ASPECT_INPUT

INPUT — Aspect

Date: 2026-02-28 Status: Architectural aspect note Priority: Immediate architecture clarification

Related:

• system/register/input_registry_spec.md
• ../2026-02-28_ux_contract_register.md
• ../aspect_command/ASPECT_COMMAND.md
• ../subsystem_focus/SUBSYSTEM_FOCUS.md

Policy authority: This file is the canonical policy authority for the Input aspect. Supporting input docs refine contracts/implementation detail and must defer policy authority to this file. Policy in this file should be distilled from canonical specs and accepted research conclusions.

---

1. Purpose

This note defines the Input aspect as the architectural owner of user input routing from hardware event to semantic intent.

It exists to keep one boundary explicit:

• raw input events are delivery signals,
• the Input aspect owns context-sensitive dispatch,
• and semantic action meaning belongs to the Command aspect, not the input layer.

---

2. What The Input Aspect Owns

• input event ingestion (keyboard, pointer, gamepad, touch)
• input context stack (which input mode is active: keyboard, gamepad, modal overlay)
• key/button binding resolution against the active input context
• input remapping configuration (user-defined rebinding)
• chord and sequence recognition
• dispatch of resolved bindings into the Command aspect or Focus subsystem
• consistency of input behavior across all surfaces and input modes

---

3. Cross-Domain / Cross-Subsystem Policy Layer

The Input aspect feeds both the Command aspect (action dispatch) and the Focus subsystem (focus routing).

Liquid, Gas, and Solid may influence input responsiveness expectations (e.g., drag thresholds, gesture sensitivity), but the Input aspect does not define those preset semantics — it consumes them from the owning policy layer.

---

4. Bridges

• Input -> Command: resolved binding triggers an action dispatch
• Input -> Focus: navigation keys advance focus within the active region
• Input -> Canvas: pointer events that do not resolve to a bound action fall through to graph-space interaction
• Registry -> Input: InputRegistry supplies the active binding configuration and context stack

---

5. Architectural Rule

If a behavior answers "how does a hardware or software input event become a routed intent?" it belongs to the Input aspect.