6NF File Format

Filename Extension: .6nf

1. Introduction

6NF 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 Principles

• Database Friendly Flat Structure: No nested objects or arrays. No need for parsing

• 6NF Compatibility: Direct mapping to 6NF database tables. No need for normalization

• Bitemporal Database Compatibility: All data includes valid_from and recorded_at timestamps

• UTC 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 context

• Compactness: Uses Crockford’s Base32 — encoded UUIDv7 for identifiers

• Readability: Clean syntax with minimal punctuation

• PostgreSQL Style: Uses snake_case notation of identifiers (names)

• Case Sensitivity: Keywords are UPPERCASE and case-sensitive. Identifiers (names) are lowercase and case-sensitive

• UTF-8 Encoding: Files use UTF-8 encoding

3. 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 | "_" } ; entity_id       = 26 * base32_char ; reference_id    = 26 * base32_char ; relationship_id = 26 * base32_char ; base32_char     = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"                  | "A" | "B" | "C" | "D" | "E" | "F" | "G" | "H" | "J" | "K"                  | "M" | "N" | "P" | "Q" | "R" | "S" | "T" | "V" | "W" | "X" | "Y" | "Z" ;

4. Example

VERSION 7 ENTITY bank 01K3Y0690AJCRFEJ2J49X6ZECY REFERENCE country_code 01K3Y07Z94DGJWVMB0JG4YSDBV "US" ATTRIBUTE_OF bank 01K3Y0690AJCRFEJ2J49X6ZECY bank_name "Bank Alpha" 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z ATTRIBUTE_REF_OF bank 01K3Y0690AJCRFEJ2J49X6ZECY country_code 01K3Y07Z94DGJWVMB0JG4YSDBV 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z STRUCT_OF bank 01K3Y0690AJCRFEJ2J49X6ZECY bank_address 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z   country_code 01K3Y07Z94DGJWVMB0JG4YSDBV   street "123 Main St"   city "New York"   zip "10001" ENTITY account 01K3Y0G45CP4GMGE94BYQ09DFM ATTRIBUTE_OF account 01K3Y0G45CP4GMGE94BYQ09DFM account_balance 100000.50 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z ATTRIBUTE_OF account 01K3Y0G45CP4GMGE94BYQ09DFM account_expiration 2025-12-31T23:59:59Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z RELATIONSHIP bank_x_account 01K3Y0NR1Q3KTA9A6J9KYPK6YB 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z 2023-01-01T12:00:00Z   bank 01K3Y0690AJCRFEJ2J49X6ZECY   account 01K3Y0G45CP4GMGE94BYQ09DFM