Scheduling & Appointment Matrix

Scheduling systems need to manage availability across days and time slots. Creating these grids manually is time-consuming and prone to errors.

The Problem

A medical clinic needs to manage appointments:

5 weekdays: Monday through Friday
9 time slots: 9 AM to 5 PM (hourly)
Different pricing: Peak hours cost more

That’s 45 time slots to configure. Traditional JSON requires manual entry:

{
  "schedule": [
    {
      "day": "Mon",
      "hour": 9,
      "slot": "Mon-9h",
      "available": true,
      "price": 100
    },
    {
      "day": "Mon",
      "hour": 10,
      "slot": "Mon-10h",
      "available": true,
      "price": 100
    },
    {
      "day": "Mon",
      "hour": 11,
      "slot": "Mon-11h",
      "available": true,
      "price": 100
    }
    // ... 42 more slots 😰
  ]
}

Problems:

❌ Repetitive and boring
❌ Easy to miss slots
❌ Hard to update pricing rules
❌ Difficult to add/remove days

The JSSON Solution

With nested maps (v0.0.5), generate the entire schedule automatically:

schedule = (["Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri"] map (day) = (
9..17 map (hour) = {
  day = day
  hour = hour
  slot = day + "-" + hour + "h"
  available = true
  price = hour >= 12 && hour <= 14 ? 150 : 100
}
))

That’s it! 7 lines generate all 45 time slots with dynamic pricing.

Output

{
"schedule": [
  [
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 9, "slot": "Mon-9h", "available": true, "price": 100 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 10, "slot": "Mon-10h", "available": true, "price": 100 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 11, "slot": "Mon-11h", "available": true, "price": 100 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 12, "slot": "Mon-12h", "available": true, "price": 150 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 13, "slot": "Mon-13h", "available": true, "price": 150 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 14, "slot": "Mon-14h", "available": true, "price": 150 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 15, "slot": "Mon-15h", "available": true, "price": 100 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 16, "slot": "Mon-16h", "available": true, "price": 100 },
    { "day": "Mon", "hour": 17, "slot": "Mon-17h", "available": true, "price": 100 }
  ],
  // ... Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri (45 slots total)
]
}

Advanced: Full Week with Weekends

Include weekends with different availability and pricing:

schedule = (["Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun"] map (day) = (
9..17 map (hour) = {
  day = day
  hour = hour
  slot = day + "-" + hour + "h"

  // Weekends have limited availability
  isWeekend := day == "Sat" || day == "Sun"
  available = isWeekend ? hour >= 10 && hour <= 16 : true

  // Dynamic pricing
  isPeakHour := hour >= 12 && hour <= 14
  weekendSurcharge := isWeekend ? 50 : 0
  peakSurcharge := isPeakHour ? 50 : 0

  price = 100 + weekendSurcharge + peakSurcharge
}
))

// Generates 63 slots (7 days × 9 hours)

Multi-Room Scheduling

Generate schedules for multiple rooms or providers:

// Clinic with 3 rooms
clinicSchedule = (["Room-A", "Room-B", "Room-C"] map (room) = (
["Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri"] map (day) = (
  9..17 map (hour) = {
    room = room
    day = day
    hour = hour
    slotId = room + "-" + day + "-" + hour + "h"
    available = true
    capacity = room == "Room-A" ? 2 : 1
  }
)
))

// Generates 135 slots (3 rooms × 5 days × 9 hours)

Appointment Slots with Intervals

Generate 30-minute intervals instead of hourly:

// 30-minute slots from 9:00 to 17:00
slots = (9..16 map (hour) = (
[0, 30] map (minute) = {
  hour = hour
  minute = minute
  time = hour + ":" + (minute == 0 ? "00" : minute)
  slotId = "slot-" + hour + "-" + minute
  available = true
  duration = 30
}
))

// Generates 16 slots per day (8 hours × 2 slots/hour)

Blocked Time Slots

Mark certain slots as unavailable:

schedule = (["Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri"] map (day) = (
9..17 map (hour) = {
  day = day
  hour = hour
  slot = day + "-" + hour + "h"

  // Lunch break: 12-13h unavailable
  isLunchBreak := hour == 12

  // Wednesday afternoons: staff meeting
  isStaffMeeting := day == "Wed" && hour >= 14

  available = !isLunchBreak && !isStaffMeeting
  price = 100
}
))

Key Features Used

Nested Maps — Days × Hours for complete schedule grid
Universal Ranges — 9..17 for time slots
Conditional Logic — Dynamic pricing and availability
Computed Fields — Generate slot IDs, calculate prices

Real-World Applications

This pattern is perfect for:

Medical Clinics — Doctor appointments and room scheduling
Fitness Studios — Class schedules across days and times
Meeting Rooms — Corporate booking systems
Service Businesses — Barber shops, salons, repair services
Event Venues — Availability grids for bookings
Tutoring Platforms — Teacher availability matrices

Benefits

95% less code — 7 lines vs 150+ lines of JSON
Consistent logic — Pricing rules in one place
Easy updates — Change hours/days instantly
No gaps — Automatic generation prevents missing slots
Flexible — Add rooms, days, or intervals easily