diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
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diff --git a/Setup.hs b/Setup.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Setup.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+import Distribution.Simple
+main = defaultMain
diff --git a/krapsh.cabal b/krapsh.cabal
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/krapsh.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+name:                krapsh
+version:             0.1.6.0
+synopsis:            Haskell bindings for Spark Dataframes and Datasets
+description:         Please see README.md
+homepage:            https://github.com/krapsh/kraps-haskell
+license:             Apache-2.0
+license-file:        LICENSE
+author:              krapsh
+maintainer:          krapsh@yandex.com
+copyright:           2016 Kraps-Haskell contributors
+category:            Web, Big data
+build-type:          Simple
+-- extra-source-files:
+cabal-version:       >=1.10
+
+library
+  hs-source-dirs:      src
+  exposed-modules:     Spark.Core,
+                       Spark.Core.Context,
+                       Spark.Core.Column,
+                       Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Dataset,
+                       Spark.Core.Functions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.Caching,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInternal,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.Paths,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.PathsUntyped,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Row,
+                       Spark.Core.StructuresInternal,
+                       Spark.Core.Try,
+                       Spark.Core.Types
+  other-modules:       Spark.Core.Internal.CachingUntyped,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.AlgebraStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInteractive,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.ContextIOInternal,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.Client,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.AggregationFunctions,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.LocatedBase,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenerics,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenericsFrom,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtils,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.TypesGenerics
+  build-depends:       aeson,
+                       aeson-pretty,
+                       base >= 4.8.1 && < 5,
+                       base16-bytestring,
+                       binary == 0.7.5.0,
+                       bytestring,
+                       containers,
+                       cryptohash-sha256,
+                       deepseq,
+                       exceptions,
+                       formatting,
+                       hashable,
+                       lens,
+                       monad-logger,
+                       QuickCheck,
+                       random,
+                       scientific,
+                       SHA,
+                       mtl,
+                       text,
+                       text-format,
+                       transformers,
+                       unordered-containers,
+                       vector,
+                       wreq
+  ghc-options:         -Wall
+--  ghc-options:         -fprof-auto --enable-library-profiling -O0 -- -ddump-deriv -O0 -rtsopts=all
+  default-language:    Haskell2010
+
+
+test-suite krapsh-test
+  type:                exitcode-stdio-1.0
+  hs-source-dirs:      test
+  main-is:             Spec.hs
+  other-modules:       Spark.Core.ContextSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.DatasetSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.CachingSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctionsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctionsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtilsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctionsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.Internal.PathsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.PathSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.ProjectionsSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.RowToSQLSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.TypesSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.ColumnSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.SimpleExamplesSpec
+  build-depends:       aeson
+                     , base
+                     , bytestring
+                     , containers
+                     , formatting
+                     , krapsh
+                     , hspec == 2.*
+                     , text
+                     , raw-strings-qq
+                     , QuickCheck
+                     , vector
+  ghc-options:         -fhpc -O0 -Wall
+--  ghc-options:         -ddump-deriv -O0 -rtsopts=all -prof -auto-all
+  default-language:    Haskell2010
+
+test-suite krapsh-test-integration
+  type:                exitcode-stdio-1.0
+  hs-source-dirs:      test-integration
+  main-is:             Spec.hs
+  other-modules:       Spark.Core.CachingSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.CollectSpec,
+                       Spark.Core.IntegrationUtilities,
+                       Spark.Core.SimpleAddSpec
+  build-depends:       aeson
+                     , base
+                     , bytestring
+                     , containers
+                     , formatting
+                     , krapsh
+                     , hspec == 2.*
+                     , text
+                     , raw-strings-qq
+                     , QuickCheck
+                     , vector
+  ghc-options:         -fhpc -O0 -Wall
+--  ghc-options:         -ddump-deriv -O0 -rtsopts=all -prof -auto-all
+  default-language:    Haskell2010
+
+
+source-repository head
+  type:     git
+  location: https://github.com/krapsh/kraps-haskell
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core.hs b/src/Spark/Core.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{-|
+Module      : Spark.Core
+Description : Core functions and data structures to communicate with the krapsh
+              server.
+Copyright   : (c) Krapsh contributors, 2016
+License     : Apache-2.0
+Maintainer  : krapsh@yandex.com
+Stability   : experimental
+Portability : POSIX
+
+-}
+module Spark.Core where
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Column.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Column.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Column.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+{- |
+Module      : Spark.Core.Column
+Description : Column types and basic operations.
+
+Operations on columns.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Column(
+  -- * Types
+  Column,
+  DynColumn,
+  -- * Extractions and collations
+  asCol,
+  pack1,
+  pack,
+  pack',
+  struct,
+  struct',
+  castCol,
+  castCol',
+  colRef,
+  (//),
+  -- ToStaticProjectable,
+  StaticColProjection,
+  DynamicColProjection,
+  unsafeStaticProjection,
+  -- * Column functions
+  colType,
+  untypedCol,
+  colFromObs,
+  colFromObs'
+  ) where
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.AlgebraStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/ColumnFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/ColumnFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/ColumnFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+
+{-|
+Module      : Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions
+Description : Column operations
+
+The standard library of functions that operate on
+data columns.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions(
+  -- * Arithmetic operations
+  (.+),
+  -- * Reductions
+  colSum,
+) where
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.AlgebraStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.AggregationFunctions
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Context.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Context.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Context.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+{- | This module defines session objects that act as entry points to spark.
+
+There are two ways to interact with Spark: using an explicit state object,
+or using the default state object (interactive session).
+
+While the interactive session is the most convenient, it should not be
+used for more than quick experimentations. Any complex code should use
+the SparkSession and SparkState objects.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Context(
+  SparkSessionConf(..),
+  SparkSession,
+  SparkState,
+  SparkInteractiveException,
+  FromSQL,
+  defaultConf,
+  executeCommand1,
+  createSparkSessionDef,
+  closeSparkSessionDef,
+  exec1Def) where
+
+import Data.Text(pack)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextIOInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInteractive
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenericsFrom(FromSQL)
+
+
+-- | The default configuration if the krapsh server is being run locally.
+defaultConf :: SparkSessionConf
+defaultConf =
+  SparkSessionConf {
+    confEndPoint = pack "http://127.0.0.1",
+    confPort = 8081,
+    confPollingIntervalMillis = 500,
+    confRequestedSessionName = ""
+  }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Dataset.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Dataset.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Dataset.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+
+{- |
+Module      : Spark.Core.Dataset
+Description : Dataset types and basic operations.
+
+This module describes the core data types (Dataset, DataFrame,
+Observable and DynObservable), and some basic operations to relate them.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Dataset(
+  -- * Common data structures
+  -- TODO Should it be hidden?
+  ComputeNode,
+  LocLocal,
+  LocDistributed,
+  LocUnknown,
+  UntypedNode,
+  -- * Distributed data structures
+  Dataset,
+  DataFrame,
+  -- * Local data structures
+  LocalData,
+  LocalFrame,
+  -- * Conversions
+  asDF,
+  asDS,
+  asLocalObservable,
+  -- * Relations
+  parents,
+  untyped,
+  depends,
+  logicalParents,
+  -- * Attributes
+  nodeLogicalParents,
+  nodeLogicalDependencies,
+  nodeParents,
+  nodeOp,
+  nodeId,
+  nodeName,
+  nodeType,
+  ) where
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Functions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Functions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Functions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Functions(
+  dataset,
+  dataframe,
+  constant,
+  collect,
+  count,
+  identity,
+  autocache,
+  cache,
+  uncache,
+  (@@)
+  ) where
+
+
+import Data.Aeson(toJSON)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals()
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.AggregationFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures(SQLType(..))
