Inheritance

Description

When used correctly, this is where the real magic happens.
Inheritance is one of the main reasons why RichJSON is so highly modular and efficient at reducing redundancy.

Let me introduce you to you RichJSON's Multi-Inheritance!

Syntax

mem: no implementation
key: { "key::$ref:path/to/object, $file:path/to/file, ... <commands>": { ... } }
inheritance sign: ::
command separator: ,

Example

Before Apply

Note

$ref can be omitted

// some_file.json
{
    "some_value": 80
}

{
    "parent_object": {
        "some_value": "Hello World!"
    }

    "child_object1::parent_object": {                  // $ref was left out
        "some_other_value": "$ref:parent_object"
    },
    "child_object2::parent_object, $file:some_file": {},
    "child_object3::$file:some_file, parent_object": {},
    "child_object4::$file:some_file, parent_object": {
        "some_value": "Hawkmax"
    }
}

After Apply

Important

Inheritance may appear similar to the $merge command,
but keep in mind that RichJSON Inheritance behaves very differently when it comes to reference data types

In particular:

• Child objects will never directly reference parent members
• Instead, values are copied, ensuring independency from the parent

// some_file.json
{
    "some_value": 80
}

{
    "parent_object": {
        "some_value": "Hello World!"
    }

    "child_object1": {                             // parent_object
        "some_value": "Hello World!",
        "some_other_value": {                      // $ref:parent_object
            "some_value": "Hello World!"
        }
    },
    "child_object2": {                             // parent_object, $file:some_file
        "some_value": 80
    },
    "child_object3": {                             // $file:some_file, parent_object
        "some_value": "Hello World!"
    },
    "child_object4": {                             // $file:some_file, parent_object
        "some_value": "Hawkmax"
    }
}

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Author’s Recommendation: next read Advanced Key Syntax