Paper is a programming paradigm for building systems with dynamic component composition that can be completely reverted and reactively managed.
The paradigm addresses the problem of composing software components that can be added and removed at runtime without leaving residual side effects. It introduces two key concepts: revertible effects, which allow components to undo their modifications when removed, and reactive coeffects, which enable components to declare dependencies and respond to context changes. The approach formalizes these mechanisms by lifting classical effect and coeffect concepts from type theory into runtime operations, then unifies them through a context paradigm where all component interactions are mediated through a single context type. This mediation ensures that distinct components can interleave their operations without interfering with one another.
The work is presented as a formal calculus with metatheory, accompanied by Cordis, a meta-framework that implements these ideas. Cordis provides a core library for effect tracking and coeffect resolution, along with a declarative component loader supporting configuration reconciliation and hot module replacement. This is suitable for systems requiring dynamic plugin architectures, self-evolving agent harnesses, or any application where components must be composed, updated, or removed at runtime while maintaining system integrity. The formal foundations distinguish this from ad-hoc approaches to dynamic composition.
The project exists as a preprint under active revision, with the arXiv page serving as the authoritative source. Development appears focused on the theoretical formalization and the reference implementation in Cordis, with engagement from contributors providing feedback on the formal presentation.
