Prism · guide

Compile once

A config that is stored is compiled to a document of its own, and run from that.

Install it

pnpm add @niscorp/prism @niscorp/strata zod

Step 1 of 3

A booking

A booking as the box office stores it: who, which show, which seats, and what a seat costs in cents. Every guide here reads this row or a few like it.

A booking

import { compile, execute } from '@niscorp/prism';

const booking = {
  id: 'B-2041',
  member: { name: 'Grace', pass: 'season' },
  show: { title: 'The Tempest', starts_at: '2026-10-24T19:30:00+02:00' },
  seats: ['C4', 'C5'],
  seat_price_cents: 3800,
};

Step 2 of 3

Compile

compile checks a config once, resolves its sugar, and answers an intermediate form. That form is JSON too: it can be stored in a database, kept in a cache, or sent over a wire.

It carries a fingerprint of the config, and what the compiler counted in it.

Compile

const forTheDoor = {
  name: { $ref: '$.member.name' },
  admit: { $length: { $ref: '$.seats' } },
};
const ir = await compile(forTheDoor, { name: 'door', version: '1.0.0' });
console.log(ir.meta.fingerprint.slice(0, 16), JSON.stringify(ir.meta.stats.opCount));

Step 3 of 3

Execute

execute runs the compiled form against a source. It does not check or resolve anything again, so it runs from what was stored, in another process or on another day.

Execute

console.log(execute(ir, booking));
console.log(execute(ir, { member: { name: 'Alan' }, seats: ['A1', 'A2', 'A3'] }));

Then

Run it.

The start of the fingerprint and the operators the compiler counted, and then the same compiled config run for two bookings.

Run it

npx tsx compile.mts

It prints

45a7283a24324f85 {"$ref":2,"$length":1}
{ name: 'Grace', admit: 2 }
{ name: 'Alan', admit: 3 }