EasyTalk
Introduction
What is EasyTalk?
EasyTalk is a Ruby library that simplifies defining and generating JSON Schema. It provides an intuitive interface for Ruby developers to define structured data models that can be used for validation and documentation.
Key Features
- Intuitive Schema Definition: Use Ruby classes and methods to define JSON Schema documents easily.
- Works for plain Ruby classes and ActiveRecord models: Integrate with existing code or build from scratch.
- LLM Function Support: Ideal for integrating with Large Language Models (LLMs) such as OpenAI's GPT series. EasyTalk enables you to effortlessly create JSON Schema documents describing the inputs and outputs of LLM function calls.
- Schema Composition: Define EasyTalk models and reference them in other EasyTalk models to create complex schemas.
- Validation: Write validations using ActiveModel's validations.
Use Cases
- API request/response validation
- LLM function definitions
- Object structure documentation
- Data validation and transformation
- Configuration schema definitions
Inspiration
Inspired by Python's Pydantic library, EasyTalk brings similar functionality to the Ruby ecosystem, providing a Ruby-friendly approach to JSON Schema operations.
Installation
Requirements
- Ruby 3.2 or higher
- ActiveModel 7.0 or higher
- ActiveSupport 7.0 or higher
Installation Steps
Add EasyTalk to your application's Gemfile:
gem 'easy_talk'
Or install it directly:
$ gem install easy_talk
Verification
After installation, you can verify it's working by creating a simple model:
require 'easy_talk'
class Test
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :name, String
end
end
puts Test.json_schema
Quick Start
Minimal Example
Here's a basic example to get you started with EasyTalk:
class User
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title "User"
description "A user of the system"
property :name, String, description: "The user's name"
property :email, String, format: "email"
property :age, Integer, minimum: 18
end
end
Generated JSON Schema
Calling User.json_schema
will generate:
{
"type" => "object",
"title" => "User",
"description" => "A user of the system",
"properties" => {
"name" => {
"type" => "string",
"description" => "The user's name"
},
"email" => {
"type" => "string",
"format" => "email"
},
"age" => {
"type" => "integer",
"minimum" => 18
}
},
"required" => ["name", "email", "age"]
}
Basic Usage
Creating and validating an instance of your model:
user = User.new(name: "John Doe", email: "[email protected]", age: 25)
user.valid? # => true
user.age = 17
user.valid? # => false
Core Concepts
Schema Definition
In EasyTalk, you define your schema by including the EasyTalk::Model
module and using the define_schema
method. This method takes a block where you can define the properties and constraints of your schema.
class MyModel
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title "My Model"
description "Description of my model"
property :some_property, String
property :another_property, Integer
end
end
Property Types
Ruby Types
EasyTalk supports standard Ruby types directly:
String
: String valuesInteger
: Integer valuesFloat
: Floating-point numbersDate
: Date valuesDateTime
: Date and time valuesHash
: Object/dictionary values
Sorbet-Style Types
For complex types, EasyTalk uses Sorbet-style type notation:
T::Boolean
: Boolean values (true/false)T::Array[Type]
: Arrays with items of a specific typeT.nilable(Type)
: Type that can also be nil
Custom Types
EasyTalk supports special composition types:
T::AnyOf[Type1, Type2, ...]
: Value can match any of the specified schemasT::OneOf[Type1, Type2, ...]
: Value must match exactly one of the specified schemasT::AllOf[Type1, Type2, ...]
: Value must match all of the specified schemas
Property Constraints
Property constraints depend on the type of property. Some common constraints include:
description
: A description of the propertytitle
: A title for the propertyformat
: A format hint for the property (e.g., "email", "date")enum
: A list of allowed valuesminimum
/maximum
: Minimum/maximum values for numbersmin_length
/max_length
: Minimum/maximum length for stringspattern
: A regular expression pattern for stringsmin_items
/max_items
: Minimum/maximum number of items for arraysunique_items
: Whether array items must be unique
Required vs Optional Properties
By default, all properties defined in an EasyTalk model are required. You can make a property optional by specifying optional: true
:
define_schema do
property :name, String
property :middle_name, String, optional: true
end
In this example, name
is required but middle_name
is optional.
