> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://registries.govstack.global/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://registries.govstack.global/3-terminology.md).

# 3 Terminology

| Term                      | Description                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Registry**              | A paper-based or electronic database (centralized or decentralized, i.e. blockchain) where claims are stored and can be consulted. |
| **Registration**          | Process through which an entity gets claims recorded in a registry.                                                                |
| **Entity**                | A thing with distinct and independent existence, such as a person, organization, or device.                                        |
| **Claim**                 | An attribute asserted by an entity, about itself or another entity.                                                                |
| **Asserter**              | An entity that asserts a claim.                                                                                                    |
| **Registrar**             | An entity that is authorized to register, in a registry, claims submitted by an applicant.                                         |
| **Applicant**             | Entity that requests the registration of claims in a registry.                                                                     |
| **Operator**              | A registrar or a staff of a registrar who is processing the request of an applicant.                                               |
| **Administrator/Analyst** | A registrar or a staff of a registrar who is building a new registry.                                                              |
| **Rules engine**          | A tool transforming business rules relating to a registry, defined by a human analyst, into machine-readable statements.           |
| **Automation**            | A database-level data movement.                                                                                                    |
| **Trigger**               | A record-level automation.                                                                                                         |