Types and Values

CSDB v1 defines a broad type registry inspired by PostgreSQL and SQLite. Types do not imply a specific database engine.

Every value is serialized as text inside CSV.

Type Registry

Each row starts with the canonical CSDB type name. Equivalent database spellings are shown in parentheses. Writers should preserve the exact spelling used in the schema, but libraries should normalize aliases to the canonical type internally.

Type options are stored under a columns entry when that entry uses object form. Options include SQL type modifiers, SQLite-compatible declared-type hints, and CSDB validation or encoding hints.

Canonical type	Serialized form	Type options	Implementation status
text	UTF-8 text	collation	Implemented
varchar (character varying)	UTF-8 text	length, collation	Implemented
integer (int/int4)	Base-10 signed integer	min, max, auto_increment	Implemented
bigint (int8)	Base-10 signed integer	min, max, auto_increment	Implemented
real (float4)	Decimal or scientific notation	precision, min, max, allow_nan, allow_infinity	Implemented
numeric (decimal)	Base-10 exact decimal text	precision, scale, min, max	Implemented
boolean (bool)	true or false	None	Implemented
date	ISO 8601 date, YYYY-MM-DD	min, max	Implemented
timestamp	ISO 8601 date-time without offset	precision, min, max	Implemented
json	JSON text	schema	Implemented
null	Null-only type	None	Future release
char (character)	UTF-8 text	length, collation	Future release
clob	UTF-8 text	collation	Future release
bit	Bit string containing only 0 and 1	length	Future release
varbit (bit varying)	Bit string containing only 0 and 1	length	Future release
smallint (int2)	Base-10 signed integer	min, max	Future release
smallserial (serial2)	Base-10 signed integer generated by writers	start, increment, min, max	Future release
serial (serial4)	Base-10 signed integer generated by writers	start, increment, min, max	Future release
bigserial (serial8)	Base-10 signed integer generated by writers	start, increment, min, max	Future release
double (double precision/float8)	Decimal or scientific notation	precision, min, max, allow_nan, allow_infinity	Future release
float	Decimal or scientific notation	precision, min, max, allow_nan, allow_infinity	Future release
money	Base-10 decimal currency amount with no currency symbol	precision, scale, currency, min, max	Future release
time	ISO 8601 time without offset	precision, min, max	Future release
time with time zone (timetz)	ISO 8601 time with offset	precision, min, max	Future release
datetime	ISO 8601 date-time	precision, timezone, min, max	Future release
timestamp with time zone (timestamptz)	ISO 8601 date-time with offset	precision, min, max	Future release
interval	ISO 8601 duration or signed duration text	precision, fields	Future release
uuid	Canonical UUID text	version	Future release
binary (blob/bytea)	Base64 text	length, max_length, encoding	Future release
jsonb	JSON text	schema, canonicalize	Future release
array	JSON array text	element_type, dimensions, min_items, max_items	Future release
enum	UTF-8 enum label	labels	Future release
xml	XML text	schema, namespace	Future release
path	UTF-8 path string	style, absolute, base, must_exist	Future release
point	Geometric point text	dimensions	Future release
line	Geometric line text	None	Future release
lseg	Geometric line segment text	None	Future release
box	Geometric box text	None	Future release
polygon	Geometric polygon text	min_points, max_points	Future release
circle	Geometric circle text	None	Future release
inet	IP address text	version	Future release
cidr	CIDR network text	version	Future release
macaddr	MAC address text	None	Future release
macaddr8	EUI-64 MAC address text	None	Future release
tsvector	Text search vector text	config	Future release
tsquery	Text search query text	config	Future release
pg_lsn	Log sequence number text	None	Future release
pg_snapshot (txid_snapshot)	Transaction snapshot text	None	Future release
oid	Base-10 unsigned object identifier	min, max	Future release
regclass (regcollation/regconfig/regdictionary/regnamespace/regoper/regoperator/regproc/regprocedure/regrole/regtype)	UTF-8 object reference text	object_kind	Future release
range	Text range literal	subtype, bounds	Future release
multirange	Text multirange literal	subtype, bounds	Future release
any	Any valid CSDB serialized value	allowed_types	Future release
custom	Text value with required type_name metadata	type_name, serialized_form	Future release

Type Option Rules

• Options are written inside the column's object-form entry.
• Unknown options are invalid unless the column type is custom.
• Value limits such as min, max, min_items, and max_items are validation hints; equivalent database exports may also represent them as constraints.

Parameterized Types

Types may include metadata such as length, precision, scale, dimensions, or allowed labels.

columns:
  code:
    type: varchar
    length: 20
  amount:
    type: numeric
    precision: 12
    scale: 2
  status:
    type: enum
    labels: [draft, approved, paid]
required:
  - code
  - amount
  - status

Custom Types

Unknown or engine-specific types use custom.

columns:
  location:
    type: custom
    type_name: geography_point

type_name is required when type is custom.

Unsupported Runtime Types

A CSDB runtime may preserve and validate a type even when its target database or language does not natively support that type.