The Language: Gin

Intro

Gin is composed of 3 core objects: Types, Expressions, and Data.

• Types: A data type. Ex: number, text, date, object, list, etc.
• Expressions: Code. Can also have data embedded in it (ex: constants).
• Data: User data for a known type. May also contain function expressions.

More complex objects in Gin are defined by the 3 core objects:

• Operation: A function type that can be implemented for any supported type.
• Operation Implementation: An expression that implements an operation for a given type.
• Function: A function type and implementation expression. Can be invoked from anywhere and can be unit tested.
• Reference Data: A type & data pair that is accessible in any function/program.
• Program: A type defines one or more input datasets with an expression that can be ran.

Storage

All three are stored as a JSON tuple in the following format: ['id', ...payload].

• Types: [id: string, options?: object, comment?: string]. There are system defined ids, but the user can create new types.
• Expressions: [id: string, options: object, comment?: string]. All ids are system defined, no custom expressions.
• Data: [typeId: string, value: any]. The id always points to a defined type.

Types

• Number: Ex: 1, -2.3, 0.001
• Text: A string. Ex: 'Hello'
• Boolean: A true/false value.
• Enum: A set of key/value constants. Ex: Top=0, Bottom=1, Right=2, Left=3
• Object: A user defined set of properties and values. Ex: { age: 32, name: 'Phil' }
• Tuple: A user defined set of elements. Ex: [3, 'hi'], [1, 2, 3], ['hi', { x: 5 }]
• List: An array of values. Ex: ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'a']
• Set: A collection of unique values. Ex: [1, 2, 3]
• Map: A collection of key/values.
• Date: A date and optionally time.
• Color: A color with red, green, blue, and alpha components.
• Optional: A type that isn't required, has an inner type.
• Function: A type which describes a functions parameters and return type.
• Many: A type which accepts multiple types.
• Not: A type which accepts any type but specified types.
• Null: A type to represent no value.
• Reference: A type that references a user-defined type.
• Any: A type that's compatible with all types.
• Generic: A type used a placeholder to create generic functions.

Expressions