TPS Glossary #

This glossary is the durable reference for TPS terms used by the format specification, SDKs, validators, compilers, and players. It is intended to be complete for the current TPS specification, including heading markers (#, ##, ###), inline tags, diagnostics, compiled runtime concepts, and SDK terminology.

Core Document Terms #

Term	Definition
TPS	TelePrompterScript, a markdown-based teleprompter script format with timing, pacing, emotion, and presentation metadata.
Script	The full TPS document, including front matter, optional title, segments, blocks, phrases, and words.
Front Matter	The metadata block at the top of the file delimited by ---.
Title	The optional # heading after front matter. It is display metadata, not a segment.
Segment	A major script section defined by a ## header.
Block	A topic group inside a segment defined by a ### header.
Phrase	A spoken unit inside a block, usually bounded by sentence-ending punctuation or pause markers.
Word	The smallest compiled spoken token, including regular words and control tokens such as pauses or edit points.

Syntax And Structural Markers #

Term	Definition
Title Heading (#)	The single top-level heading used as display title metadata for the script.
Segment Heading (##)	The heading form that starts a major segment.
Block Heading (###)	The heading form that starts a block inside a segment.
Header Parameter	A `
Timing Point	A single header time value such as 0:30.
Timing Range	A header time span such as 0:30-1:10.
Escape Sequence	A backslash escape used to render TPS control characters literally, for example \\[ or \\/.

Timing And Delivery Terms #

Term	Definition
WPM	Words Per Minute, the reading speed used to calculate display timing.
Base WPM	The document-level default WPM defined by base_wpm in front matter.
Effective WPM	The final reading speed after base speed, relative tags, and explicit overrides are applied.
Speed Offset	A front matter percentage that adjusts relative speed tags such as slow or xfast.
Absolute Speed Override	An inline or header speed value like 150WPM that directly sets effective reading speed.
Relative Speed Tag	A speed modifier such as [slow], [fast], or [normal] that scales from the current base speed.
Timing Hint	A header value like 0:30 or 0:30-1:10 stored for tooling and authoring context.
Pause Marker	A control token such as [pause:2s], /, or // that inserts a timed pause into the compiled script.
Breath Mark	A [breath] marker that indicates a natural breathing point without adding display time.
Emotion	A named delivery profile such as warm, urgent, or focused.
Emotion Preset	A predefined emotion value recognized by the TPS validator and compiler.
Emphasis	A visual and delivery emphasis span created by tags such as [emphasis], *text*, or **text**.
Highlight	A presentation tag such as [highlight]...[/highlight] that increases visual prominence without changing timing.
Volume Level	A loudness modifier such as loud, soft, or whisper.
Volume Tag	An inline tag that applies a volume level to a span of text.
Delivery Mode	A delivery-shaping tag such as aside, rhetorical, sarcasm, or building.
Edit Point	A control marker that identifies a good editing or stitching boundary in the script.

Authoring And Inline Metadata Terms #

Term	Definition
Inline Tag	A TPS tag embedded in body text, for example [slow], [phonetic:...], or [highlight].
Speaker Assignment	A Speaker:Name header token used for multi-speaker scripts.
Phonetic Guide	A pronunciation hint provided by [phonetic:...]...[/phonetic].
Pronunciation Guide	A syllable-oriented guide provided by [pronunciation:...]...[/pronunciation].
Stress Text	The literal text to emphasize inside a word or phrase.
Stress Guide	A guide that shows where spoken stress should land.
Implicit Segment	A segment synthesized by the parser when content appears before the first explicit ## segment header.
Implicit Block	A block synthesized by the compiler when a segment has direct content but no explicit ### blocks.
Leading Content	Text placed between a segment header and the first explicit block.

Validation Terms #

Term	Definition
Diagnostic Severity	The seriousness of a validation message, typically error, warning, or info.
Diagnostic Range	The line/column or offset span associated with a validation finding.
Suggestion	Optional fix guidance attached to a diagnostic.
Unknown Tag	An inline tag that is not part of the TPS contract and should be reported by validation logic.
Malformed Tag	A tag-like construct with invalid syntax, for example a broken closing tag or invalid pause payload.
Unknown Header Token	A segment or block header parameter that is not recognized as name, speed, emotion, timing, or speaker.

Compiler And Player Terms #

Term	Definition
Validator	The TPS component that checks structure and authoring rules and produces diagnostics.
Diagnostic	An actionable validation message with code, severity, range, and optional suggestion.
Parser	The TPS component that turns markdown TPS text into a structured document model.
Compiler	The TPS component that converts a parsed document into a timed, JSON-friendly playback model.
Compiled Script	The full compiled output containing metadata, segments, blocks, phrases, words, and total duration.
State Machine	The compiled playback model that lets a runtime resolve what should be visible at a given elapsed time.
Player	The runtime component that reads the compiled script and returns the current presentation state.
Presentation Model	The player output describing the active segment, block, phrase, visible words, active word, and remaining time.
Current Word Index	The zero-based index of the active compiled word, or -1 when no active word exists.
Elapsed Time	The playback time passed into a player when resolving the current presentation model.
Remaining Time	The difference between compiled duration and elapsed playback time.

SDK Terms #

Term	Definition
ManagedCode.Tps SDK	The multi-runtime TPS SDK workspace under SDK/.
Runtime	A language-specific TPS implementation such as TypeScript, JavaScript, or C#.
Active Runtime	A runtime enabled in SDK/manifest.json and covered by CI.
Planned Runtime	A reserved SDK folder that is documented but not yet enabled in CI.
SDK Catalog	The runtime listing page generated from SDK/manifest.json and published on the website.
Runtime Matrix	The CI-generated list of enabled runtimes used for build, test, and coverage workflows.
Shared Fixtures	Canonical test inputs and runtime expectations stored under SDK/fixtures/.
Parity	The requirement that all active SDKs expose the same TPS contract: constants, validation, parser, compiler, and player APIs.