Topic · ReqIF

What is ReqIF, and how do I keep the interchange true in CI?

Gist

ReqIF is the OMG XML for exchanging requirements between tools that do not share a database. Proof reads that file. proof req import doors-export.reqif --format reqif --spec specs/system writes each SPEC-OBJECT as .req.yaml with import:reqif provenance, then the audit fails the merge when the graph is stale.

proof req import doors-export.reqif --format reqif --spec specs/system

Keep Jama if you author the programme. Keep DOORS if the supplier still lives there. Proof is not a ReqIF editor, and a green import is not a round-trip of every proprietary attribute.

Request demo Last XML dump vs this graph

01 · The file that becomes YAML

A zip of XML is not a graph. Last week's DOORS dump is not this push.

ReqIF is the interchange, not the programme. A person can import it once. The next commit does not reopen the zip.

The authoring H1 lives on Proof vs Jama. IBM DOORS stays a mention there, not a twin. The matrix H1 lives on requirements traceability matrix. This page is the file: SPEC-OBJECT, SPEC-RELATION, SPEC-HIERARCHY, in the OMG 1.0 namespace.

Import maps known attributes (FRETish, description, component, rationale, status, priority, category, assurance level) onto YAML fields. Unrecognized attributes land in custom so the bytes are not dropped. Relations become traces.satisfies, traces.verified_by, traces.implemented_by, and traces.documented_by. Export writes the same four relation types back out.

proof req import doors-export.reqif --format reqif --spec specs/system
proof req export specs/system --format reqif > requirements.reqif
proof audit --fail-level warn

The first command is the intake. The second is the hand-back to DOORS or Polarion. The third is the standing gate. Pasting last week's XML into a share drive is how the interchange became wallpaper.

02 · The exhibit

Same shalls. A zip, or a graph.

The dump still sits in email. The graph will take UTF-8 ReqIF and refuse the rest. Click the tabs.

DOORS / Polarion zip

Opened supplier.reqif, last CCB
PAY-SYS-025 SPEC-OBJECT in the XML

File received

This push

The zip did not notice the shall changed.

No import

DOORS / Polarion zip

Still last CCB. Still a file.

Keep the ALM

Proof

Ask does the XML become YAML
Gate req import --format reqif, then audit

Merge blocked if the graph is stale

Same shalls. A zip, or a graph. Click the tabs.

Surface	What they do	What Proof does
OMG ReqIF 1.0	Open XML for exchanging requirements and metadata	Import and export against `http://www.omg.org/spec/ReqIF/20110401/reqif.xsd`. Header tool id is ReqProof.
IBM DOORS / DOORS NG	Authoring, baselines, the shall as written, ReqIF wizard	They still win at authoring. Proof reads the export. That H1 lives on Proof vs Jama as a mention, not a twin.
Polarion / Jama	Programme authoring. Jama still authors.	Same ALM cluster. Proof does not replace them. Import maps known fields; the rest is `custom`.
CSV / JSON / FRET JSON	A spreadsheet or a NASA FRET dump	Same command, different `--format`. This URL is the OMG XML.
OSLC	Live link between ALMs	Not supported. A file, not a live coupling.
UTF-16 / Latin-1 dump	What some exporters still emit	Refused. Encoding allow-list is UTF-8 (and the `utf8` alias). That is a named loss, not a silent mojibake.

Foreign ReqIF crosses the highest trust boundary in the set. The importer caps the file at 64 MiB, budgets 100 ms to parse, caps SPEC-HIERARCHY depth at 64, and rejects SPEC-OBJECT-REF cycles. A billion-laughs payload is a loud error, not a hang.

proof req import doors-export.reqif --format reqif --spec specs/system
proof audit --fail-level warn

A thin dump makes a thin graph. Treat the import as a view of the XML, not as a second source of completeness. We have not run this against a frozen IBM / Polarion corpus, and we have not scored a round-trip of every proprietary attribute. The loss is named, not scored.

03 · The honest loss

A green Proof import is not a ReqIF editor.

Proof reads and writes the XML. It does not author the programme. Jama still authors. DOORS still holds the supplier baseline.

Proof does not implement OSLC, edit SPEC-OBJECT trees in a GUI, or claim a lossless round-trip of every DOORS attribute. UTF-16 is refused. US-ASCII declarations that are not UTF-8 are refused. Inputs over 64 MiB are refused. Cycles are refused. Custom fields survive in custom; they are not first-class YAML. Object-code coverage on C still wants the qualified toolchain. That H1 lives on MC/DC for Go and on Proof vs LDRA. Proof generates inputs. It does not run them. Keep go test.

The matrix H1 stays on requirements traceability matrix. The ALM H1 stays on Proof vs Jama. Jama still authors.

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04 · Nearby questions

What people type next.

What is the Requirements Interchange Format? The long name for ReqIF. Same URL. Not a twin.

How do I import a ReqIF file? The command on this page. Auto-detects .reqif. Pass --format reqif when the suffix is .xml.

Is Proof a DOORS alternative? No. Jama owns that cluster. Proof vs Jama. DOORS is a mention there.

What is a requirements traceability matrix? The matrix the graph can print after the import. RTM.

What is ISO 29148? The document hierarchy, not the interchange. ISO 29148.

What is software baseline? Configuration management. proof baseline create exists. Different H1. Parked this tick.

What is DO-178B? The previous airborne document. Twin of DO-178C. Do not mint.

How do I measure MC/DC coverage for my Go code? The instrument, not the file. MC/DC for Go.