeuromodulatorSnapshot and Neuromodulator Packet

Biological global regulation signals (such as dopamine, cortisol, acetylcholine, and tempo) are transmitted via the NeuromodulatorSnapshot payload src/models/mod.rs:42. This replaces unstructured float tails with a typed ingress structure that parses specific byte offsets from binary packets src/models/message.rs:42-44.

For byte layout offsets, value ranges, and biological significance, see NeuromodulatorSnapshot and Neuromodulator Packet.

Sources: [src/models/message.rs:42-44], [src/models/mod.rs:42]()

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StimulusBatch and Runtime Ingress

Continuous runtime stimuli are handled by the domain-neutral StimulusBatch wire type src/models/message.rs:38-41. It supports variable-width channels and optional valid_mask semantics, replacing consumers' ad-hoc payloads such as a flat UDP JSON message or a private ingress packet struct src/models/stimulus.rs.

For structural details and valid-mask behaviors, see StimulusBatch and Runtime Ingress.

Sources: [src/models/message.rs:38-41], [src/models/mod.rs:44]()

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Deserialization Hooks and Model Compat Aliases

To maintain strict input bounds and backward compatibility, src/models/de.rs wires protocol validation directly into serde deserialization routines using TryFrom shadow types src/models/mod.rs:27. Additionally, src/models/compat.rs preserves legacy type aliases and serialized identifiers src/models/mod.rs:47-48.

For validation hooks and compatibility layers, see Deserialization Hooks and Model Compat Aliases.

Sources: [src/models/mod.rs:27-48]()