Project data schemas

A schema describes the fields a template expects: their names, types and whether they are single values or lists.

Templates bind to schema fields. Datasets provide values for them. As long as a schema stays stable, templates and datasets can evolve independently.

The two schema shapes

• Object — a single value per field. Use for things that exist once: a scoreboard, a now-playing caption.
• List — many rows, each with the same fields. Use for rosters, leaderboards, bid ladders.

You pick the shape when you create the schema and cannot change it later. Wrong shape? Duplicate the templates that use it and point them at a new schema.

Field types

• Text — strings of any length.
• Number — integer or decimal.
• Boolean — true/false.
• Date / datetime — used by countdowns and timestamps.
• Asset — an image, icon or file reference.
• Color — a hex color. Bindable to fills and strokes.
• Select — a predefined list of choices.

Every field can have a default value shown when no dataset provides one, and a required flag that warns when a dataset leaves it blank.

Naming

Use short lowercase names: name, score, photo. The template and the mapping both refer to these names; renaming a field everywhere is tedious.