Glossary

Glossary

Key terms used throughout the VTX documentation.

Term	Definition
VTX	The binary data format for real-time state data, and the C++ SDK that reads/writes it. Not an acronym; it is the format name.
Frame	A single complete state snapshot at a point in time. Self-contained for random access.
Chunk	A compressed segment of frame data within a VTX file. Contains multiple frames.
Embedded schema	The schema baked into each VTX file, making it self-describing and independently interpretable.
Footer / time index	The section at the end of a VTX file that maps timestamps and frame indices to byte offsets. Seeking is a binary search on this index plus one chunk decompress.
Generic schema	The domain-agnostic schema embedded in every VTX file, mapping property IDs to names and types.
Contextual schema	A domain-specific schema that maps generic property data into meaningful game/application concepts.
Generic property container	The Structure-of-Arrays storage layout that holds all entity state data in flat, type-segregated vectors.
SoA (Structure-of-Arrays)	The memory layout pattern used by the Generic Property Container. Properties stored by type in contiguous vectors.
Bucket	A top-level grouping within a frame. Standard buckets: Entity, Bone Data, Events, Stats.
Diff Engine	The component that calculates the delta between two frame states, producing spawn / destroy / update lists.
Deny List	A Diff-Engine optimisation that skips entities that failed to spawn, preventing repeated failed attempts on every frame diff.
Resolver	Translates diff output into engine operations (spawning, destroying, updating actors) in the consumer runtime.
PropertyKey	Pre-resolved handle for a property lookup. Resolve once, reuse in hot loops.
PropertyAddressCache	O(1) lookup structure for property access within a frame.
EntityView	Lightweight view over a single entity's properties in a loaded frame.
FrameAccessor	Convenience wrapper for frame-level queries.
VTXP	File magic identifying a Protocol Buffers-backed VTX file.
VTXF	File magic identifying a FlatBuffers-backed VTX file.
Zstd	Zstandard, the compression algorithm VTX uses for chunks.
UAF (Universal Asset Format)	Companion asset format (separate Zenos project). VTX carries state + asset references; UAF carries the assets themselves.
Atlas	Data visualisation project for rendering and validating parsed asset data. Separate from VTX.