Terminology

There are really only two things you need to know about in Rx: types and schemata. A type is an abstract description of a type of data. For example, "an integer" or "an associative array" are data types. When they're made into concrete, checkable constraints, they become schemata. This is done by parameterizing them.

A Rx type is identified by a unique URL, generally in the tag: schema. When writing these in schema definitions, there is a form of shorthand available. If the string begins with a slash, it is assumed to be in the format: /id/rest, where id is in a list of known identifiers that expand to base URLs.

For example, given this prefix table:

rubrictag:codesimply.com,2008:rubric/
x http://example.com/x-ample/

...then type names may be supplied as /rubric/tag or /x/int instead of tag:codesimply.com,2008:rubric/tag or http://example.com/x-ample/tag respectively.

The empty prefix is always reserved for the core type tag prefix:

(empty)tag:codesimply.com,2008:rx/core/

Types located under tag:codesimply.com,2008:rx/core/ are the core types and must be implemented by all Rx implementations. These are detailed below. While users can define their own custom types, quite a lot of data validation rules can be expressed using the core types.

Prefixes starting with a period are reserved for use by Rx. The following are defined:

.rx tag:codesimply.com,2008:rx/
.metatag:codesimply.com,2008:rx/meta/

This page gives a brief overview of the core types, which will be defined in detail elsewhere, later.

Single Types

The basic scalar (one-value) types are:

//nil the lack of a value (undef, null, nil, etc)
//def any defined value; anything that is not //nil
//boola value that is either true or false
//numa number; may be parameterized by a range
//int an integer; any number such that (x == floor(x)); may be parameterized by a range
//str a string, even the empty string; may require a specific string or be parameterized by length range
//one any single value -- anything //def that is not a collection

Collection Types

The basic collection (many-value) types are:

//arr a list of values all of one type; may be parameterized by length
//seq a list of values of varying types; each slot has a schema
//rec a record of named entries, each with its own schema
//map a map of names to values, with all the values matching one schema

Combination Types

The basic combination types are:

//any either anything at all, or any of a given list of schemata
//all a list of schemata; checked data must validate against them all