Self-describing, asynchronous, logically constrained, signature-authenticated object-messages form the basis of highly sophisticated computer systems. Software defined at the level of symbolic intent can refine itself without loss of coherence, remaining valid across time, platforms, and revisions.
He who writes in blood and proverbs does not want to be read, but learnt by heart.
— F. Nietzsche
Sema is guided by the same standard that governs living systems: completion rather than iteration. The aim is not to produce a tool among others, but to define a semantic layer from which all other computational forms may emerge. For this reason, the architecture is conceived to admit no structural improvement at its final revision, only refinement of interpretation.
Computers do not understand text. What are commonly called “programming languages” are in fact textual notations for humans, which must be parsed into internal logical structures before any computation occurs. This indirection introduces fundamental costs in correctness, performance, expressiveness, and usability.
Sema addresses this by operating directly at the level of symbolic logical intent, eliminating the need for text-first representations. Logical structure is primary, not derived.
All Sema expressions take the form of self-describing symbolic objects. In the sense originally intended by object-oriented computing, each object carries its own semantic context: the constraints governing its interpretation, the transformations it has undergone, and the space of transformations it admits.
Data is therefore not stored in a database; data is the database, and meaning is inseparable from the object itself.
Security is treated as a property of logical correctness, not of protected channels. Rather than securing connections, Sema binds cryptographic signatures directly to symbolic objects. Trust attaches to meaning, not transport.
This enables multi-signature systems, cold-storage key usage, and naturally supports air-gapped and multi-party environments. Because symbols are self-describing and self-verifying, integrity survives propagation across untrusted media.
Sema derives from the classical notion of the sign: a symbol recognized by shared interpretation rather than enforced syntax. In this sense, Sema designates the symbolism of logical intent—a semantic layer comparable to sound in spoken language, from which code, interfaces, and protocols may emerge.
Earlier terminology framed this project as a “language of knowledge.” The current framing is more precise: Sema is not a language of expression, but the symbolic medium in which expression becomes possible.
Until a working prototype exists, discussion takes place on Matrix:
- https://matrix.to/#/#criome:matrix.org — Sema / Criome space
- https://matrix.to/#/#CriomeLog:matrix.org — read-only minimal feed
- https://matrix.to/#/#CriomeDev:matrix.org — development discussion