Omega-Code: A Formal Meta-Language for Specifying Complex and Autonomous Systems
This paper introduces Omega-Code, a formal, verifiable meta-language designed to address the semantic gap between human intent and executable code in complex and autonomous systems. It aims to be a single, provable source of truth for system design, with its syntax formally defined using Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF).
The language is built on core principles such as:
- Inherent governance: Weaving safety and ethics into the system's core.
- Meta-cognition for evolution: Allowing systems to reason about and adapt themselves.
- Principled realism: Acknowledging resource constraints.
Omega-Code functions as a crucial intermediate language, bridging high-level system requirements and final, constraint-adherent code generation. It is intended for use in LLM-driven development workflows, where LLMs can generate specifications in Omega-Code and then translate them into executable code.
The paper details Omega-Code's:
- Lexical structure: Including identifiers, keywords, literals, and comments.
- Inherent language features: Supporting standard programming constructs like control flow, function definitions, and variable declarations.
- 13 atomic core primitives: These are the building blocks for specifying system behavior and constraints, covering aspects like logical contexts, temporal relationships, resource limits, and self-modification.
An illustrative example demonstrates how these primitives can be composed to define governed and resource-constrained system components. The paper concludes by emphasizing Omega-Code's role in precise, verifiable design and its "Engineered for Evolution" nature, allowing for self-modification of its own EBNF grammar. The full EBNF grammar is provided in an appendix.