+
+dataset :: (ToSQL a, SQLTypeable a) => [a] -> Dataset a
+dataset l = emptyDataset op tp where
+  tp = buildType
+  op = NodeDistributedLit (unSQLType tp) (V.fromList ((toJSON . valueToCell) <$> l))
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AggregationFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AggregationFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AggregationFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+-- A number of standard aggregation functions.
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.AggregationFunctions where
+
+import Data.Aeson(Value(Null))
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenerics(ToSQL)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctions()
+import Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities(failure, HasCallStack)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Types
+
+{-| The sum of all the elements in a column.
+
+If the data type is too small to represent the sum, the value being returned is
+undefined.
+-}
+colSum :: forall ref a. (Num a, SQLTypeable a, ToSQL a) =>
+  Column ref a -> LocalData a
+colSum = applyUniAgg (_sumAgg :: UniversalAggregator a a)
+
+{-| The number of elements in a column.
+
+-}
+-- TODO use Long for the return data type.
+count :: forall a. (SQLTypeable a) => Dataset a -> LocalData Int
+count ds = applyUniAgg (_countAgg2 :: UniversalAggregator a Int) (asCol ds)
+
+{-| Collects all the elements of a column into a list.
+
+NOTE:
+This list is sorted in the canonical ordering of the data type: however the
+data may be stored by Spark, the result will always be in the same order.
+This is a departure from Spark, which does not guarantee an ordering on
+the returned data.
+-}
+collect :: forall ref a. (SQLTypeable a) => Column ref a -> LocalData [a]
+collect = applyUniAgg (_collectAgg :: UniversalAggregator a [a])
+
+{-|
+This is the universal aggregator: the invariant aggregator and
+some extra laws to combine multiple outputs.
+It is useful for combining the results over multiple passes.
+A real implementation in Spark has also an inner pass.
+-}
+data UniversalAggregator a buff = UniversalAggregator {
+  -- The result is partioning invariant
+  uaInitialOuter :: Dataset a -> LocalData buff,
+  -- This operation is associative and commutative
+  -- The logical parents of the final observable have to be the 2 inputs
+  uaMergeBuffer :: LocalData buff -> LocalData buff -> LocalData buff
+}
+
+-- | (internal)
+univAggToOp :: forall a buff. (SQLTypeable a, SQLTypeable buff) =>
+  UniversalAggregator a buff -> UniversalAggregatorOp
+univAggToOp = univAggToOpTyped (buildType :: SQLType a) (buildType :: SQLType buff)
+
+-- | (internal)
+univAggToOpTyped :: forall a buff.
+  SQLType a ->
+  SQLType buff ->
+  UniversalAggregator a buff ->
+  UniversalAggregatorOp
+univAggToOpTyped sqlta sqltm ua =
+  let
+    mt = unSQLType sqltm
+    outer = _unsafeExtractOp $ fun1ToOpTyped sqlta (uaInitialOuter ua)
+    merge = _unsafeExtractOp $ fun2ToOpTyped sqltm sqltm (uaMergeBuffer ua)
+  in UniversalAggregatorOp {
+    uaoMergeType = mt,
+    uaoInitialOuter = outer,
+    uaoMergeBuffer = merge
+  }
+
+-- | (internal)
+applyUniAgg :: UniversalAggregator a b -> Column ref a -> LocalData b
+applyUniAgg ua c =
+  let
+    ds = pack1 c
+    ld1 = uaInitialOuter ua ds
+    -- TODO understand how to pass this info
+    -- aggop = univAggToOpTyped (nodeType ds) (nodeType ld1) ua
+    -- ld = emptyLocalData (NodeUniversalAggregator aggop) (nodeType ld1)
+  in ld1
+
+
+-- (internal)
+simpleOp1Typed :: (IsLocality loca, IsLocality locb) =>
+  SQLType b ->
+  T.Text ->
+  ComputeNode loca a -> ComputeNode locb b
+simpleOp1Typed sqltb name =
+  let so = StandardOperator {
+             soName = name,
+             soOutputType = unSQLType sqltb,
+             soExtra = Null
+           }
+      no = NodeLocalOp so
+  in nodeOpToFun1Typed sqltb no
+
+-- (internal)
+simpleOp1 :: forall a b loca locb. (IsLocality loca, IsLocality locb, SQLTypeable a, SQLTypeable b) =>
+  T.Text ->
+  ComputeNode loca a -> ComputeNode locb b
+simpleOp1 = simpleOp1Typed (buildType :: SQLType b)
+
+-- (internal)
+simpleOp2 :: forall a1 a2 b loc1 loc2 locb. (SQLTypeable b, IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2, IsLocality locb) =>
+  T.Text ->
+  ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2 -> ComputeNode locb b
+simpleOp2 = simpleOp2Typed (buildType :: SQLType b)
+
+-- (internal)
+simpleOp2Typed :: (IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2, IsLocality locb) =>
+  SQLType b ->
+  T.Text ->
+  ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2 -> ComputeNode locb b
+simpleOp2Typed sqltb name =
+  let so = StandardOperator {
+             soName = name,
+             soOutputType = unSQLType sqltb,
+             soExtra = Null
+           }
+      no = NodeLocalOp so
+  in nodeOpToFun2Typed sqltb no
+
+_unsafeExtractOp :: (HasCallStack) => NodeOp -> StandardOperator
+_unsafeExtractOp (NodeLocalOp so) = so
+_unsafeExtractOp (NodeOpaqueAggregator so) = so
+_unsafeExtractOp (NodeDistributedOp so) = so
+_unsafeExtractOp x = failure $ sformat ("Expected standard op, found "%shown) x
+
+_countAgg2 :: (SQLTypeable a) => UniversalAggregator a Int
+_countAgg2 = UniversalAggregator {
+    uaInitialOuter = simpleOp1 "org.spark.Count",
+    uaMergeBuffer = (+)
+  }
+
+_sumAgg :: forall a. (SQLTypeable a, Num a, ToSQL a) => UniversalAggregator a a
+_sumAgg = UniversalAggregator {
+    uaInitialOuter = simpleOp1 "org.spark.Sum",
+    uaMergeBuffer = (+)
+  }
+
+_collectAgg :: forall a. SQLTypeable a => UniversalAggregator a [a]
+_collectAgg =
+  UniversalAggregator {
+    uaInitialOuter = simpleOp1 "org.spark.Collect",
+    uaMergeBuffer = simpleOp2 "org.spark.CatSorted"
+  }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AlgebraStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AlgebraStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/AlgebraStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FunctionalDependencies #-}
+
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.AlgebraStructures where
+
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+
+-- | Algebraic structures that are common to columns and observables.
+
+
+{-| The class of static projections that are guaranteed to succeed
+by using the type system.
+
+from is the type of the dataset (which is also a typed dataset)
+to is the type of the final column.
+-}
+data StaticColProjection from to = StaticColProjection {
+  _staticProj :: (SQLType from, FieldPath, SQLType to)
+}
+
+{-| The class of projections that require some runtime introspection
+to confirm that the projection is valid.
+-}
+data DynamicColProjection = DynamicColProjection {
+  -- The start type is irrelevant.
+  _dynProjTry :: DataType -> Try (FieldPath, DataType)
+}
+
+{-| The operation of extraction from a Spark object to another
+object.
+-}
+class Projection from proj to | from proj -> to where
+  _performProjection :: from -> proj -> to
+
+{-| The projector operation.
+
+This is the general projection operation in Spark. It lets you extract columns
+from datasets or dataframes, or sub-observables form observables.
+
+TODO(kps) put an example here.