Schema Validation
EasyTalk models include ActiveModel validations. You can validate your models using the standard ActiveModel validation methods:
class User
include EasyTalk::Model
validates :name, presence: true
validates :age, numericality: { greater_than_or_equal_to: 18 }
define_schema do
property :name, String
property :age, Integer, minimum: 18
end
end
user = User.new(name: "John", age: 17)
user.valid? # => false
user.errors. # => ["Age must be greater than or equal to 18"]
Defining Schemas
Basic Schema Structure
A schema definition consists of a class that includes EasyTalk::Model
and a define_schema
block:
class Person
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title "Person"
property :name, String
property :age, Integer
end
end
Property Definitions
Properties are defined using the property
method, which takes a name, a type, and optional constraints:
property :name, String, description: "The person's name", title: "Full Name"
property :age, Integer, minimum: 0, maximum: 120, description: "The person's age"
Nested Objects
You can define nested objects using a block:
property :email, Hash do
property :address, String, format: "email"
property :verified, T::Boolean
end
Arrays and Collections
Arrays can be defined using the T::Array
type:
property :tags, T::Array[String], min_items: 1, unique_items: true
property :scores, T::Array[Integer], description: "List of scores"
You can also define arrays of complex types:
property :addresses, T::Array[Address], description: "List of addresses"
Constraints and Validations
Constraints can be added to properties and are used for schema generation:
property :name, String, min_length: 2, max_length: 50
property :email, String, format: "email"
property :category, String, enum: ["A", "B", "C"], default: "A"
For validation, you can use ActiveModel validations:
validates :name, presence: true, length: { minimum: 2, maximum: 50 }
validates :email, format: { with: URI::MailTo::EMAIL_REGEXP }
validates :category, inclusion: { in: ["A", "B", "C"] }
Additional Properties
By default, EasyTalk models do not allow additional properties beyond those defined in the schema. You can change this behavior using the additional_properties
keyword:
define_schema do
property :name, String
additional_properties true
end
With additional_properties true
, you can add arbitrary properties to your model instances:
company = Company.new
company.name = "Acme Corp" # Defined property
company.location = "New York" # Additional property
company.employee_count = 100 # Additional property
Schema Composition
Using T::AnyOf
The T::AnyOf
type allows a property to match any of the specified schemas:
class Payment
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :details, T::AnyOf[CreditCard, Paypal, BankTransfer]
end
end
Using T::OneOf
The T::OneOf
type requires a property to match exactly one of the specified schemas:
class Contact
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :contact, T::OneOf[PhoneContact, EmailContact]
end
end
Using T::AllOf
The T::AllOf
type requires a property to match all of the specified schemas:
class VehicleRegistration
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
compose T::AllOf[VehicleIdentification, OwnerInfo, RegistrationDetails]
end
end
Complex Compositions
You can combine composition types to create complex schemas:
class ComplexObject
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :basic_info, BaseInfo
property :specific_details, T::OneOf[DetailTypeA, DetailTypeB]
property :metadata, T::AnyOf[AdminMetadata, UserMetadata, nil]
end
end
Reusing Models
Models can reference other models to create hierarchical schemas:
class Address
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :street, String
property :city, String
property :state, String
property :zip, String
end
end
class User
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :name, String
property :address, Address
end
end
ActiveModel Integration
Validations
EasyTalk models include ActiveModel validations:
class User
include EasyTalk::Model
validates :age, comparison: { greater_than: 21 }
validates :height, presence: true, numericality: { greater_than: 0 }
define_schema do
property :name, String
property :age, Integer
property :height, Float
end
end
Error Handling
You can access validation errors using the standard ActiveModel methods:
user = User.new(name: "Jim", age: 18, height: -5.9)
user.valid? # => false
user.errors[:age] # => ["must be greater than 21"]
user.errors[:height] # => ["must be greater than 0"]
Model Attributes
EasyTalk models provide getters and setters for all defined properties:
user = User.new
user.name = "John"
user.age = 30
puts user.name # => "John"
You can also initialize a model with a hash of attributes:
user = User.new(name: "John", age: 30, height: 5.9)
ActiveRecord Integration
Automatic Schema Generation
For ActiveRecord models, EasyTalk automatically generates a schema based on the database columns:
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
end
This will create a schema with properties for each column in the products
table.
