class node

A class node is defined as a node within a concept graph which tells us something 'interesting' about other nodes, called class instances. Typically, the 'something interesting' is something about the format of the class nodes. For example: a class node called User might specify that class instance nodes for Alice and Bob should have a field (under userData) called userName which should be a string. Formatting information contained within a class node is not necessarily complete; any given node will typically be an instance of multiple class node.

DIP-107 provides specification for a JSON schema as a particular example of a category of class nodes. DCoSL is designed to be flexible, and alternatives to JSON schemas could certainly be utilized as class nodes.

According to the ("class thread rule" ?), a class node is connected to a class instance using a specialized path called a class thread. The requirement that the class node obeys the formatting rules of the class node is called the (need a name for this?).

In the diagram below, the blue circle is a class node, the green circles are class instances, and each path from the blue circle to a green node is a class thread.