+-}
+(//) :: forall from proj to. Projection from proj to => from -> proj -> to
+(//) = _performProjection
+
+data BinaryOpFun in1 in2 to = BinaryOpFun {
+  bodLift1 :: in1 -> to,
+  bodLift2 :: in2 -> to,
+  bodOp :: to -> to -> to
+}
+
+class HomoBinaryOp2 in1 in2 to | in1 in2 -> to where
+  _liftFun :: (to -> to -> to) -> BinaryOpFun in1 in2 to
+
+_applyBinOp0 :: forall in1 in2 to. in1 -> in2 -> BinaryOpFun in1 in2 to -> to
+_applyBinOp0 i1 i2 (BinaryOpFun l1 l2 bo) = bo (l1 i1) (l2 i2)
+
+applyBinOp :: forall in1 in2 to. (HomoBinaryOp2 in1 in2 to) => (to -> to -> to) -> in1 -> in2 -> to
+applyBinOp f i1 i2 =
+  _applyBinOp0 i1 i2 (_liftFun f)
+
+-- | Overloaded operator for operationts that are guaranteed to succeed.
+(.+) :: (Num out, HomoBinaryOp2 a1 a2 out) => a1 -> a2 -> out
+(.+) = applyBinOp (+)
+
+(.-) :: (Num out, HomoBinaryOp2 a1 a2 out) => a1 -> a2 -> out
+(.-) = applyBinOp (-)
+
+(.*) :: (Num out, HomoBinaryOp2 a1 a2 out) => a1 -> a2 -> out
+(.*) = applyBinOp (*)
+
+-- TODO(kps) add here the rest of the Integral operations
+div' :: (Integral out, HomoBinaryOp2 a1 a2 out) => a1 -> a2 -> out
+div' = applyBinOp div
+
+-- **** Fractional ****
+
+(./) :: (Fractional out, HomoBinaryOp2 a1 a2 out) => a1 -> a2 -> out
+(./) = applyBinOp (/)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Caching.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Caching.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Caching.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,302 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+{- Methods related to checking caching in the graph.
+-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.Caching(
+  NodeCachingType(..),
+  CachingFailure(..),
+  CacheTry,
+  CacheGraph,
+  AutocacheGen(..),
+  checkCaching,
+  fillAutoCache
+) where
+
+import Control.Monad.Identity
+import qualified Data.Set as S
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Data.Foldable
+import Data.Set(Set)
+import Data.Maybe(mapMaybe)
+import Debug.Trace(trace)
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Formatting
+-- import Debug.Trace
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+-- import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(NodeId)
+
+data NodeCachingType =
+    -- Hinted caching. Will be fullfilled by the algorithm below.
+    -- The node id is that of the node being cached
+    AutocacheOp VertexId
+    -- Unconditional caching
+    -- The node id is that of the node being cached
+  | CacheOp VertexId
+    -- First one is the node id
+    -- the second is the id of the matching cache or autocache node
+  | UncacheOp VertexId VertexId
+  | Through
+  | Stop deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+data CachingFailure = CachingFailure {
+  cachingNode :: !VertexId,
+  uncachingNode :: !VertexId,
+  escapingNode :: !VertexId
+} deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+type CacheTry t = Either Text t
+
+type CacheGraph v = Graph (v, NodeCachingType) StructureEdge
+
+data AutocacheGen v = AutocacheGen {
+  -- Generates an uncaching node to insert at the final location of uncaching
+  deriveUncache :: Vertex v -> Vertex v,
+  -- A function that given a node, generates an identity node (and a new node
+  -- id) that can be inserted in place. The generated node id will be used with
+  -- the identity node newly generated; the previous node will be moved around
+  -- along with its identity.
+  deriveIdentity :: Vertex v -> Vertex v
+}
+
+checkCaching :: (Show v) =>
+  Graph v StructureEdge ->
+  (v -> CacheTry NodeCachingType) ->
+  CacheTry [CachingFailure]
+checkCaching g fun = _cacheGraph g fun >>= _checkCaching
+
+fillAutoCache :: (Show v) =>
+  (v -> CacheTry NodeCachingType) ->
+  AutocacheGen v ->
+  Graph v StructureEdge ->
+  -- The final graph being constructed.
+  DagTry (Graph v StructureEdge)
+fillAutoCache cacheFun acGen g = do
+  cg <- graphMapVertices g $ \vx _ -> (const vx &&& id) <$> cacheFun vx
+  acg <- _fillAutoCache acGen cg
+  let acg' = graphMapVertices' fst acg
+  return acg'
+
+
+-- Some internal types to guarantee more correctness
+newtype AutocacheVertex v = AutocacheVertex (Vertex v)
+newtype StopVertex v = StopVertex { unStopVertex :: Vertex v }
+newtype IdentityVertex v = IdentityVertex (Vertex v)
+data UncacheVertex v = UncacheVertex (Vertex v) VertexId deriving (Show)
+newtype AnyCacheOp = AnyCacheOp { unAnyCacheOp :: VertexId } deriving (Show, Ord, Eq)
+
+-- The result of creating a vertex
+type CreateUncache v =
+  Either (UncacheVertex v) (UncacheVertex v, Edge StructureEdge)
+
+-- This performs a graph transform:
+-- For each autocache node, it finds the transitive closure of Stop nodes.
+-- Then it replaces the sink nodes by a layer of identity nodes and sink nodes
+-- and intercalates the uncache node between the two layers, through some
+-- logical dependencies.
+--
+-- If it does not find the closuure, it leaves these
+-- autocache nodes alone and does not attempt to remove them: they will be
+-- considered as being unconditional caching without checks.
+--
+-- Note that it works on the reverse of the graph (flow instead of dependencies)
+_fillAutoCache :: forall v. (Show v) =>
+  AutocacheGen v ->
+  -- The graph, already annotated with caching information
+  Graph (v, NodeCachingType) StructureEdge ->
+  -- The final graph being constructed.
+  DagTry (Graph (v, NodeCachingType) StructureEdge)
+_fillAutoCache acGen cg =
+  -- Find the auto nodes.
+  -- Compute the closure for each of them
+  -- Perform the insertion.
+  -- TODO: this function is too big, split or build subfunctions.
+  let
+    vxMap = M.fromList ((vertexId &&& id) <$> toList (gVertices cg))
+    -- TODO: mark if the result was already in the graph
+    findOrCreateIdentity :: StopVertex v -> IdentityVertex v
+    findOrCreateIdentity (StopVertex vx) =
+      let uvx = deriveIdentity acGen vx
+      in case M.lookup (vertexId uvx) vxMap of
+        Just vx' -> IdentityVertex $ fst <$> vx' -- Already created
+        Nothing -> IdentityVertex uvx
+    acNodesAndScopes = _autoCachingCandidates cg
+    -- Add the uncaching nodes
+    findOrCreateUncache' (acv, l) = case _findOrCreateUncache vxMap acGen acv of
+      Left x -> trace ("findOrCreateUncache: dropping autocache node " ++ show x) Nothing
+      Right (ucv, ed) -> Just (ed, (acv, ucv, l))
+    acWithUncache' = mapMaybe findOrCreateUncache' acNodesAndScopes
+    acWithUncache = snd <$> acWithUncache'
+    acEdges = fst <$> acWithUncache'
+    -- Now group by stop vertex, so that each stop vertex has a list of
+    -- associated cache and uncache nodes.
+    -- Not sure if they may be several, but it just sounds like good practice.
