Data Formats

Data Formats and Inventory Relationships

Arketype's inventories are JSON files under source control. They provide descriptive design metadata, not authoritative domain state. The catalogue HTML is generated from these inputs and from the individual archetype files.

Data layout

Arketype/
├── catalogue.json
├── archetypes/*.json
├── inventaires/
│   ├── archetypes-visuels.json
│   ├── grammaire-visuelle.json
│   ├── diagrammes-situes.json
│   └── profils-usage.json
├── assemblages/*.json
├── modeles/<archetype-slug>/
├── catalogue/index.html
└── wiki/*.md

File	Key fields	Owner of meaning
catalogue.json	archetypes[], inventories, version	Library index
archetypes/*.json	id, slug, family, kit_profile, integrity_rule, template_path, visual_pattern	Candidate archetype definitions
inventaires/archetypes-visuels.json	slug, visual_pattern, secondary_patterns, situational_schema	Catalogue visual index
inventaires/grammaire-visuelle.json	patterns[]	Standard visualization vocabulary
inventaires/diagrammes-situes.json	kind, slug, pattern, nodes[], edges[], status	Noncanonical example drawings
inventaires/profils-usage.json	primary_archetype, supporting_archetypes, inputs, outputs, boundaries	Example application scenarios
assemblages/*.json	primary_archetype, components, composition_status, publication_authorization	Proposed composition design
INVENTAIRE.json	path, sha256, size_bytes	Archive byte inventory, not a logical commitment

Example: a noncanonical visual association

{
  "visual_pattern": "matrix",
  "secondary_patterns": ["timeline"],
  "situational_schema": "Systems compared across dated operational observations"
}

This is an illustrative excerpt, not a complete validated archetype file. It expresses a presentation choice. The real source data remains in the repository JSON.

Keeping sources and the HTML aligned

Edit the appropriate JSON file, review the related archetype or use-case profile, run python arketype.py validate, then regenerate the HTML with python arketype.py build-html. Diagram coordinates and edges in the visual inventory must refer to nodes that exist in that diagram.

An HTML view does not automatically refresh when JSON changes and does not gain semantic authority by being published on a website.

Repository inventory vs. state commitment

INVENTAIRE.json describes byte-level files in a distribution. It is not a replacement for source provenance, a pinned external commitment, or a Kristal logical contract. Similarly, the template build/v9 receipts document local technical generation and do not establish domain truth.

See also: Visual Grammar, Architecture, Extending Arketype.