Summary

Typing is important for describing interoperability in an extensible framework. Using them effectively requires both consumer and provider consideration.

Types

There are three areas where Types are referenced in the OSIDs. 

• OsidObject "genus" Types: These Types indicate a "kind" or genre of an OsidObject.
• Extensible Record Types: These Types identify the interface shuttled via an OsidRecord.
• Primitive Types: These types are used to communicate a variety of primitives such as calendars and coordinates.

Types get used in a few random cases, such as in Locale and Dictionary. One can argue that these could have been made more consistent with the above uses of Types, but would incur a specification burden that these OSIDs attempt to avoid. We'll focus on the main uses of Types.