6NF File Format

Summary

Filename Extension: .6nf1. Introduction6NF File Format is a new bitemporal, sixth-normal-form (6NF)-inspired data exchange format designed for DWH and for reporting. It replaces complex hierarchical formats like XBRL, XML, JSON, and YAML.2. Design PrinciplesDatabase Friendly Flat Structure: No nested objects or arrays. No need for parsing6NF Compatibility: Direct mapping to 6NF database tables. No need for normalizationBitemporal Database Compatibility: All data includes valid_from and recorded_at timestampsUTC Time Standard: All timestamps must be in UTC format, denoted by the 'Z' suffix (e.g., 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z)Struct Grouping: Multiple attributes with shared temporal contextCompactness: Uses Crockford’s Base32 - encoded UUIDv7 for identifiersReadability: Clean syntax with minimal punctuationPostgreSQL Style: Uses snake_case notation of identifiers (names)Case Sensitivity: Keywords are UPPERCASE and case-sensitive. Identifiers (names) are lowercase and case-sensitiveUTF-8 Encoding: Files use UTF-8 encoding3. Syntax (EBNF)6nf = [version] { entity | reference | attribute | attribute_ref | struct | relationship } ; version = "VERSION" number "\n" ; entity = "ENTITY" entity_name entity_id "\n" ; reference = "REFERENCE" name reference_id value "\n" ; attribute = "ATTRIBUTE_OF" entity_name entity_id name value valid_from recorded_at "\n" ; attribute_ref = "ATTRIBUTE_REF_OF" entity_name entity_id name reference_id valid_from recorded_at "\n" ; struct = "STRUCT_OF" entity_name entity_id name valid_from recorded_at "\n" { name (value | reference_id) "\n" } ; relationship = "RELATIONSHIP" name relationship_id valid_from recorded_at "\n" { name ( entity_id | reference_id ) "\n" } ; value = string | number | iso8601 | "true" | "false" ; string = "\"" { character } "\"" ; number = [ "-" ] digit { digit } [ "." digit { digit } ] ; valid_from = iso8601 ; recorded_at = iso8601 ; entity_name = ( letter | "_" ) { letter | digit | "_" } ; name = ( letter | "_" ) { letter | digit ...