Enhancing Generated Schemas
You can enhance the auto-generated schema with the enhance_schema
method:
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
enhance_schema({
title: "Retail Product",
description: "A product available for purchase",
properties: {
name: {
description: "Product display name",
title: "Product Name"
},
price: {
description: "Retail price in USD"
}
}
})
end
Column Exclusion Options
EasyTalk provides several ways to exclude columns from your JSON schema:
1. Global Configuration
EasyTalk.configure do |config|
# Exclude specific columns by name from all models
config.excluded_columns = [:created_at, :updated_at, :deleted_at]
# Exclude all foreign key columns (columns ending with '_id')
config.exclude_foreign_keys = true # Default: false
# Exclude all primary key columns ('id')
config.exclude_primary_key = true # Default: true
# Exclude timestamp columns ('created_at', 'updated_at')
config. = true # Default: true
# Exclude all association properties
config.exclude_associations = true # Default: false
end
2. Model-Specific Column Ignoring
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
enhance_schema({
ignore: [:internal_ref_id, :legacy_code] # Model-specific exclusions
})
end
Virtual Properties
You can add properties that don't exist as database columns:
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
enhance_schema({
properties: {
full_details: {
virtual: true,
type: :string,
description: "Complete product information"
}
}
})
end
Associations and Foreign Keys
By default, EasyTalk includes your model's associations in the schema:
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
belongs_to :category
has_many :reviews
end
This will include category
(as an object) and reviews
(as an array) in the schema.
You can control this behavior with configuration:
EasyTalk.configure do |config|
config.exclude_associations = true # Don't include associations
config.exclude_foreign_keys = true # Don't include foreign key columns
end
Advanced Features
LLM Function Generation
EasyTalk provides a helper method for generating OpenAI function specifications:
class Weather
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title "GetWeather"
description "Get the current weather in a given location"
property :location, String, description: "The city and state, e.g. San Francisco, CA"
property :unit, String, enum: ["celsius", "fahrenheit"], default: "fahrenheit"
end
end
function_spec = EasyTalk::Tools::FunctionBuilder.new(Weather)
This generates a function specification compatible with OpenAI's function calling API.
Schema Transformation
You can transform EasyTalk schemas into various formats:
# Get Ruby hash representation
schema_hash = User.schema
# Get JSON Schema representation
json_schema = User.json_schema
# Convert to JSON string
json_string = User.json_schema.to_json
Type Checking and Validation
EasyTalk performs basic type checking during schema definition:
# This will raise an error because "minimum" should be used with numeric types
property :name, String, minimum: 1 # Error!
# This will raise an error because enum values must match the property type
property :age, Integer, enum: ["young", "old"] # Error!
Custom Type Builders
For advanced use cases, you can create custom type builders:
module EasyTalk
module Builders
class MyCustomTypeBuilder < BaseBuilder
# Custom implementation
end
end
end
Configuration
Global Settings
You can configure EasyTalk globally:
EasyTalk.configure do |config|
config.excluded_columns = [:created_at, :updated_at, :deleted_at]
config.exclude_foreign_keys = true
config.exclude_primary_key = true
config. = true
config.exclude_associations = false
config.default_additional_properties = false
end
Per-Model Configuration
Some settings can be configured per model:
class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
enhance_schema({
additionalProperties: true,
ignore: [:internal_ref_id, :legacy_code]
})
end
Exclusion Rules
Columns are excluded based on the following rules (in order of precedence):
- Explicitly listed in
excluded_columns
global setting - Listed in the model's
schema_enhancements[:ignore]
array - Is a primary key when
exclude_primary_key
is true (default) - Is a timestamp column when
exclude_timestamps
is true (default) - Matches a foreign key pattern when
exclude_foreign_keys
is true
Customizing Output
You can customize the JSON Schema output by enhancing the schema:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
include EasyTalk::Model
enhance_schema({
title: "User Account",
description: "User account information",
properties: {
name: {
title: "Full Name",
description: "User's full name"
}
}
})
end
Examples
User Registration
class User
include EasyTalk::Model
validates :name, :email, :password, presence: true
validates :password, length: { minimum: 8 }
validates :email, format: { with: URI::MailTo::EMAIL_REGEXP }
define_schema do
title "User Registration"
description "User registration information"
property :name, String, description: "User's full name"
property :email, String, format: "email", description: "User's email address"
property :password, String, min_length: 8, description: "User's password"
property :notify, T::Boolean, default: true, description: "Whether to send notifications"