+    tups = myGroupBy [(vertexId (unStopVertex svx), (cvx, uvx, svx)) | (cvx, uvx, l) <- acWithUncache,
+                                              svx <- l]
+    -- Just in this case, it should work because of the construction above
+    -- TODO: put a lot more documentation here, it is tricky code
+    group ((_, uvx, svx) : t) = (svx, findOrCreateIdentity svx, uvx : [uvx' | ( _, uvx', _) <- t])
+    group [] = failure "_fillAutoCache:group: empty: should not happen"
+    stopsWithCachingSteps :: [(StopVertex v, IdentityVertex v, [UncacheVertex v])]
+    stopsWithCachingSteps = (group . snd) <$> M.toList tups
+    tups2 = [(svx, ivx, uvx) | (svx, ivx, l) <- stopsWithCachingSteps, uvx <- l]
+    folder eds (svx, ivx, uvx) = _performEdgeTransform svx ivx uvx eds
+    startEdges = veEdge <$> [ve | (_, v) <- M.toList (gEdges cg), ve <- V.toList v]
+    edges = acEdges ++ foldl' folder startEdges tups2
+    -- Gather all the vertices and edges, and remove duplicates
+    startVertices = V.toList (gVertices cg)
+    ucVertices = acWithUncache <&> \(_, UncacheVertex vx cacheVid, _) ->
+      -- TODO: propagate the cache vertexId with UncacheVertex
+      let op = UncacheOp (vertexId vx) cacheVid
+      in (id &&& const op) <$> vx
+    idVertices = tups2 <&> \(_, IdentityVertex vx, _) ->
+      (id &&& const Stop) <$> vx
+    allVertices = startVertices ++ ucVertices ++ idVertices
+    -- Make a new graph
+  in buildGraphFromList allVertices edges
+
+-- TODO: should be a try to perform extra check operations
+_findOrCreateUncache :: (HasCallStack, Show v) =>
+  M.Map VertexId (Vertex (v, NodeCachingType)) ->
+  AutocacheGen v ->
+  AutocacheVertex v -> CreateUncache v
+_findOrCreateUncache vxMap acGen (AutocacheVertex acv) =
+  let uvx = deriveUncache acGen acv
+      acVid = vertexId acv
+      uVid = vertexId uvx
+      look = vertexData <$> M.lookup uVid vxMap
+  in case look of
+    Just (x, UncacheOp _ _) ->
+      -- That vertex already exists, we will not try to create
+      -- an uncaching node then
+      Left $ UncacheVertex (Vertex uVid x) uVid
+    Just _ ->
+      -- That vertex already exists, but it is not the proper type.
+      -- This is a programming error in AutocacheGen: we abort here.
+      failure $ sformat ("_findOrCreateUncache:"%sh%"->"%sh) acv look
+    Nothing ->
+      -- The uncache node does not exist, we are going to create one.
+      let ed' = Edge uVid acVid ParentEdge
+      in Right (UncacheVertex uvx uVid, ed')
+
+
+-- FIXME: duplicated work on the stop and identity: pass all the uncache vertexes to process them in one go
+_performEdgeTransform ::
+  StopVertex v -> IdentityVertex v -> UncacheVertex v -> [Edge StructureEdge] -> [Edge StructureEdge]
+_performEdgeTransform (StopVertex svx) (IdentityVertex ivx) (UncacheVertex uvx _) eds =
+  let stopVid = vertexId svx
+      idenVid = vertexId ivx
+      ucVid = vertexId uvx
+      -- Rewrite the edges incoming to the stop node so that they point to the
+      -- id node instead.
+      f ed | edgeTo ed == stopVid = ed { edgeTo = idenVid }
+      f ed = ed
+      joinEd = Edge { edgeFrom = idenVid, edgeTo = stopVid, edgeData = ParentEdge }
+      id1Ed = Edge { edgeFrom = idenVid, edgeTo = ucVid, edgeData = LogicalEdge }
+      id2Ed = Edge { edgeFrom = ucVid, edgeTo = stopVid, edgeData = LogicalEdge }
+  in id1Ed : id2Ed : joinEd : (f <$> eds)
+
+-- The list of nodes that do autocaching, and the fringes for each of these
+-- nodes.
+-- Returns a list of caching node -> [stop node]
+_autoCachingCandidates :: forall v. (Show v) =>
+  Graph (v, NodeCachingType) StructureEdge ->
+  [(AutocacheVertex v, [StopVertex v])]
+_autoCachingCandidates cg =
+  let
+    cg' = graphMapVertices' snd cg
+    exps = gVertices $ _expansions cg'
+    extractAutocache vx = case snd (vertexData vx) of
+      AutocacheOp _ -> [AutocacheVertex (fst <$> vx)]
+      _ -> []
+    acVxs = concatMap extractAutocache (gVertices cg)
+    -- All the stop nodes for each caching vertex id
+    extractFringe vx = case vertexData vx of
+      (Stop, set) -> (id &&& const (vertexId vx)) <$> toList set
+      _ -> []
+    -- cache vid -> Stop vertex id
+    acWithFringe = myGroupBy $ concatMap extractFringe (toList exps)
+    vmap = vertexMap cg
+    vmap' = vertexMap cg'
+    -- TODO: should be a try and it should not fail
+    findStop :: VertexId -> Maybe (StopVertex v)
+    findStop vid = do
+      vx <- M.lookup vid vmap
+      _ <- M.lookup vid vmap'
+      return $ StopVertex (Vertex vid (fst vx))
+    -- TODO: it should be a try, although it is a programming error here
+    combineWithFringe :: AutocacheVertex v -> (AutocacheVertex v, [StopVertex v])
+    combineWithFringe acv @ (AutocacheVertex vx) =
+      let vids = M.findWithDefault [] (AnyCacheOp (vertexId vx)) acWithFringe
+      in (acv, mapMaybe findStop vids)
+    -- Remove the nodes that do not have a fringe.
+    -- In this case, they are passed through without uncaching operation.
+    acWithFringeVx = filter (not.null.snd) $ combineWithFringe <$> acVxs
+  in acWithFringeVx
+
+_checkCaching :: Graph NodeCachingType StructureEdge -> CacheTry [CachingFailure]
+_checkCaching cg =
+  let
+    expands = snd <$> vertexMap (_expansions cg)
+    removals = vertexMap $ _removals cg
+    f :: NodeCachingType -> [(VertexId, VertexId)]
+    f (UncacheOp uncacheNid cacheNid) = [(cacheNid, uncacheNid)]
+    f _ = []
+    -- cacheNID -> uncacheNID
+    removedNodes = M.fromList $ concatMap f (vertexData <$> gVertices cg)
+    removedNodeSet = S.fromList $ M.keys removedNodes
+    checkErrors :: VertexId -> [CachingFailure]
+    checkErrors nid =
+      let rems = S.intersection
+                  removedNodeSet
+                  (M.findWithDefault S.empty nid removals)
+          exps = S.intersection
+                   removedNodeSet
+                   (unAnyCacheOp `S.map` M.findWithDefault S.empty nid expands)
+          bad = S.toList $ S.difference exps rems
+          badWithUncache = flip mapMaybe bad $ \ cacheNid ->
+            M.lookup cacheNid removedNodes <&> \uncacheNid ->
+              CachingFailure cacheNid uncacheNid nid
+      in badWithUncache
+  in return $ concatMap checkErrors (vertexId <$> gVertices cg)
+
+_cacheGraph :: (Show v) => Graph v StructureEdge ->
+  (v -> CacheTry NodeCachingType) ->
+  CacheTry (Graph NodeCachingType StructureEdge)
+_cacheGraph g f =
+  graphMapVertices g f' where
+    f' vx _ = f vx
+
+-- The set of node caching operations at each step.
+-- This includes both regular cache and autocache.
