Mirror module¶
What it does¶
Mirror combines guest-observed window and interface information, optional structured content, and host-native rendering. Actions drive the guest and settle by rereading guest state.
Availability¶
Mirror is PowerPC-only and experimental. Its ordinary shell can work without the optional Extension; live application structure, drawing activity, and other deeper features may require it. The feature coverage matrix states which user outcomes require the Extension. NOW-68K has no Mirror subsystem.
On the modern Mac¶
The host joins scene identity, content, Finder semantics, references, and act settlement. Human requests take priority over queued ambient reads at the next safe boundary. Change notices combine redundant refreshes, and the host avoids publishing a view that mixes older and newer state. A host-rendered interior never becomes authority for guest state.
On the classic Mac¶
The PowerPC page reports which Extension features are available and active. The guest app remains the wire owner even when the Extension observes another application.
Common tasks¶
- Observe before enabling act controls.
- Read provenance and Extension status before interpreting an empty interior.
Safety, consent, and privacy¶
Mirror can expose window titles, text, file rosters, and screen content. Agent actions remain bounded by the machine's consent ceiling and visible host state.
Failure states¶
Missing Extension feature, no writer, stale reference, not addressed, timed-out settlement, invalidation gap, stale generation, and authoritative refusal are not interchangeable. Gap or unknown hints trigger a repair read; cadence polling remains available when no hint arrives.
Current limitations¶
Finder and application interiors retain known incomplete behaviors. An observation feature that was requested but produced no artifact cannot support a rendering claim.
Queued human work does not preempt a guest traversal already running. The new scheduler and coherent publication path are tested locally, but the PowerBook 1400c ambient-wait target is not metal-verified.