XDM field type constraints

In Experience Data Model (XDM) schemas, a field’s type constrains what kind of data the field can contain. This document provides an overview of each core field type, including the other serialization formats they can be mapped to and how to define your own field types in the API in order to enforce different constraints.

Getting started

Before using this guide, please review the basics of schema composition for an introduction to XDM schemas, classes, and schema field groups.

If you plan on defining your own field types in the API, it is strongly recommended that you start with the Schema Registry developer guide to learn how to create field groups and data types to include your custom fields in. If you are using the Experience Platform UI to create your schemas, see the guide on defining fields in the UI to learn how implement constraints on fields that you define within custom field groups and data types.

Base structure and examples basic-types

XDM is built on top of JSON Schema, and therefore XDM fields inherit a similar syntax when defining their type. Understanding how different field types are represented in JSON Schema can help indicate the base constraints of each type.

NOTE
See the API fundamentals guide for more information on JSON Schema and other underlying technologies in Platform APIs.

The following table outlines how each XDM type is represented in JSON Schema, along with an example value that conforms to the type:

XDM type
JSON Schema
Example
String
{"type": "string"}
"Platinum"
Number
{"type": "number"}
12925.49
Long
{
  "type": "integer",
  "maximum": 9007199254740991,
  "minimum": -9007199254740991
}
1478108935
Integer
{
  "type": "integer",
  "maximum": 2147483648,
  "minimum": -2147483648
}
24906290
Short
{
  "type": "integer",
  "maximum": 32768,
  "minimum": -32768
}
15781
Byte
{
  "type": "integer",
  "maximum": 128,
  "minimum": -128
}
90
Date*
{
  "type": "string",
  "format": "date"
}
"2019-05-15"
DateTime*
{
  "type": "string",
  "format": "date-time"
}
"2019-05-15T20:20:39+00:00"
Boolean
{"type": "string"}
true

*All date-formatted strings must conform to the ISO 8601 standard (RFC 3339, section 5.6).

Mapping XDM types to other formats

The sections below describe how each XDM type maps to other common serialization formats:

NOTE
Among the standard XDM types listed in the tables below, the Map type is also included. Maps are used in standard schemas when data is represented as keys that map to certain values, or where keys cannot reasonably be included in a static schema and must be treated as data values.
Many standard XDM components use map types, and you can also define custom map fields if desired. The map type’s inclusion in the tables below is intended to help you determine how to map your existing data to XDM if it is currently stored in any of the formats listed below.

Parquet, Spark SQL, and Java parquet

XDM type
Parquet
Spark SQL
Java
String
Type: BYTE_ARRAY
Annotation: UTF8
StringType
java.lang.String
Number
Type: DOUBLE
LongType
java.lang.Double
Long
Type: INT64
LongType
java.lang.Long
Integer
Type: INT32
Annotation: INT_32
IntegerType
java.lang.Integer
Short
Type: INT32
Annotation: INT_16
ShortType
java.lang.Short
Byte
Type: INT32
Annotation: INT_8
ByteType
java.lang.Short
Date
Type: INT32
Annotation: DATE
DateType
java.util.Date
DateTime
Type: INT64
Annotation: TIMESTAMP_MILLIS
TimestampType
java.util.Date
Boolean
Type: BOOLEAN
BooleanType
java.lang.Boolean
Map
MAP-annotated group

(<key-type> must be STRING)
MapType

(keyType must be StringType)
java.util.Map

Scala, .NET, and CosmosDB scala

XDM type
Scala
.NET
CosmosDB
String
String
System.String
String
Number
Double
System.Double
Number
Long
Long
System.Int64
Number
Integer
Int
System.Int32
Number
Short
Short
System.Int16
Number
Byte
Byte
System.SByte
Number
Date
java.util.Date
System.DateTime
String
DateTime
java.util.Date
System.DateTime
String
Boolean
Boolean
System.Boolean
Boolean
Map
Map
(N/A)
object

MongoDB, Aerospike, and Protobuf 2 mongo

XDM type
MongoDB
Aerospike
Protobuf 2
String
string
String
string
Number
double
Double
double
Long
long
Integer
int64
Integer
int
Integer
int32
Short
int
Integer
int32
Byte
int
Integer
int32
Date
date
Integer
(Unix milliseconds)
int64
(Unix milliseconds)
DateTime
timestamp
Integer
(Unix milliseconds)
int64
(Unix milliseconds)
Boolean
bool
Integer
(0/1 binary)
bool
Map
object
map
map<key_type, value_type>

Defining XDM field types in the API define-fields

The Schema Registry API allows you to define custom fields through the use of formats and optional constraints. See the guide on defining custom fields in the Schema Registry API for more information.

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