+_expansions :: (Show e) =>
+  Graph NodeCachingType e ->
+  Graph (NodeCachingType, Set AnyCacheOp) e
+_expansions g = runIdentity (graphMapVertices g f) where
+  f x l = return (x, S.union seta parentSet) where
+    filt ((Stop, _), _) = S.empty
+    -- Uncaching drops the caching node from the expansions
+    filt ((UncacheOp _ cacheVid, s), _) = S.delete (AnyCacheOp cacheVid) s
+    filt ((_, s), _) = s
+    parentSet :: S.Set AnyCacheOp
+    parentSet = S.unions (filt <$> l)
+    seta = case x of
+      CacheOp nid -> S.singleton (AnyCacheOp nid)
+      AutocacheOp nid -> S.singleton (AnyCacheOp nid)
+      _ -> S.empty
+
+_removals :: (Show e) =>
+  Graph NodeCachingType e -> Graph (Set VertexId) e
+_removals g = runIdentity (graphMapVertices (reverseGraph g) f) where
+  f x l = return $ S.union seta (S.unions (fst <$> l)) where
+    seta = case x of
+      UncacheOp _ cacheNid -> S.singleton cacheNid
+      _ -> S.empty
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingUntyped.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingUntyped.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingUntyped.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+
+{-| Implementation of the caching interfaces for the compute data structures.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.CachingUntyped(
+  cachingType,
+  autocacheGen
+) where
+
+import Control.Monad.Except
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Caching
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.PathsUntyped()
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+
+cachingType :: UntypedNode -> CacheTry NodeCachingType
+cachingType n = traceHint ("cachingType: n="<>show' (nodeOp n)<>" res=") $ case nodeOp n of
+  NodeLocalOp _ -> pure Stop
+  NodeUniversalAggregator _ -> pure Stop
+  NodeOpaqueAggregator _ -> pure Stop
+  NodeLocalLit _ _ -> pure Stop
+  NodeStructuredTransform _ -> pure Through
+  NodeDistributedLit _ _ -> pure Through
+  NodeDistributedOp so | soName so == opnameCache ->
+    pure $ CacheOp (vertexToId n)
+  NodeDistributedOp so | soName so == opnameUnpersist ->
+    case nodeParents n of
+      [n'] -> pure $ UncacheOp (vertexToId n) (vertexToId n')
+      _ -> throwError "Node is not valid uncache node"
+  NodeDistributedOp so | soName so == opnameAutocache ->
+    pure $ AutocacheOp (vertexToId n)
+  NodeDistributedOp _ -> pure Through -- Nothing special for the other operations
+
+
+autocacheGen :: AutocacheGen UntypedNode
+autocacheGen = AutocacheGen {
+  deriveUncache = deriveUncache',
+  deriveIdentity = deriveIdentity'
+} where
+    -- TODO: use path-based identification in the future
+    -- f :: String -> VertexId -> VertexId
+    -- f s (VertexId bs) = VertexId . C8.pack . (++s) . C8.unpack $ bs
+    deriveIdentity' (Vertex _ un) =
+      let x = identity un
+          vid' = VertexId . unNodeId . nodeId $ x -- f "_identity" vid
+      in Vertex vid' x
+    deriveUncache' (Vertex _ un) =
+      let x = uncache un
+          vid' = VertexId . unNodeId . nodeId $ x -- f "_uncache" vid
+      in Vertex vid' x
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Client.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Client.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Client.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+-- The communication protocol with the server
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.Client where
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Dataset(UntypedNode)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+
+import Data.Text(Text, pack)
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Aeson.Types(Parser)
+import GHC.Generics
+
+
+-- Imports for the client
+
+
+data LocalSessionId = LocalSessionId {
+  unLocalSession :: !Text
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+data ComputationID = ComputationID {
+  unComputationID :: !Text
+} deriving (Eq, Show, Generic)
+
+data Computation = Computation {
+  cSessionId :: !LocalSessionId,
+  cId :: !ComputationID,
+  cNodes :: ![UntypedNode],
+  -- Non-empty
+  cTerminalNodes :: ![NodeName],
+  -- The node at the top of the computation.
+  -- Must be part of the terminal nodes.
+  cCollectingNode :: NodeName
+} deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+
+data PossibleNodeStatus =
+    NodeQueued
+  | NodeRunning
+  | NodeFinishedSuccess NodeComputationSuccess
+  | NodeFinishedFailure NodeComputationFailure deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+data NodeComputationSuccess = NodeComputationSuccess {
+  -- Because Row requires additional information to be deserialized.
+  ncsData :: Value
+} deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+data NodeComputationFailure = NodeComputationFailure {
+  ncfMessage :: !Text
+} deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+-- data EndNodeStatus = EndNodeStatus {
+--   ensPath :: !NodePath,
+--   ensStatus :: !PossibleNodeStatus,
+--   ensValue :: !(Maybe Cell)
+-- } deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+-- data AggregateProgressStatus = AggregateProgressStatus {
+--   apsBundlePaths :: ![NodePath]
+-- } deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+-- data GetNodeStatusResponse = GetNodeStatusResponse {
+--   gnsrEndNodes :: ![EndNodeStatus],
+--   gnsrBundles :: ![AggregateProgressStatus]
+-- } deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+-- data GetNodeStatus = GetNodeStatus {
+--   gnsSessionId :: !LocalSessionId,
+--   gnsComputationId :: !ComputationID,
+--   gnsIncludeResults :: !Bool,
+--   gnsRequestedNodes :: ![NodePath]
+-- } deriving (Show, Generic)
+
+-- **** AESON INSTANCES ***
+
+instance ToJSON Computation
+
+instance ToJSON LocalSessionId where
+  toJSON = toJSON . unLocalSession
+
+-- instance FromJSON LocalSessionID where
+--   parseJSON = LocalSessionID <$> parseJSON
+
+instance ToJSON ComputationID where
+  toJSON = toJSON . unComputationID
+
+-- Because we get a row back, we need to supply a SQLType for deserialization.
+instance FromJSON PossibleNodeStatus where
+  parseJSON =
+    let parseSuccess :: Object -> Parser PossibleNodeStatus
+        parseSuccess o =
+          (NodeFinishedSuccess . NodeComputationSuccess) <$> o .: pack "finalResult"
+        parseFailure :: Object -> Parser PossibleNodeStatus
+        parseFailure o =
+          (NodeFinishedFailure . NodeComputationFailure) <$> o .: pack "finalError"
+    in
+      withObject "PossibleNodeStatus" $ \o -> do
+      status <- o .: pack "status"
+      case status of
+        "running" -> return NodeRunning
+        "finished_success" -> parseSuccess o
+        "finished_failure" -> parseFailure o
+        "scheduled" -> return NodeQueued
+        _ -> failure $ pack ("FromJSON PossibleNodeStatus " ++ show status)
+
+    -- Person <$> o .: "name" <*> o .: "age"
+
+-- instance ToJSON PossibleNodeStatus where
+--   toJSON NodeQueued = toJSON "queued"
+--   toJSON NodeRunning = toJSON "running"
+--   toJSON NodeFinished = toJSON "finished"
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,409 @@
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+-- Implements a DSL for extracting some columns from dataframes and datasets.
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnFunctions(
+  -- Accessors
+  colType,
+  colOrigin,
+  colOp,
+  colFieldName,
+  -- Internal API
+  iUntypedColData,
+  iEmptyCol,
+  -- Developer API (projections)
+  unsafeStaticProjection,
+  dynamicProjection,
+  -- Public functions
+  untypedCol,
+  colFromObs,
+  colFromObs',
+  castCol,
+  castCol',
+  colRef
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Data.Text.Format as TF
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.String(IsString(fromString))
+import Data.Text.Lazy(toStrict)
+import Data.Maybe(fromMaybe)
+import Data.List(find)
+import Formatting
+
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions(prettyShowColOp)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.AlgebraStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- ********** Public methods ********
+
+{-| Lets the users define their own static projections.
+
+Throws an error if the type cannot be found, so should be used with caution.
