Value model

Strata defines a minimal, fixed value model.

Every value type exists to support deterministic, canonical encoding. Anything that introduces ambiguity is intentionally excluded.

The value model is part of the protocol contract.

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Design principles

The Strata value model is designed to be:

• minimal

• unambiguous

• deterministic

• cross-language stable

• future-extensible without breaking existing guarantees

There are no implicit conversions. There is no undefined behavior. There are no implementation-dependent semantics.

If a value exists, its encoding is fully defined.

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Supported value types

Strata supports the following core value types:

• null

• bool

• int

• bytes

• string

• list

• map

This set is closed within a version line.

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null

Represents the absence of a value.

• Has exactly one canonical encoding

• Carries no payload

• Has no equivalent numeric or boolean meaning

null is a value, not a placeholder.

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bool

Represents a boolean truth value.

• Allowed values: true, false

• Encoded as distinct canonical tags

• No numeric coercion

• No truthy or falsy semantics

Boolean values are explicit.

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int

Represents a signed integer.

• Fixed-width semantic range

• Arbitrary precision at the language level

• Canonical binary encoding

• No leading zeros

• No alternate encodings

Integers are mathematical integers, not machine integers.

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bytes

Represents an arbitrary byte sequence.

• Length-prefixed

• No interpretation

• No encoding assumptions

• No implicit text semantics

Bytes are opaque by design.

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string

Represents UTF-8 text.

• Must be valid UTF-8

• Canonically encoded

• No normalization

• No alternative encodings

Invalid UTF-8 is rejected.

Strings are text, not byte containers.

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list

Represents an ordered sequence of values.

• Order is semantically significant

• Length is explicit

• Elements are encoded sequentially

• No sparse or implicit entries

Lists preserve structure exactly.

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map

Represents a key-value mapping.

• Keys must be strings

• Keys are sorted canonically by UTF-8 byte order

• Values may be any Strata value

• Duplicate keys are not permitted

Map ordering is deterministic and enforced.

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Canonical ordering

Canonical ordering applies only to maps.

• Keys are compared by UTF-8 byte sequence

• Sorting is lexicographic

• Locale, language, and collation rules are ignored

This ensures cross-language determinism.

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What is intentionally excluded

Strata does not include:

• floating-point numbers

• optional or nullable fields

• default values

• unions or tagged variants

• schema-aware types

• timestamps

• decimals

• NaN or infinity

These features introduce ambiguity or hidden behavior.

They may exist in higher layers, not in the core.

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No implicit coercions

Strata does not perform:

• number to string coercion

• string to number parsing

• truthy or falsy evaluation

• automatic wrapping or unwrapping

Values are explicit and exact.

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Stability guarantees

The value model is frozen per version line.

• Existing value types never change semantics

• Existing encodings never change

• New value types require a new version

This guarantees that hashes and bytes remain stable indefinitely.

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Summary

The Strata value model is intentionally small.

Its purpose is not expressiveness. Its purpose is correctness.

If a value can be represented unambiguously, Strata supports it. If it cannot, Strata rejects it.

Everything else belongs above the core.