DevKit Documentation

Define your data model. Get type safety, versioning, and Python bindings for free.

DevKit is the Digital Substrate Python toolkit for metadata-driven data modeling. Define your data structures in DSM (a purpose-built DSL), and the dsviper runtime gives you:

  • Strong typing - Type mismatches raise exceptions immediately, not silently corrupt data

  • Version control for data - Every mutation is tracked in a commit DAG (like git for your data)

  • Seamless Python integration - Work with native Python types, dsviper handles conversions

from dsviper import CommitDatabase, CommitMutableState
import model.attachments as ma

# Open a versioned database
db = CommitDatabase.open("model.cdb")

# Create and modify typed data
key = ma.Tuto_UserKey.create()
login = ma.Tuto_Login()
login.nickname = "alice"

# Commit with full history
state = CommitMutableState(db.initial_state())
ma.tuto_user_login_set(state.attachment_mutating(), key, login)
db.commit_mutations("Add user", state)

DevKit, dsviper, Viper — what’s what?

Three names appear across this documentation. Here is how they layer.

DevKit — What you download.

The Digital Substrate Python toolkit, distributed as a single ZIP — bundles dsviper, the Kibo code generator, templates, CLI tools, and offline documentation.

dsviper — What runs in your Python apps.

The Python runtime distributed on PyPI. Strong-typed Python API over the Viper C++ engine. Installed via pip install dsviper or pulled in by the DevKit ZIP.

Viper — The C++ engine behind dsviper.

The underlying metadata-driven C++ runtime — type system, commit DAG, database tier. Currently used internally; not yet distributed standalone.

Two Ways to Work

Static API - Generate type-safe Python packages from your DSM definitions. Get IDE autocompletion, type checking, and domain-specific APIs.

Dynamic API - Use Viper’s runtime metadata directly. No code generation needed. Load definitions at runtime, introspect types, build tools that work with any schema.

Both approaches use the same Viper runtime. Choose based on your needs.

Documentation

DSM - Data Modeling

Python Guide

Python API

Toolchain

Indices