+
+String has to be used because of type inferrence issues
+-}
+unsafeStaticProjection :: forall from to. (HasCallStack) =>
+  SQLType from     -- ^ The start type
+  -> String        -- ^ The name of a field assumed to be found in the start type.
+                   --   This only has to be valid for Spark purposes, not
+                   --   internal Haskell representation.
+  -> StaticColProjection from to
+unsafeStaticProjection sqlt field =
+  let
+    f = forceRight . fieldPath . T.pack $ field
+    sqlt' = fromMaybe
+      (failure $ sformat ("unsafeStaticProjection: Cannot find the field "%sh%" in type "%sh) field sqlt)
+      (_extractPath sqlt f)
+  in StaticColProjection (sqlt, f, sqlt')
+
+-- Returns a projection from a path (even if invalid data)
+dynamicProjection :: String -> DynamicColProjection
+dynamicProjection txt = case fieldPath (T.pack txt) of
+  Left msg -> DynamicColProjection $ \_ ->
+    tryError $ sformat ("dynamicProjection: invalid syntax for path "%shown%": "%shown) txt msg
+  Right fpath -> _dynamicProjection fpath
+
+{-| The type of a column.
+-}
+colType :: Column ref a -> SQLType a
+colType = SQLType . _cType
+
+{-| Converts a type column to an antyped column.
+-}
+untypedCol :: Column ref a -> DynColumn
+untypedCol = pure . _unsafeCastColData . _dropReference
+
+{-| Casts a dynamic column to a statically typed column.
+
+In this case, one must supply the reference (which can be obtained from
+another column with colRef, or from a dataset), and a type (which can be
+built using the buildType function).
+-}
+castCol :: ColumnReference ref -> SQLType a -> DynColumn -> Try (Column ref a)
+castCol r sqlt dc =
+  dc >>= _checkedCastColData sqlt >>= _checkedCastRefColData r
+
+{-| Casts a dynamic column to a statically typed column, but does not attempt
+to enforce a single origin at the type level.
+
+This is useful when building a dataset from a dataframe: the origin information
+cannot be conveyed since it is not available in the first place.
+-}
+castCol' :: SQLType a -> DynColumn -> Try (Column UnknownReference a)
+castCol' = castCol ColumnReference
+
+-- (internal)
+colOrigin :: Column ref a -> UntypedDataset
+colOrigin = _cOrigin
+
+-- (internal)
+colOp :: Column ref a -> ColOp
+colOp = _cOp
+
+{-| A tag with the reference of a column.
+
+This is useful when casting dynamic columns to typed columns.
+-}
+colRef :: Column ref a -> ColumnReference ref
+colRef _ = ColumnReference
+
+-- | Takes an observable and makes it available as a column of the same type.
+colFromObs :: (HasCallStack) => LocalData a -> Column (LocalData a) a
+colFromObs = missing "colFromObs"
+
+-- | Takes a dynamic observable and makes it available as a dynamic column.
+colFromObs' :: (HasCallStack) => LocalFrame -> DynColumn
+colFromObs' = missing "colFromObs'"
+
+-- | (internal)
+colFieldName :: ColumnData ref a -> FieldName
+colFieldName c =
+  fromMaybe (unsafeFieldName . prettyShowColOp . _cOp $ c)
+    (_cReferingPath c)
+
+-- ********* Projection operations ***********
+
+-- dataset -> static projection -> column
+instance forall a to. Projection (Dataset a) (StaticColProjection a to) (Column a to) where
+  _performProjection = _project
+
+-- dataset -> dynamic projection -> DynColumn
+instance forall a. Projection (Dataset a) DynamicColProjection DynColumn where
+  _performProjection = _projectDyn
+
+-- dataset -> string -> DynColumn
+instance forall a . Projection (Dataset a) String DynColumn where
+  _performProjection ds s = _projectDyn ds (_strToDynProj s)
+
+-- dataframe -> dynamic projection -> dyncolumn
+instance Projection DataFrame DynamicColProjection DynColumn where
+  _performProjection = _projectDF
+
+-- dataframe -> static projection -> dyncolumn
+-- This is a relaxation as we could return Try (Column to) intead.
+-- It makes more sense from an API perspective to just return a dynamic result.
+instance forall a to. Projection DataFrame (StaticColProjection a to) DynColumn where
+  _performProjection df proj = _projectDF df (_colStaticProjToDynProj proj)
+
+-- dataframe -> string -> dyncolumn
+instance Projection DataFrame String DynColumn where
+  _performProjection df s = _projectDF df (_strToDynProj s)
+
+-- column -> static projection -> column
+instance forall ref a to. Projection (Column ref a) (StaticColProjection a to) (Column ref to) where
+  _performProjection = _projectCol
+
+
+-- dyncolumn -> dynamic projection -> dyncolumn
+instance Projection DynColumn DynamicColProjection DynColumn where
+  _performProjection = _projectDynCol
+
+instance forall a to. Projection DynColumn (StaticColProjection a to) DynColumn where
+  _performProjection dc proj = _projectDynCol dc (_colStaticProjToDynProj proj)
+
+class StringStuff a where
+  stuffAsString :: a -> String
+
+instance StringStuff String where
+  stuffAsString = undefined
+
+-- dyncolumn -> string -> dyncolumn
+instance Projection DynColumn String DynColumn where
+  _performProjection dc s = _performProjection dc (_strToDynProj s)
+
+_strToDynProj :: String -> DynamicColProjection
+_strToDynProj s =
+  let
+    fun dt =
+      case fieldPath (T.pack s) of
+        Right fp -> _dynProjTry (_dynamicProjection fp) dt
+        Left msg -> tryError (T.pack msg)
+  in DynamicColProjection fun
+
+-- | Converts a static project to a dynamic projector.
+_colStaticProjToDynProj :: forall from to. StaticColProjection from to -> DynamicColProjection
+_colStaticProjToDynProj (StaticColProjection (SQLType dtFrom, fp, SQLType dtTo)) =
+  DynamicColProjection $ \dt ->
+    -- TODO factorize this as a projection on types.
+    if dt /= dtFrom then
+      tryError $ sformat ("Cannot convert type "%shown%" into type "%shown) dt dtFrom
+    else pure (fp, dtTo)
+
+iUntypedColData :: Column ref a -> UntypedColumnData
+iUntypedColData = _unsafeCastColData . _dropReference
+
+-- Recasts the column, trusting the user knows that the type is going to be compatible.
+_unsafeCastColData :: Column ref a -> Column ref b
+_unsafeCastColData c = c { _cType = _cType c }
+
+_checkedCastColData :: SQLType b -> ColumnData ref a -> Try (ColumnData ref b)
+_checkedCastColData sqlt cd =
+  if (unSQLType sqlt) == (unSQLType (colType cd))
+    then pure (_unsafeCastColData cd)
+    else tryError $ sformat ("Cannot cast column "%sh%" to type "%sh) cd sqlt
+
+_checkedCastRefColData :: ColumnReference ref2 -> ColumnData ref a -> Try (ColumnData ref2 a)
+_checkedCastRefColData _ cd =
+  -- TODO: do some dynamic checks on the origin.
