Defining specifications

clojure.spec.alpha/def binds a name to a specification, just like clojure.core/def binds a name to a value.

Binding a name means specifications are available throughout the code and in other projects if the project is included as a library.

Naming - fully qualified keywords

Specification names should use fully qualified keywords, typically using the namespace in which the specification is defined in.

Define a namespace for the page and require Clojure Spec

  1. (ns practicalli.clojure.specifications
  2.   (:require [clojure.spec.alpha :as spec]))
  1. (spec/def :practicalli.clojure.specifications/number number?)

auto-resolve macro

:: double colon is the auto-resolve macro, which will pre-pend the current namespace to the specification keyword. The :: notation removes the need to edit fully qualified names should a specification be moved to a different namespace.

  1. (spec/def ::number number?)

Hint::Fully Qualified keywords

Using fully qualified keywords ensures they are unique and therefore can be used across all projects.

Namespaces are usually unique as they include the name of the company or organization behind the code and any project or component names used to organize the code.