lAItest / AI field guide · edition 2026-09-26
Know the language. Build with clarity.
Plain-English definitions for the concepts, patterns, protocols, and tools behind modern AI work.
414 defined terms · 16 topic areas · 50 essentials
Tools & output contracts terms
20 matching terms.
- Programmatic tool calling Concept · Tools & output contracts
Use model-generated code to orchestrate tool calls and process intermediate outputs.
- Structured outputs Concept · Tools & output contracts
Model responses constrained to a supported output schema.
- Tool calling Concept · Tools & output contracts
The model proposes a named operation and arguments; the runtime validates and executes the operation.
- Tool discovery Concept · Tools & output contracts
Find relevant tool capabilities at runtime instead of preloading every definition.
- Agent-computer interface Concept · Tools & output contracts
The names, arguments, outputs, errors, and affordances through which an agent operates tools.
- Constrained decoding Concept · Tools & output contracts
Restrict token generation to choices allowed by a grammar or other structural rules.
- Deferred tool loading Concept · Tools & output contracts
Load full tool definitions only after they become relevant.
- Dynamic toolset Concept · Tools & output contracts
An available set of operations that changes with task, role, permissions, or execution state.
- JSON mode Concept · Tools & output contracts
An API mode targeting valid JSON, without necessarily enforcing your complete business schema.
- JSON Schema Concept · Tools & output contracts
A vocabulary for specifying the structure and constraints of JSON data.
- Parallel tool calls Concept · Tools & output contracts
Execute independent operations concurrently, subject to permissions and dependency constraints.
- Pydantic Tool · Tools & output contracts
A Python library for data validation and serialization using type annotations.
- Schema validation Concept · Tools & output contracts
Check that data satisfies its structural contract.
- Semantic validation Concept · Tools & output contracts
Check that values are meaningful and satisfy domain rules, beyond structural validity.
- Tool grounding Concept · Tools & output contracts
Base a requested operation on real, available capabilities and observed identifiers.
- Tool schema Concept · Tools & output contracts
A machine-readable contract describing an operation's inputs and, sometimes, outputs.
- Tool selection Concept · Tools & output contracts
Choose which available operation is appropriate for the current task.
- Tool use Concept · Tools & output contracts
Using external operations, services, or interfaces as part of completing a task.
- Tool-result shaping Concept · Tools & output contracts
Return compact, relevant, well-structured observations rather than unfiltered raw data.
- Zod Tool · Tools & output contracts
A TypeScript-oriented runtime schema and validation library.
Browse by topic
- Agents & architecture 23 — Who decides, what executes, and where control lives.
- Goals, specs & plans 23 — Describe the outcome before delegating the implementation.
- Loops, critics & adversaries 33 — Understand how work is challenged, repaired, and stopped.
- Multi-agent coordination 21 — Delegation, ownership, context boundaries, and aggregation.
- Context & memory 29 — What the model sees now, and what persists for later.
- Tools & output contracts 20 — Model proposals become validated, authorized operations.
- Protocols & interoperability 19 — Name the boundary: tools, agents, editors, or interfaces.
- Coding-agent internals 25 — Instructions, skills, hooks, tools, and durable artifacts.
- Retrieval & knowledge 31 — Find evidence, rank it, and preserve source boundaries.
- Evals & observability 29 — Measure outcomes and inspect the execution path.
- Inference & performance 28 — Latency, throughput, compute, and memory are different constraints.
- Models, reasoning & training 36 — Separate weight changes from context and inference-time work.
- Security & reliability 27 — Make privileges explicit and side effects recoverable.
- Generative UI & voice 18 — The interaction layer has its own contracts and timing.
- Generative & physical AI 8 — Broader model families beyond text-based assistants.
- Tools & ecosystem 44 — Recognize the role before choosing the dependency.