diff --git a/sdk/lib/framework/node.dart b/sdk/lib/framework/node.dart
index 44c14fe5edf..8e772a9d3be 100644
--- a/sdk/lib/framework/node.dart
+++ b/sdk/lib/framework/node.dart
@@ -1,15 +1,33 @@
 class AbstractNode {
 
-  // Nodes always have a 'depth' greater than their ancestors'.
-  // There's no guarantee regarding depth between siblings. The depth
-  // of a node is used to ensure that nodes are processed in depth
-  // order. The 'depth' of a child can be more than one greater than
-  // the 'depth' of the parent, because the 'depth' values are never
-  // decreased: all that matters is that it's greater than the parent.
-  // Consider a tree with a root node A, a child B, and a grandchild
-  // C. Initially, A will have 'depth' 0, B 'depth' 1, and C 'depth'
-  // 2. If C is moved to be a child of A, sibling of B, then the
-  // numbers won't change. C's 'depth' will still be 2.
+  // AbstractNode represents a node in a tree.
+  // The AbstractNode protocol is as follows:
+  // - When a subclass is changing the parent of a child, it should
+  //   call either parent.adoptChild(child) or parent.dropChild(child)
+  //   as appropriate. Subclasses should expose an API for
+  //   manipulating the tree if you want to (e.g. a setter for a
+  //   'child' property, or an 'add()' method to manipulate a list).
+  // - You can see the current parent by querying 'parent'.
+  // - You can see the current attachment state by querying
+  //   'attached'. The root of any tree that is to be considered
+  //   attached should be manually attached by calling 'attach()'.
+  //   Other than that, don't call 'attach()' or 'detach()'. This is
+  //   all managed automatically assuming you call the 'adoptChild()'
+  //   and 'dropChild()' methods appropriately.
+  // - Subclasses that have children must override 'attach()' and
+  //   'detach()' as described below.
+  // - Nodes always have a 'depth' greater than their ancestors'.
+  //   There's no guarantee regarding depth between siblings. The
+  //   depth of a node is used to ensure that nodes are processed in
+  //   depth order. The 'depth' of a child can be more than one
+  //   greater than the 'depth' of the parent, because the 'depth'
+  //   values are never decreased: all that matters is that it's
+  //   greater than the parent. Consider a tree with a root node A, a
+  //   child B, and a grandchild C. Initially, A will have 'depth' 0,
+  //   B 'depth' 1, and C 'depth' 2. If C is moved to be a child of A,
+  //   sibling of B, then the numbers won't change. C's 'depth' will
+  //   still be 2. This is all managed automatically assuming you call
+  //   'adoptChild()' and 'dropChild()' appropriately.
 
   int _depth = 0;
   int get depth => _depth;