Primitives
Overview
The following primitive types have been identified.
All other types can be composed from them by using those and the operators.
Primitives
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Bool | A value of type boolean can be either true or false |
| Int | TODO: The classical integer type with 32-bit or 64-bit depending on the current system? |
| Float | A float with 64 bits? |
| String | A string of any unicode characters |
| Path | Path referencing a location or a file. With no assumptions on the existence of that |
| Null | The value null |
The Any type
The Any type is often used to explicitly allow arbitrary values. However,
the Any type is complex and doesn't add much value to a type system. Instead, we should use type variables whenever possible.
Interestingly there are two different Any types:
e.g. If we look at CUE-lang (which is also inspired by nix)
CUE defines the values bottom, or error, (denoted |) that is an instance of all types and top, or any, (denoted _) of which all types are an instance.
-
TOP anyall types are an instance of that. You can imagine it as the TOP-most set, that includes every type. But no value has that type. -
Bottom anywhich is an instance of all types. This is kind of the imaginary value that has the any type. Still, doesn't contain any value. Which could also be denoted:NeverorEmpty Typeit is a type that is the subtype of any type.
The following is a nice quote from the Typescript world
The any type is so dangerous because it exists outside of the type tree. It is both a top and bottom type. Everything can be assigned to it and it can be assigned to everything else. ...