Containers and Content

Containers and content are separate concepts.

A Minimal Container

let target = tube(label = "Target", capacity = 100uL);

This creates a logical tube container. The label is human-readable metadata. The capacity is a volume bound.

Container Families

Culsma includes these constructor families:

Constructor	Meaning
container(...)	Generic container constructor.
tube(...)	Tube-like container.
well(...)	Plate-well container.
chamber(...)	Chamber-like container.
surface(...)	Surface-like target; volume capacity is not allowed.

Common container arguments:

Argument	Meaning
spec	Container specification text.
carrier_kind	Carrier type, such as plate context.
carrier_id	Carrier identifier.
carrier_position	Position inside a carrier.
capacity	Volume capacity, except for surface(...).
open	Open/closed state flag.
label	Human-readable label.
barcode	Barcode or stable external identifier.
load	Initial content load list.

tube(...), well(...), chamber(...), and surface(...) inject their container kind implicitly. Authors normally do not write kind when using those sugar forms.

Initial Load

let source = tube(
    label = "Source",
    capacity = 100uL,
    load = [buffer(code = "BUF01", type = "water"):10uL]
);

The load list belongs to the constructor/init boundary. Each item must be a content spec paired with a quantity:

load = [content_spec:quantity]

The quantity must carry a physical unit. Load quantities use volume or mass.

Content Specs

Content describes material identity. It is not the container holding the material.

Content constructors:

Constructor	Injected or required kind
content(kind = ..., ...)	Generic content; kind is explicit.
blood(...)	Injects kind = biosample; default type = whole_blood.
reagent(...)	Injects kind = reagent.
buffer(...)	Injects kind = buffer.

Common content arguments:

Argument	Meaning
kind	Broad material family; required only for content(...).
type	Domain-specific canonical type token or custom_... extension.
code	Stable content identifier.
name	Human-readable content name.
attrs	Structured metadata record.

Kind and Type

kind is a small category. The minimal set is:

biosample | reagent | buffer | control | fraction | waste | other

type is the domain-specific refinement.

Examples:

buffer(code = "BUF01", type = "water")
reagent(code = "POL01", type = "taq_polymerase")
content(kind = biosample, type = dna_solution, code = "DNA01")

Standard concepts use canonical tokens. Non-standard extensions use a custom_ prefix, for example:

content(kind = biosample, type = custom_patient_matched_plasma_pool)

Authoring Rule

Content specs appear inside a container load=[...] initializer.

Recommended:

let source = tube(load = [buffer(code = "BUF01", type = "water"):10uL]);

Not recommended as public source authoring:

let b = buffer(code = "BUF01", type = "water");
buffer(code = "BUF01", type = "water");

Constructor/init lowering targets such as DefineContent(...) and LoadContent(...) are not normal source authoring forms.

After Initialization

After the protocol starts executing, content moves through containers with operations such as transfer:

target << [source:5uL];