+  pure $ cd { _cType = _cType cd }
+
+_dynamicProjection :: FieldPath -> DynamicColProjection
+_dynamicProjection fpath =
+  let
+    fun dt = case _extractPath (SQLType dt) fpath of
+        Just (SQLType dt') -> pure (fpath, dt') -- TODO(kps) I have a doubt
+        Nothing ->
+          tryError $ sformat ("unsafeStaticProjection: Cannot find the field "%shown%" in type "%shown) fpath dt
+   in DynamicColProjection fun
+
+-- TODO: take a compute node instead
+_projectDyn :: Dataset from -> DynamicColProjection -> DynColumn
+_projectDyn ds proj = do
+  (p, dt) <- _dynProjTry proj (unSQLType . nodeType $ ds)
+  _emptyDynCol ds dt p
+
+_projectDF :: DataFrame -> DynamicColProjection -> DynColumn
+_projectDF df proj = do
+  node <- df
+  _projectDyn node proj
+
+_project :: Dataset from -> StaticColProjection from to -> Column from to
+_project ds proj = let (_, p, sqlt) = _staticProj proj in
+  iEmptyCol ds sqlt p
+
+_projectCol :: Column ref from -> StaticColProjection from to -> Column ref to
+_projectCol c (StaticColProjection (_, fp, SQLType dt)) =
+  _projectColData0 c fp dt
+
+-- Performs the data projection. This is unsafe, it does not check that the
+-- field path is valid in this case, nor that the final type is valid either.
+_projectColData0 :: ColumnData ref a -> FieldPath -> DataType -> ColumnData ref b
+_projectColData0 cd (FieldPath p) dtTo =
+  -- If the column is already a projection, flatten it.
+  case colOp cd of
+    -- No previous parent on an extraction -> we can safely append to that one.
+    ColExtraction (FieldPath p') ->
+      cd { _cOp = ColExtraction (FieldPath (p V.++ p')),
+           _cType = dtTo}
+    _ ->
+      -- Extract from the previous column.
+      cd { _cOp = ColExtraction (FieldPath p),
+          _cType = dtTo}
+
+_projectDynColData :: ColumnData ref a -> DynamicColProjection -> DynColumn
+_projectDynColData cd proj =
+  _dynProjTry proj (_cType cd) <&> uncurry (_projectColData0 . _dropReference $ cd)
+
+_projectDynCol :: DynColumn -> DynamicColProjection -> DynColumn
+_projectDynCol c proj = do
+  cd <- c
+  _projectDynColData cd proj
+
+_extractPath :: SQLType from -> FieldPath -> Maybe (SQLType to)
+_extractPath sqlt (FieldPath v) = _extractPath0 sqlt (V.toList v)
+
+_extractPath0 :: SQLType from -> [FieldName] -> Maybe (SQLType to)
+_extractPath0 sqlt [] = Just (unsafeCastType sqlt)
+_extractPath0 sqlt (field : l) = do
+  inner <- _extractField sqlt field
+  _extractPath0 inner l
+
+_extractField :: SQLType from -> FieldName -> Maybe (SQLType to)
+_extractField (SQLType (StrictType (Struct (StructType fields)))) f =
+  -- There is probably a way to make it shorter...
+  let z = find (\x -> structFieldName x == f) fields in
+  SQLType . structFieldType <$> z
+_extractField (SQLType (NullableType (Struct (StructType fields)))) f =
+  -- There is probably a way to make it shorter...
+  let z = find (\x -> structFieldName x == f) fields in
+  SQLType . structFieldType <$> z
+_extractField _ _ = Nothing
+
+_dropReference :: ColumnData ref a -> ColumnData UnknownReference a
+_dropReference c = c {_cOp = _cOp c}
+
+-- | (internal) creates a new column with some empty data
+iEmptyCol :: Dataset a -> SQLType b -> FieldPath -> Column a b
+iEmptyCol = _emptyColData
+
+-- | (internal) Creates a new column with a dynamic type.
+_emptyDynCol :: Dataset a -> DataType -> FieldPath -> DynColumn
+_emptyDynCol ds dt fp = Right $ _dropReference $ _emptyColData ds (SQLType dt) fp
+
+-- A new column data structure.
+_emptyColData :: Dataset a -> SQLType b -> FieldPath -> ColumnData a b
+_emptyColData ds sqlt path = ColumnData {
+  _cOrigin = untypedDataset ds,
+  _cType = unSQLType sqlt,
+  _cOp = ColExtraction path,
+  _cReferingPath = Nothing
+}
+
+-- Homogeneous operation betweet 2 columns.
+_homoColOp2 :: T.Text -> Column ref x -> Column ref x -> Column ref x
+_homoColOp2 opName c1 c2 =
+  let co = ColFunction opName (V.fromList (colOp <$> [c1, c2]))
+  in ColumnData {
+      _cOrigin = _cOrigin c1,
+      _cType = _cType c1,
+      _cOp = co,
+      _cReferingPath = Nothing }
+
+_homoColOp2' :: T.Text -> DynColumn -> DynColumn -> DynColumn
+_homoColOp2' opName c1' c2' = do
+  c1 <- c1'
+  c2 <- c2'
+  -- TODO check same origin
+  return $ _homoColOp2 opName c1 c2
+
+-- ******** Displaying and pretty printing ************
+
+instance forall ref a. Show (Column ref a) where
+  show c =
+    let
+      name = case _cReferingPath c of
+        Just fn -> show' fn
+        Nothing -> prettyShowColOp . colOp $ c
+      txt = fromString "{}{{}}->{}" :: TF.Format
+      -- path = T.pack . show . _cReferingPath $ c
+      -- no = prettyShowColOp . colOp $ c
+      fields = T.pack . show . colType $ c
+      nn = unNodeName . nodeName . _cOrigin $ c
+    in T.unpack $ toStrict $ TF.format txt (name, fields, nn)
+
+-- *********** Renaming instances **************
+
+instance forall ref a. CanRename (ColumnData ref a) FieldName where
+  c @@ fn = c { _cReferingPath = Just fn }
+
+
+instance forall ref a. CanRename (Column ref a) String where
+  c @@ str = case fieldName (T.pack str) of
+    Right fp -> c @@ fp
+    Left msg ->
+      -- The syntax check here is pretty lenient, so it fails, it has
+      -- some good reasons. We stop here.
+      failure $ sformat ("Could not make a field path out of string "%shown%" for column "%shown%":"%shown) str c msg
+
+instance CanRename DynColumn FieldName where
+  (Right cd) @@ fn = Right (cd @@ fn)
+  -- TODO better error handling
+  x @@ _ = x
+
+instance CanRename DynColumn String where
+  -- An error could happen when making a path out of a string.
+  (Right cd) @@ str = case fieldName (T.pack str) of
+    Right fp -> Right $ cd @@ fp
+    Left msg ->
+      -- The syntax check here is pretty lenient, so it fails, it has
+      -- some good reasons. We stop here.
+      tryError $ sformat ("Could not make a field path out of string "%shown%" for column "%shown%":"%shown) str cd msg
+  -- TODO better error handling
+  x @@ _ = x
+
+-- *********** Arithmetic operations **********
+
+
+instance forall a. HomoBinaryOp2 a a a where
+  _liftFun f = BinaryOpFun id id f
+
+instance forall ref a. HomoBinaryOp2 (Column ref a) DynColumn DynColumn where
+  _liftFun f = BinaryOpFun untypedCol id f
+
+instance forall ref a. HomoBinaryOp2 DynColumn (Column ref a) DynColumn where
+  _liftFun f = BinaryOpFun id untypedCol f
+
+
+instance (Num x) => Num (Column ref x) where
+  (+) = _homoColOp2 "sum"
+  (*) _ _ = missing "Num (Column x): *"
+  abs _ = missing "Num (Column x): abs"
+  signum _ = missing "Num (Column x): signum"
+  fromInteger _ = missing "Num (Column x): fromInteger"
+  negate _ = missing "Num (Column x): negate"
+
+instance Num DynColumn where
+  (+) = _homoColOp2' "sum"
+  (*) _ _ = missing "Num (DynColumn x): *"
+  abs _ = missing "Num (DynColumn x): abs"
+  signum _ = missing "Num (DynColumn x): signum"
+  fromInteger _ = missing "Num (DynColumn x): fromInteger"
+  negate _ = missing "Num (DynColumn x): negate"
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ColumnStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures where
+
+import Control.Arrow ((&&&))
+import Data.Function(on)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+
+{-| The data structure that implements the notion of data columns.
