Glossary#

AbstractCodeWriter#
A Java class in the Smithy reference implementation used to generate code for a target environment. Find the source code on GitHub.
codegen#
Code generation#
Code generator#
Code generators output source code that represents the shapes defined in a Smithy model, and the code they generate use both the standard library and the runtime libraries for the target environment.
codegen-core#
A set of Java libraries built on top of the Smithy reference implementation that are used to implement Smithy code generators. codegen-core contains libraries for writing code, managing dependencies, managing imports, converting Smithy shapes to symbols of a target environment, reserved words handling, and more.
Gradle#
Gradle is a build tool for Java, Kotlin, and other languages. Gradle is typically the build system used to develop Smithy code generators. The Smithy team maintains a Gradle plugin for running Smithy-Build via Gradle.
Integrations#

Integrations are code generator plugins. Integrations are defined by each code generator. They can be used to preprocess the model, modify the SymbolProvider used during code generation, add dependencies for the target environment, generate additional files, register protocol code generators, add configuration options to clients, and more.

Java Service Provider Interface#
SPI#
A feature for loading and discovering implemenations of a Java interface. SPI is used throughout the Smithy reference implementation as a plugin system. See the Java documentation for more information.
Knowledge index#
Abstractions provided in the Smithy reference implementation that extract information from the metamodel in a more accessible way. For example, the HttpBindingIndex makes it easier to codegen HTTP bindings, and the NullableIndex hides the details of determining if a member is optional or always present.
Projection#

A specific view of a Smithy model that has added, removed, or transformed model components.

Reserved words#
Identifiers and words that cannot be used in a target environment. Reserved words can be contextual or global to the target language (for example, a word might only be reserved when used as a structure property but not when used as the name of a shape). Code generators are expected to automatically translate reserved words into an identifier that is safe to use in the target environment.
Runtime libraries#
The libraries used at runtime in a target environment. For example, HTTP clients, type implementations like big decimal, etc.
Semantic model#
The Smithy semantic model is an in-memory representation of the shapes, traits, and metadata defined in the Smithy model. In the Smithy reference implementation, the semantic model is contained in the Model class.
Serde#
Shortened version of serialization and deserialization.
Service closure#
The shapes connected to a service. These shapes are code generated.
Shapes#
Shapes are named declarations of Smithy types that make up the semantic model.
Smithy-Build#
A model transformation framework built on top of the Smithy reference implementation. Code generators are implemented as smithy-build plugins.
smithy-build.json#

The file used to configure Smithy-Build. Code generators are configured and executed by adding plugins to smithy-build.json files in various projections.

Smithy model#
Smithy models define services, operations, resources, and shapes. Smithy models are made up of one or more files to form the semantic model. Model files can use a JSON or IDL representation.
Smithy reference implementation#
The Java implementation of Smithy that is used to load, validate, transform, and extract information from Smithy models.
Smithy type#
The types of shapes that can be defined in a Smithy model (for example, string, integer, structure, etc.).
Symbol#
Symbols#
The qualified name of a type in a target programming language. Symbols are used to map Smithy shapes to types in a target environment, refer to language types, and refer to libraries that might be needed by the generated code. A symbol contains an optional namespace, optional namespace delimiter, name, a declaration file stating where the symbol is declared, a definition file stating where a symbol is defined, and a bag of properties associated with the symbol. Symbols can also contain SymbolDependencies that are used to automatically manage imports in a CodeWriter and to generate dependency closures for the target environment.
SymbolProvider#
A SymbolProvider is used to generate Symbols for Smithy shapes and members. SymbolProviders can be decorated to provided additional functionality like automatically renaming reserved words.
Target environment#
The intended programming language and specific environment of a code generator. For example, TypeScript running in the browser is a target environment.
Traits#
Traits are model components that can be attached to shapes to describe additional information about the shape; shapes provide the structure and layout of an API, while traits provide refinement and style. Code generators use traits to influence generated code.