dependencydescribed

Dependencydescribed is a term used to denote a formal, machine-readable description of the dependencies that a software component or system requires. It encompasses direct and transitive dependencies, including versions, constraints, scopes, and justifications for why a dependency is present. The goal is to make dependency information explicit, auditable, and reusable across development, build, and operations pipelines.

In practice, dependencydescribed acts as a data model or schema that can be serialized in JSON, YAML, or other formats. A typical description lists the component name, its own version, each dependency with a name, version constraint, and a rationale. Additional metadata may include the dependency’s source repository, integrity hashes, platform requirements, and whether the dependency is required at build time, run time, or only for testing.

Benefits include improved traceability, easier impact analysis when a dependency updates, and better interoperability with tooling such as build systems, continuous integration, and software bill of materials (SBOM) workflows. It also supports governance by documenting licensing, security considerations, and compliance constraints associated with each dependency.

Relation to related concepts: It complements SBOM by focusing on dependency relationships rather than inventory alone; it can be integrated into release planning and architecture documentation; it can be used by dependency scanners and package managers that support structured dependency metadata.

Limitations and challenges: requires agreed-upon schema and governance; maintenance overhead; potential duplication with existing standards; evolving ecosystem means compatibility must be managed.

See also: Software bill of materials, dependency graph, package management, build automation.