Namespace Declaration

ns_mapping ::= "<" prefix "=" uri ">"
prefix ::= string
uri ::= string

A namespace declaration consists of prefix/URI pair. The prefix must be a valid JCR namespace prefix, which is the same as a valid XML namespace prefix. The URI can in fact be any string. Just as in XML, it need not actually be a URI, though adhering to that convention is recommended.

Note: failure to use an absolute URI as specified in Section 3 of JCR 2.0 will create issues when code relies on “expanded name” notation (which may fail to work with Strings that are not absolute URIs).

Node Type Definition

node_type_def ::= node_type_name [super_types] [options] {property_def | child_node_def}

A node type definition consists of a node type name followed by an optional supertypes block, an optional options block and zero or more blocks, each either a property or node definition.

Node Type Name

node_type_name ::= "[" string "]" 

The node type name is delimited by square brackets and must be a valid JCR name. It may be single-quoted (see Quoting, below). This element is the only strictly required element within a node type definition, though a definition consisting only of a node type name would simply define a new node type identical to nt:base.

Supertypes

supertypes ::= ">" string_list

After the node type name comes the optional list of supertypes. If this element is not present and the node type is not a mixin (see ?1.3.5 Options), then a supertype of nt:base is assumed. If present, the element consists of a greater-than sign followed by a comma delimited list of node type names, each of which may optionally be single-quoted (see Quoting below). In Jackrabbit, multiple inheritance of node types is supported, so this list can be greater than one item in length.

Options

options ::= orderable_opt | mixin_opt | orderable_opt mixin_opt | mixin_opt orderable_opt
orderable_opt ::= "orderable" | "ord" | "o"
mixin_opt ::= "mixin" | "mix" | "m"

The option indicators follow the node type name and optional supertype list.

If the keyword orderable (or a short form) is present, then the orderable child node setting of the node type is true. If the keyword is missing, then the setting is false.

If the keyword mixin (or a short form) is present, then this is a mixin node type. If the keyword is missing, then this is a primary node type.

Property Definition

property_def ::= "-" property_name [property_type_decl] [default_values] [attributes] [value_constraints]

A property definition consists of a minus sign followed by a property name, followed in turn by optional elements defining the property type, the default values, the property attributes and the value constraints.

Property Name

property_name ::= string

The property name must be a valid JCR name or *, to indicate a residual property definition. It may be single-quoted.

Property Type

property_type_decl ::= "(" property_type ")"
property_type ::= "STRING" | "String |"string" |
		  "BINARY" | "Binary" | "binary" |
		  "LONG" | "Long" | "long" |
		  "DOUBLE" | "Double" | "double" |
		  "BOOLEAN" | "Boolean" | "boolean" |
		  "DATE" | "Date" | "date" |
		  "NAME | "Name | "name" |
		  "PATH" | "Path" | "path" |
		  "REFERENCE" | "Reference" | "reference" |
		  "UNDEFINED" | "Undefined" | "undefined" | "*"

The property type is indicated by a keyword delimited by parentheses. If the property type declaration is missing a type of STRING is assumed.

Default Values

default_values ::= "=" string_list

The default value or values, in the case of a multi-value property, are indicated by an equal sign followed by either a single value in string form or a comma-delimited list of values. The values may be single-quoted. If the default value definition is missing then no default value is set.

Attributes

attributes ::= "primary" | "pri" | "!" |
	       "autocreated" | "aut" | "a" |
	       "mandatory" | "man" | "m" |
	       "protected" | "pro" | "p" |
	       "multiple" | "mul" | "*" |
	       "COPY" | "Copy" | "copy" |
	       "VERSION" | "Version" | "version" |
	       "INITIALIZE" | "Initialize" | "initialize" |
	       "COMPUTE" | "Compute" | "compute" |
	       "IGNORE" | "Ignore" | "ignore" |
	       "ABORT" | "Abort" | "abort"

The attribute indicators describe the characteristics of the property. The presence of an attribute keyword indicates that the corresponding characteristic applies to this property. It's absence indicates that the corresponding characteristic does not apply.

The primary keyword indicates that this property is the primary item. It may appear on a maximum of one property or child node definition within a node type definition.

The multiple keyword indicates that this property is multi-valued.

A maximum of one on-version indicator may be present. If none is present then an on-version setting of COPY is assumed.

Value Constraints

value_constraints ::= "<" string_list

Value constraint are specified by a less-than sign followed by a comma-delimited list of constraint strings, each optionally single-quoted.

Child Node Definition

child_node_def ::= "+" node_name [required_types] [default_type] [attributes] 

A child node definition consists of a plus sign followed by a property name, followed in turn by optional elements defining the required primary node types, the default node type, and the node attributes.

Node Name

node_name ::= string

The node name must be a valid JCR name or *, to indicate a residual child node definition. It may be single-quoted.

Required Primary Node Types

required_types ::= "(" string_list ")"

The required node types of the child node are indicated by a comma-delimited list of node types, within parentheses. If this element is missing then a required primary node type of nt:base is assumed. This is the least restrictive setting possible.

