Introduction
Revenue Sharing Language (RSL) is a human and machine readable language for describing complex multiple-step revenue-sharing agreements between multiple parties.
Revenue Sharing Language (RSL) is proposed as a common set of instructions that can be generated when creating multi-step recoupment and profit-share agreements, and processed when payments are being made. RSL is inspired by the idea of machine- and human- readable agreements, described by Ian Griggs as a Ricardian Contract. A Ricardian Contract for revenue sharing describes in a human readable form who is owed what, but using a syntax that can also by parsed by a computer. This potentially has the advantages of reducing human error, mispayments, delays or fraud when an agreement is paid out; tho of course adds the potential for machine error.
One of the key benefits of a human and machine readable contract is that a cryptographic SHA hash can be generated from it, which would alter if the agreement changes. This can act as a check against changes - or ‘Hollywood accounting’. In this way, a system using the machine instructions from such a contract as the basis for royalty or revenue-share payouts can be sure that it’s the same agreement as the one originally agreed to. But this is why machine-readable isn’t sufficient - non-developer humans should be able to read the agreement and understand its principles. For this reason YAML was chosen over JSON because, while YAML has limitations, it is more easily readable by non-developers.
RSL forms the basis of the Javascript libraries Cascade, Waterfall and the CiviCRM extension suite for Backdrop, Drupal, Joomla! and WordPress, CiviSplit. The latest version is available at gitlab.com/openvideo/rsl.
The syntax has two levels:
- a Standard Syntax, to describe a potentially unlimited series of steps of fixed, percentage or ratio splits, which can loop by both time period or per transaction. This has been implemented in three projects.
- an expeerimental Variable Syntax, still a draft, and not yet implemented, which allows for variables defined elsewhere, for instance an external value for expenses, that allows to exist between certain levels.