# 1. Mental Model

Before any worked example, the conceptual map.

The framework is module-driven: every screen a PM creates and every screen
a customer sees is a row in `gdsmodule` joined to layout rows in
`gdsconfigformmaster/slave`, permission rows in `gdsjurisdiction`, and
stored procedures invoked through `BusinessBaseController` in the runtime.

## At a glance

```mermaid
flowchart TB
    classDef oos stroke-dasharray:5 5,color:#999

    BACK["BACK<br/>builder UI"]
    FROUNT["FROUNT<br/>customer UI"]
    EXT([External integrators])
    HOOKS([Third-party webhooks])

    subgraph framework [Framework runtime - in scope]
        XENTRY[xlyEntry]
        XAPI[xlyApi]
        XIF[xlyInterface]
        XFLOW[xlyFlow]
        XPLC[xlyPlc]
        XMSG[/"xlyMsg<br/>library"/]
    end

    DB[("MySQL<br/>xlyweberp")]
    REDIS[(Redis)]
    AMQ([ActiveMQ])
    XEJMSC[xlyErpJmsConsumer]
    PLAT[("xlyPlat* modules<br/>+ MongoDB")]:::oos

    BACK --> XENTRY
    FROUNT --> XENTRY
    FROUNT --> XAPI
    EXT --> XAPI
    HOOKS --> XIF

    XENTRY --> DB
    XAPI --> DB
    XIF --> DB
    XFLOW --> DB
    XPLC --> DB

    XENTRY <--> REDIS
    XENTRY -- "metadata change" --> AMQ
    AMQ --> XEJMSC
    XEJMSC --> REDIS

    XENTRY -. uses .-> XMSG
    XIF -. uses .-> XMSG

    PLAT -.-> DB
```

The dashed cluster (`xlyPlat*` + MongoDB) is the B2B printing-platform
tier — present in the build, but [out of scope](../index.md#whats-out-of-scope)
for this wiki.

For the library inventory behind each box, see the
[Tech stack](../reference/maintainer/tech-stack.md) page.

## Concept pages

These pages are intentionally short — each one explains one concept, with
links to the [vertical slices](../slices/index.md) that exercise it.
Concepts pages should stay short; if one grows past a screenful, that's
a sign the content wants to be a slice instead.

- [The data-driven thesis](thesis.md) — *why* the framework looks the way it does.
- [Modules, forms, virtual tables](modules-forms-vtables.md) — the three core nouns.
- [Master / slave document pattern](master-slave.md) — header/lines, everywhere.
- [No-FK, semantic-FK reality](semantic-fk.md) — how relations actually work.
- [Two customization channels](customization-channels.md) — metadata edits vs. SQL scripts.
- [Customization layers](customization-layers.md) — within Channel 1, how base / per-tenant / per-user overlays merge.
- [Multi-tenancy and product editions](multi-tenancy.md) — the three scoping axes (`sBrandsId`, `sSubsidiaryId`, `sVersionFlowId`).
- [The metadata-driven request lifecycle](request-lifecycle.md) — the diagram you'll come back to.
- [The three API tiers](api-surface.md) — internal (`xlyEntry`), external (`xlyApi`), inbound webhooks (`xlyInterface`).