Default Primary Node Type

default_type ::= "=" string

The default primary node type is indicated by an equals-sign followed by a node type name, which may be single-quoted. If this element is missing then no default primary node type is set.

Attributes

attributes ::= "primary" | "pri" | "!" |
	       "autocreated" | "aut" | "a" |
	       "mandatory" | "man" | "m" |
	       "protected" | "pro" | "p" |
	       "multiple" | "mul" | "*" |
	       "COPY" | "Copy" | "copy" |
	       "VERSION" | "Version" | "version" |
	       "INITIALIZE" | "Initialize" | "initialize" |
	       "COMPUTE" | "Compute" | "compute" |
	       "IGNORE" | "Ignore" | "ignore" |
	       "ABORT" | "Abort" | "abort"

The attribute indicators describe the characteristics of the child node. The presence of an attribute keyword indicates that the corresponding characteristic applies to this child node. It's absence indicates that the corresponding characteristic does not apply.

The primary keyword indicates that this child node is the primary item. It may appear on a maximum of one property or child node definition within a node type definition.

The multiple keyword indicates that this child node may have same-name siblings.

A maximum of one on-version indicator may be present. If none is present then an on-version setting of COPY is assumed.

Quoting

string_list ::= string {"," string}
string ::= quoted_string | unquoted_string
quoted_string :: = "'" unquoted_string "'"
unquoted_string ::= /* a string */

Single quotes (') are used to allow for strings (i.e., names, prefixes, URIs, values or constraint strings) with characters that would otherwise be interpreted as delimiters.

Escaping

The standard Java escape sequences are also supported:

\n newline
\t tab
\b backspace
\f form feed
\r return
\" double quote
\' single quote
\\ back slash
\uHHHH Unicode character in hexadecimal

Comments

Comment can also be included in the notation using either of the standard Java forms:

// A comment
/* Another comment */

Whitespace and Short Forms

The notation can be compacted by taking advantage of the following the fact that spacing around keychars ([ ] > , - ( ) = <), newlines and indentation are not required. So, the following is also well-formed:

[x] >y,z orderable mixin -p(date)=a,b primary mandatory autocreated protected multiple version <c,d

Additionally, though spaces are required around the keywords (orderable, mixin, date, mandatory, etc.), short forms for keywords can be used. So, this:

[x] >y,z o m-p(date)=a,b ! m a p * version <c,d

is well-formed (but perhaps not recommended!).

Why this Weird Notation?

Here's why:

Old Documentation Notation

Here is the definition of the built-in node type nt:resource using the old documentation notation (used in v1.0 of the JCR specification, for example):

NodeTypeName
  nt:resource
Supertypes
  nt:base
  mix:referenceable
IsMixin
  false
HasOrderableChildNodes
  false
PrimaryItemName
  jcr:data
PropertyDefinition
  Name jcr:encoding
  RequiredType STRING
  ValueConstraints []
  DefaultValues null
  AutoCreated false
  Mandatory false
  OnParentVersion COPY
  Protected false
  Multiple false
PropertyDefinition
  Name jcr:mimeType
  RequiredType STRING
  ValueConstraints []
  DefaultValues null
  AutoCreated false
  Mandatory true
  OnParentVersion COPY
  Protected false
  Multiple false
PropertyDefinition
  Name jcr:data
  RequiredType BINARY
  ValueConstraints []
  DefaultValues null
  AutoCreated false
  Mandatory true
  OnParentVersion COPY
  Protected false
  Multiple false
PropertyDefinition
  Name jcr:lastModified
  RequiredType DATE
  ValueConstraints []
  DefaultValues null
  AutoCreated false
  Mandatory true
  OnParentVersion IGNORE
  Protected false
  Multiple false

Old Configuration Notation

Here is the same node type in the standard XML notation (used in configuration files in the Jackrabbit project, for example):

<nodeType name="nt:resource"
	  isMixin="false"
	  hasOrderableChildNodes="false"
	  primaryItemName="jcr:data">
    <supertypes>
	<supertype>nt:base</supertype>
	<supertype>mix:referenceable</supertype>
    </supertypes>
    <propertyDefinition name="jcr:encoding"
			requiredType="String"
			autoCreated="false"
			mandatory="false"
			onParentVersion="COPY"
			protected="false"
			multiple="false"/>
    <propertyDefinition name="jcr:mimeType"
			requiredType="String"
			autoCreated="false"
			mandatory="true"
			onParentVersion="COPY"
			protected="false"
			multiple="false"/>
    <propertyDefinition name="jcr:data"
			requiredType="Binary"
			autoCreated="false"
			mandatory="true"
			onParentVersion="COPY"
			protected="false"
			multiple="false"/>
    <propertyDefinition name="jcr:lastModified"
			requiredType="Date"
			autoCreated="false"
			mandatory="true"
			onParentVersion="IGNORE"
			protected="false"
			multiple="false"/>
</nodeType>

New Format

And, here it is in the new CND notation:

[nt:resource] > mix:referenceable
- jcr:encoding
- jcr:mimeType mandatory
- jcr:data (binary) mandatory
- jcr:lastModified (date) mandatory ignore

Case closed.