Profiles

The Application profile describes the internal architecture of a single executable: modules, layers, boundaries, and how they connect. Use it for modular monoliths, service decomposition within one process, or any application where you care about internal structure.

Typical constructs: module, component, adapter, logical interfaces, and connect. Generated views include C4-style Component diagrams.

// Elan8 — software application (Application profile)
interface OrderAPI logical { role provider; role consumer }

system OrderServiceApp {
  @profile(value="application")
  module api_layer {
    component orders_api { port orders: OrderAPI }
  }
  module domain_layer {
    component order_service { port api: OrderAPI }
    connect orders_api.orders to order_service.api
  }
}

The Platform profile describes the composition of executables: services, event buses, gateways, queues, and how they communicate and deploy. Use it for microservices, distributed systems, or platform-level architecture.

Typical constructs: service, eventbus, apigateway, datastore, queue, connect, deploy to. Generated views include C4-style Container diagrams.

// Elan8 — platform: services, communication, deployment
system CheckoutPlatform {
  @profile(value="platform")
  service checkout_svc { port cart: CartAPI }
  service cart_svc { port api: CartAPI }
  eventbus order_events { }
  apigateway gateway { }
  connect checkout_svc.cart to cart_svc.api
  connect checkout_svc.events to order_events.pub
  deploy checkout_svc to gateway
}