Preserves: an Expressive Data Language

This repository contains a definition and various implementations of Preserves, a new data model, with associated serialization formats, in many ways comparable to JSON, XML, S-expressions, CBOR, ASN.1 BER, and so on.

Core documents

Preserves data model and serialization formats

Preserves is defined in terms of a syntax-neutral data model and semantics which all transfer syntaxes share. This allows trivial, completely automatic, perfect-fidelity conversion between syntaxes.

• Preserves specification:
  • Preserves semantics and data model,
  • Preserves textual syntax, and
  • Preserves machine-oriented binary syntax
• Preserves tutorial
• Canonical Form for Binary Syntax
• Syrup, a hybrid binary/human-readable syntax for the Preserves data model

Preserves schema and queries

• Preserves Schema specification
• Preserves Path specification

Implementations

Implementations of the data model, plus the textual and/or binary transfer syntaxes:

• Preserves for Nim
• Preserves for Python (pip install preserves; documentation available online)
• Preserves for Racket (raco pkg install preserves)
• Preserves for Rust (crates.io package)
• Preserves for Squeak Smalltalk (Installer ss project: 'Preserves'; install: 'Preserves')
• Preserves for TypeScript and JavaScript (yarn add @preserves/core)

Implementations of the data model, plus Syrup transfer syntax:

• Syrup for Racket
• Syrup for Guile
• Syrup for Python
• Syrup for JavaScript
• Syrup for Haskell

Tools

Preserves documents

• preserves-tool, generic syntax translation and pretty-printing

Preserves Schema documents and codegen

• Tools for working with Preserves Schema

Additional resources

• Cheat sheet(s) for Preserves syntax
• Some conventions for common data types
• Open questions; see also the issues list
• Why not Just Use JSON?

Contact

Tony Garnock-Jones tonyg@leastfixedpoint.com

Licensing

The contents of this repository are made available to you under the Apache License, version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0), and are Copyright 2018-2022 Tony Garnock-Jones.