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Namespaces

Import standard library functions with use declarations, aliases, and fully qualified calls.

Use Case​

You want to use math, string, and comparison functions from the standard library without verbose fully qualified names.

The Pipeline​

# namespaces.cst

@example(10)
in a: Int

@example(5)
in b: Int

# Method 1: Use stdlib.math namespace
use stdlib.math
result1 = add(a, b)

# Method 2: Fully qualified name (always works)
result2 = stdlib.math.multiply(a, b)

# Method 3: Use namespace with alias
use stdlib.string as str

@example("Hello from namespace!")
in greeting: String
trimmed_greeting = str.trim(greeting)

# Outputs
out result1
out result2
out trimmed_greeting

Explanation​

Import StyleSyntaxCall Syntax
Direct importuse stdlib.mathadd(a, b)
Fully qualified(none needed)stdlib.math.multiply(a, b)
Aliased importuse stdlib.string as strstr.trim(greeting)

After use stdlib.math, all functions in that namespace are available directly. Aliases with as provide short prefixes to avoid name collisions.

tip

Use aliases when importing multiple namespaces that might have overlapping function names. use stdlib.string as str lets you call str.trim() without ambiguity.

Running the Example​

Input​

{
  "a": 10,
  "b": 5,
  "greeting": "Hello from namespace!"
}

Expected Output​

{
  "result1": 15,
  "result2": 50,
  "trimmed_greeting": "Hello from namespace!"
}

Variations​

Multiple namespace imports​

use stdlib.math
use stdlib.compare
use stdlib.string as str

in value: Int
in text: String

doubled = multiply(value, 2)
isLarge = gt(doubled, 100)
trimmed = str.trim(text)

out doubled
out isLarge
out trimmed
note

Fully qualified calls like stdlib.math.multiply(a, b) always work, even without a use declaration. Prefer this for one-off calls to avoid cluttering the import section.

Best Practices​

  1. Import at the top — place use declarations near the top of the file, after type definitions
  2. Use aliases to avoid ambiguity — if two namespaces might share function names, alias at least one
  3. Fully qualified for one-off calls — if you only call a namespace function once, the fully qualified form avoids an import
  • Lambdas and HOF — namespace imports for collection and compare functions
  • Lead Scoring — multiple namespace imports in a complex pipeline