end
end
Payment Processing
class CreditCard
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :CardNumber, String
property :CardType, String, enum: %w[Visa MasterCard AmericanExpress]
property :CardExpMonth, Integer, minimum: 1, maximum: 12
property :CardExpYear, Integer, minimum: Date.today.year, maximum: Date.today.year + 10
property :CardCVV, String, pattern: '^[0-9]{3,4}$'
additional_properties false
end
end
class Paypal
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :PaypalEmail, String, format: 'email'
property :PaypalPasswordEncrypted, String
additional_properties false
end
end
class BankTransfer
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :BankName, String
property :AccountNumber, String
property :RoutingNumber, String
property :AccountType, String, enum: %w[Checking Savings]
additional_properties false
end
end
class Payment
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title 'Payment'
description 'Payment info'
property :PaymentMethod, String, enum: %w[CreditCard Paypal BankTransfer]
property :Details, T::AnyOf[CreditCard, Paypal, BankTransfer]
end
end
Complex Object Hierarchies
class Address
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
property :street, String
property :city, String
property :state, String
property :zip, String, pattern: '^[0-9]{5}(?:-[0-9]{4})?$'
end
end
class Employee
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title 'Employee'
description 'Company employee'
property :name, String, title: 'Full Name'
property :gender, String, enum: %w[male female other]
property :department, T.nilable(String)
property :hire_date, Date
property :active, T::Boolean, default: true
property :addresses, T.nilable(T::Array[Address])
end
end
class Company
include EasyTalk::Model
define_schema do
title 'Company'
property :name, String
property :employees, T::Array[Employee], title: 'Company Employees', description: 'A list of company employees'
end
end
API Integration
# app/controllers/api/users_controller.rb
class Api::UsersController < ApplicationController
def create
schema = User.json_schema
# Validate incoming request against the schema
validation_result = JSONSchemer.schema(schema).valid?(params.to_json)
if validation_result
user = User.new(user_params)
if user.save
render json: user, status: :created
else
render json: { errors: user.errors }, status: :unprocessable_entity
end
else
render json: { errors: "Invalid request" }, status: :bad_request
end
end
private
def user_params
params.require(:user).permit(:name, :email, :password)
end
end
Troubleshooting
Common Errors
"Invalid property name"
Property names must start with a letter or underscore and can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores:
# Invalid
property "1name", String # Starts with a number
property "name!", String # Contains a special character
# Valid
property :name, String
property :user_name, String
"Property type is missing"
You must specify a type for each property:
# Invalid
property :name
# Valid
property :name, String
"Unknown option"
You specified an option that is not valid for the property type:
# Invalid (min_length is for strings, not integers)
property :age, Integer, min_length: 2
# Valid
property :age, Integer, minimum: 18
Schema Validation Issues
If you're having issues with validation:
- Make sure you've defined ActiveModel validations for your model
- Check for mismatches between schema constraints and validations
- Verify that required properties are present
Type Errors
Type errors usually occur when there's a mismatch between a property type and its constraints:
# Error: enum values must be strings for a string property
property :status, String, enum: [1, 2, 3]
# Correct
property :status, String, enum: ["active", "inactive", "pending"]
Best Practices
- Define clear property names and descriptions
- Use appropriate types for each property
- Add validations for important business rules
- Keep schemas focused and modular
- Reuse models when appropriate
- Use explicit types instead of relying on inference
- Test your schemas with sample data
Development and Contributing
Setting Up the Development Environment
After checking out the repo, run bin/setup
to install dependencies. Then, run rake spec
to run the tests. You can also run bin/console
for an interactive prompt that lets you experiment.
To install this gem onto your local machine, run:
bundle exec rake install
Running Tests
Run the test suite with:
bundle exec rake spec
Contributing Guidelines
Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/sergiobayona/easy_talk.
JSON Schema Compatibility
Supported Versions
EasyTalk is currently loose about JSON Schema versions. It doesn't strictly enforce or adhere to any particular version of the specification. The goal is to add more robust support for the latest JSON Schema specs in the future.
Specification Compliance
To learn about current capabilities, see the spec/easy_talk/examples folder. The examples illustrate how EasyTalk generates JSON Schema in different scenarios.
Known Limitations
- Limited support for custom formats
- No direct support for JSON Schema draft 2020-12 features
- Complex composition scenarios may require manual adjustment
License
The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.