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Data Modeling Guide

Data modeling in ObjectQL is Metadata-First. You define your application's schema using *.object.yml files (or JSON), and ObjectQL handles validation, database mapping, and type generation.

1. The Object Definition

ObjectQL uses filename-based identification. The object name is automatically inferred from the filename (without the .object.yml extension), eliminating redundancy.

File naming: <object_name>.object.yml

# File: product.object.yml
# Object name "product" is automatically inferred from filename!

label: Product
description: "Catalog items for sale"
icon: standard:product

fields:
  name:
    type: text
    required: true
    label: Product Name
  
  price:
    type: currency
    scale: 2
    label: Price
    
  category:
    type: select
    options:
      - electronics
      - furniture
      - clothing

Note: The redundant name: product property is no longer needed - it's automatically inferred from the filename!

2. Fields & Relationships

ObjectQL supports rich field types that automate UI rendering and validation.

Core Types

  • Text: text, textarea, markdown, html
  • Numbers: number, currency, percent
  • Flags: boolean
  • Media: image, file, avatar

Relationships

  • Lookup: A loose foreign key. Can be optional. 
    created_by: { type: lookup, reference_to: user }
  • Master-Detail: A strong parent-child bond. Deleting the parent cascades to the child. 
    order_id: { type: master_detail, reference_to: order }

Specialized Types

  • Vector: Stores embeddings (arrays of floats) for AI search. 
    embedding: { type: vector, dimension: 1536, index: true }

3. Indexes & Constraints

Optimize query performance and ensure data integrity.

Field-Level Shortcuts

Use these for simple, single-column definitions.

fields:
  sku:
    type: text
    unique: true  # Enforce uniqueness
  
  status:
    type: select
    index: true   # Speed up filters

Composite Indexes

Define these at the root of your object file for multi-column optimizations (e.g., sorting by Date within a Category).

indexes:
  category_date_idx:
    fields: [category, created_at]
  
  unique_product_variant:
    fields: [product_id, color, size]
    unique: true

4. Internationalization (i18n)

ObjectQL adopts a "clean schema, external translation" philosophy.

  • Schema: Keep *.object.yml clean and technical (usually English keys/labels).
  • Metadata Translations: Store UI labels in i18n/[lang]/[object].json.
  • Data Translations: If you need to translate record content (like a Product Name), we recommend modeling it explicitly (e.g., a ProductTranslation table) rather than complicating the core column types.

5. Extending Objects

ObjectQL supports a powerful Schema Merging capability. This allows you to extend or modify objects defined in external packages (like plugins or standard libraries) without touching their source code.

This mechanism works by defining a new .object.yml file with the same object name.

How it works

When ObjectQL loads schemas, if it encounters multiple definitions for the same object (e.g., user), it merges them together. The priority depends on the loading order (usually Application layer overrides Package/Plugin layer).

Example: Extending the User Object

Suppose a plugin defines a basic user object. You want to add a phone field and enforce that email is required.

Original Definition (in Plugin):

# node_modules/@objectql/plugin-auth/user.object.yml
name: user
fields:
  name: { type: text }
  email: { type: text }

Your Extension (in App):

# src/objects/user-extension.object.yml
name: user                 # Must match exactly
label: System User (Ext)   # Overrides the label

fields:
  # 1. Modify existing field
  email:
    required: true

  # 2. Add new field
  phone:
    type: text
    label: Mobile Phone
    unique: true

Merge Rules

Component Behavior
Top-level Props Override. (label, icon, description in your file replace the original).
Fields Deep Merge. Existing fields are updated (properties merged), new fields are added.
Actions Merge. You can add new actions or override existing ones.
Indexes Merge. New indexes are added.