Creating Collections

Creating collections, with or without a schema.

A collection is a sequence of records in the data section, each introduced by a tilde ~. You can create one with or without a schema — though a schema is recommended.

Simple collection (no schema)

Without a schema, each record is parsed on its own and its values are mapped to positional indices. Records may differ in shape:

---
~ Ironman, 20, Male, { Bond Street, New York, NY }
~ Spiderman, 25, Male, { Duke Street, New York, NY }, cool

Explicit collection (with schema)

Define a schema in the header; every record is validated against it. Use a keyed reference (address: $address) to reuse a shape:

~ $address: { street, city, state }
~ $schema: { name: string, age: { int, min: 18 }, address: $address }
---
~ Ironman, 20, { Bond Street, New York, NY }      # ✓
~ Wonderwoman, 25, { Z Street, San Francisco, CA } # ✓

Reference a shape with a keyed member (address: $address). A bare $address in the schema is read as a field literally named $address, not as the referenced shape.

See Also

• Collection · Collection Rules

• Schema References