Primary Entities

Primary entities represent information that this API specification was created to share as a top-level goal. Primary entities have a common API surface and, generally, will work relatively similar to one another within the specification. All primary entities are referred to by their identifier, which is the combination of (a) a namespace identifier pointing to the namespace that owns this entity along with (b) a name for the entity.

The following entities are considered primary entities within the API specification.

• Subjects
• Samples
• Files

Beyond merely existing in a common level of prominence within the API, primary entities have a hierarchical structure following these rules.

• Subjects are the highest-level primary entity within the API specification.
• Samples must be associated with one and only one subject.
• Files must be associated with one or more samples.