ktsu.Schema

A C# library for defining, managing, and editing data structure schemas with a rich type system, type-safe identifiers, and polymorphic JSON serialization.

Overview

ktsu.Schema lets you define structured data models programmatically or visually, then serialize them to .schema.json files. It provides a foundation for code generation, data validation, and tooling that needs to understand your data structures at a metadata level.

The solution contains three projects:

• Schema - Core library with schema definition types, a rich type system, and JSON serialization
• Schema.Test - Unit tests for the core library
• SchemaEditor - ImGui-based desktop application for visual schema editing

Installation

Install via NuGet:

dotnet add package ktsu.Schema

Or add to your project file:

<PackageReference Include="ktsu.Schema" />

Requirements

• .NET 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0

Quick Start

Create a Schema

using ktsu.Schema.Models;
using ktsu.Schema.Models.Names;
using ktsu.Schema.Models.Types;
using ktsu.Semantics.Strings;
using SchemaTypes = ktsu.Schema.Models.Types;

// Create a new schema
Schema schema = new();

// Add an enum
SchemaEnum? roleEnum = schema.AddEnum("UserRole".As<EnumName>());
roleEnum?.TryAddValue("Admin".As<EnumValueName>());
roleEnum?.TryAddValue("User".As<EnumValueName>());
roleEnum?.TryAddValue("Guest".As<EnumValueName>());

// Add a class with typed members
SchemaClass? userClass = schema.AddClass("User".As<ClassName>());
if (userClass != null)
{
    SchemaMember? id = userClass.AddMember("Id".As<MemberName>());
    id?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.Int());

    SchemaMember? name = userClass.AddMember("Name".As<MemberName>());
    name?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.String());

    SchemaMember? email = userClass.AddMember("Email".As<MemberName>());
    email?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.String());

    SchemaMember? role = userClass.AddMember("Role".As<MemberName>());
    role?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.Enum { EnumName = "UserRole".As<EnumName>() });

    SchemaMember? createdAt = userClass.AddMember("CreatedAt".As<MemberName>());
    createdAt?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.DateTime());
}

Work with Arrays and Object References

// Add a Project class
SchemaClass? projectClass = schema.AddClass("Project".As<ClassName>());
SchemaMember? projectId = projectClass?.AddMember("Id".As<MemberName>());
projectId?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.Int());
SchemaMember? projectName = projectClass?.AddMember("Name".As<MemberName>());
projectName?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.String());

// Add an array of projects to the User class
SchemaMember? projects = userClass?.AddMember("Projects".As<MemberName>());
projects?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.Array
{
    ElementType = new SchemaTypes.Object { ClassName = "Project".As<ClassName>() },
    Container = "vector".As<ContainerName>()
});

// Use a keyed collection (map)
SchemaMember? projectsMap = userClass?.AddMember("ProjectsById".As<MemberName>());
projectsMap?.SetType(new SchemaTypes.Array
{
    ElementType = new SchemaTypes.Object { ClassName = "Project".As<ClassName>() },
    Container = "map".As<ContainerName>(),
    Key = "Id".As<MemberName>()
});

Create a Schema from .NET Types

// Generate a schema class from an existing .NET type using reflection
schema.AddClass(typeof(MyExistingClass));

Serialize and Deserialize

// Serialize to JSON
string json = SchemaSerializer.Serialize(schema);

// Deserialize from JSON (automatically calls Reassociate())
if (SchemaSerializer.TryDeserialize(json, out Schema? loaded))
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Loaded {loaded.Classes.Count} classes");
}

Query the Schema

// Retrieve classes and enums
if (schema.TryGetClass("User".As<ClassName>(), out SchemaClass? foundClass))
{
    foreach (SchemaMember member in foundClass.Members)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"  {member.Name}: {member.Type.DisplayName}");
    }
}

if (schema.TryGetEnum("UserRole".As<EnumName>(), out SchemaEnum? foundEnum))
{
    foreach (EnumValueName value in foundEnum.Values)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"  {value}");
    }
}

Type System

The schema supports a rich set of types through the SchemaTypes class, all inheriting from BaseType with polymorphic JSON serialization via System.Text.Json:

Category	Types
Numeric	Int, Long, Float, Double
Text	String
Logic	Bool
Temporal	DateTime, TimeSpan
Vectors	Vector2, Vector3, Vector4
Colors	ColorRGB, ColorRGBA
Complex	Array, Object, Enum
Special	None

Types expose classification properties like IsPrimitive, IsNumeric, IsIntegral, IsDecimal, IsArray, IsObject, IsContainer, and IsBuiltIn.

Strong String Types

All identifiers use type-safe semantic string wrappers from ktsu.Semantics.Strings to prevent mixing up different kinds of names at compile time:

• ClassName - Schema class names
• MemberName - Class member names
• EnumName - Enumeration names
• EnumValueName - Enumeration value names
• BaseTypeName - Type names
• ContainerName - Container type names
• DataSourceName - Data source names
• CodeGeneratorName - Code generator names

Convert strings using the .As<T>() extension method: "User".As<ClassName>()

JSON Serialization

Use SchemaSerializer for JSON serialization with System.Text.Json. The serializer uses camelCase property names and polymorphic type discrimination via the TypeName discriminator:

{
  "classes": [
    {
      "name": "User",
      "description": "",
      "members": [
        {
          "name": "Id",
          "description": "",
          "type": { "TypeName": "Int" },
          "memberDescription": ""
        },
        {
          "name": "Role",
          "description": "",
          "type": { "TypeName": "Enum", "enumName": "UserRole" },
          "memberDescription": ""
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "enums": [
    {
      "name": "UserRole",
      "description": "",
      "values": ["Admin", "User", "Guest"]
    }
  ],
  "dataSources": [],
  "codeGenerators": []
}

SchemaSerializer.TryDeserialize() automatically calls Reassociate() to re-establish parent-child relationships after deserialization.

Schema Editor

The SchemaEditor is an ImGui-based desktop application for visually creating and editing .schema.json files.

Running the Editor

dotnet run --project SchemaEditor

Features

• Tree view for navigating classes, enums, data sources, and code generators
• Property panels for editing members and types
• Type selection dialogs
• Create, open, and save schema files
• Resizable split-panel layout with persistent settings

Building

# Build the entire solution
dotnet build

# Run tests
dotnet test

# Build a specific project
dotnet build Schema/Schema.csproj

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.md for details.