+
+The type on this one may either be a Cell or a proper type.
+
+A column of data from a dataset
+The ref is a reference potentially to the originating
+dataset, but it may be more general than that to perform
+type-safe tricks.
+TODO: try something like this https://www.vidarholen.net/contents/junk/catbag.html
+-}
+data ColumnData ref a = ColumnData {
+  -- TODO replace by a maybe to have an easier way to deal with constant
+  -- columns.
+  _cOrigin :: !UntypedDataset,
+  _cType :: !DataType,
+  _cOp :: !ColOp,
+  -- The name in the dataset.
+  -- If not set, it will be deduced from the operation.
+  _cReferingPath :: !(Maybe FieldName)
+}
+
+{-| A column of data from a dataset or a dataframe.
+
+This column is typed: the operations on this column will be
+validdated by Haskell' type inferenc.
+-}
+type Column ref a = ColumnData ref a
+
+{-| An untyped column of data from a dataset or a dataframe.
+
+This column is untyped and may not be properly constructed. Any error
+will be found during the analysis phase at runtime.
+-}
+type DynColumn = Try (ColumnData UnknownReference Cell)
+
+
+-- | (internal)
+-- The type of untyped column data.
+type UntypedColumnData = ColumnData UnknownReference Cell
+
+{-| A dummy data type that indicates the data referenc is missing.
+-}
+data UnknownReference
+
+{-| A tag that carries the reference information of a column at a
+type level. This is useful when creating column.
+
+See ref and colRef.
+-}
+data ColumnReference a = ColumnReference
+
+instance forall ref a. Eq (ColumnData ref a) where
+  (==) = (==) `on` (_cOrigin &&& _cType &&& _cOp &&& _cReferingPath)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ComputeDag.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ComputeDag.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ComputeDag.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag where
+
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+
+{-| A DAG of computation nodes.
+
+At a high level, it is a total function with a number of inputs and a number
+of outputs.
+
+Note about the edges: the edges flow along the path of dependencies.
+
+-}
+data ComputeDag v e = ComputeDag {
+  -- The edges that make up the DAG
+  cdEdges :: !(AdjacencyMap v e),
+  -- All the vertices of the graph
+  -- Sorted by lexicographic order + node id for uniqueness
+  cdVertices :: !(Vector (Vertex v)),
+  -- The inputs of the computation graph. These correspond to the
+  -- sinks of the dependency graph.
+  cdInputs :: !(Vector (Vertex v)),
+  -- The outputs of the computation graph. These correspond to the
+  -- sources of the dependency graph.
+  cdOutputs :: !(Vector (Vertex v))
+} deriving (Show)
+
+
+-- | Conversion
+computeGraphToGraph :: ComputeDag v e -> Graph v e
+computeGraphToGraph cg =
+  Graph (cdEdges cg) (cdVertices cg)
+
+-- | Conversion
+graphToComputeGraph :: Graph v e -> ComputeDag v e
+graphToComputeGraph g =
+  ComputeDag {
+    cdEdges = gEdges g,
+    cdVertices = gVertices g,
+    -- We work on the graph of dependencies (not flows)
+    -- The sources correspond to the outputs.
+    cdInputs = V.fromList $ graphSinks g,
+    cdOutputs = V.fromList $ graphSources g
+  }
+
+_mapVerticesAdj :: (Vertex v -> v') -> AdjacencyMap v e -> AdjacencyMap v' e
+_mapVerticesAdj f m =
+  let f1 ve =
+        let vx = veEndVertex ve
+            d' = f vx in
+          ve { veEndVertex = vx { vertexData = d' } }
+      f' v = f1 <$> v
+  in M.map f' m
+
+mapVertices :: (Vertex v -> v') -> ComputeDag v e -> ComputeDag v' e
+mapVertices f cd =
+  let f' vx = vx { vertexData = f vx }
+  in ComputeDag {
+      cdEdges = _mapVerticesAdj f (cdEdges cd),
+      cdVertices = f' <$> cdVertices cd,
+      cdInputs = f' <$> cdInputs cd,
+      cdOutputs = f' <$> cdOutputs cd
+    }
+
+mapVertexData :: (v -> v') -> ComputeDag v e -> ComputeDag v' e
+mapVertexData f = mapVertices (f . vertexData)
+
+buildCGraph :: (GraphOperations v e, Show v, Show e) =>
+  v -> DagTry (ComputeDag v e)
+buildCGraph n = graphToComputeGraph <$> buildGraph n
+
+graphDataLexico :: ComputeDag v e -> [v]
+graphDataLexico cd = vertexData <$> toList (cdVertices cd)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextIOInternal.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextIOInternal.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextIOInternal.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ContextIOInternal(
+  returnPure,
+  createSparkSession,
+  createSparkSession',
+  executeCommand1
+) where
+
+import Control.Concurrent(threadDelay)
+import Control.Lens((^.))
+import Control.Monad.State(mapStateT, get)
+import Control.Monad(forM)
+import Data.Aeson(toJSON)
+import Data.Functor.Identity(runIdentity)
+import Data.Text(Text, pack)
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Network.Wreq as W
+import Network.Wreq(responseBody)
+import Control.Monad.Trans(lift)
+import Control.Monad.Logger(runStdoutLoggingT, LoggingT, logDebugN, logInfoN, MonadLoggerIO)
+import System.Random(randomIO)
+import Data.Word(Word8)
+import Control.Monad.IO.Class
+-- import Formatting
+import Network.Wreq.Types(Postable)
+import Data.ByteString.Lazy(ByteString)
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Client
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+
+
+returnPure :: forall a. SparkStatePure a -> SparkState a
+returnPure p = lift $ mapStateT (return . runIdentity) p
+
+{- | Creates a new Spark session.
+
+This session is unique, and it will not try to reconnect to an existing
+session.
+-}
+createSparkSession :: (MonadLoggerIO m) => SparkSessionConf -> m SparkSession
+createSparkSession conf = do
+  sessionName <- case confRequestedSessionName conf of
+    "" -> liftIO _randomSessionName
+    x -> pure x
+  let session = _createSparkSession conf sessionName 0
+  let url = _sessionEndPoint session
+  logDebugN $ "Creating spark session at url: " <> url
+  -- TODO get the current counter from remote
+  _ <- _ensureSession session
+  return session
+
+{-| Convenience function for simple cases that do not require monad stacks.
+-}
+createSparkSession' :: SparkSessionConf -> IO SparkSession
+createSparkSession' = _runLogger . createSparkSession
+
+{- |
+Executes a command:
+- performs the transforms and the optimizations in the pure state
+- sends the computation to the backend
+- waits for the terminal nodes to reach a final state
+- commits the final results to the state
+
+If any failure is detected that is internal to Krapsh, it returns an error.
+If the error comes from an underlying library (http stack, programming failure),
+an exception may be thrown instead.
+-}
+executeCommand1 :: forall a. (FromSQL a, HasCallStack) =>
+  LocalData a -> SparkState (Try a)
+executeCommand1 ld = do
+    session <- get
+    tcomp <- returnPure $ prepareExecution1 ld
+    case tcomp of
+      Left err ->
+        return (Left err)
+      Right comp ->
+        let
+          obss = getTargetNodes comp
+          fun3 ld2 = do
+            result <- _waitSingleComputation session comp (nodeName ld2)
+            return (ld2, result)
+          nodeResults :: SparkState [(LocalData Cell, FinalResult)]
+          nodeResults = sequence (fun3 <$> obss)
+        in do
+          _ <- _sendComputation session comp
+          nrs <- nodeResults
+          tcell <- returnPure $ storeResults comp nrs
+          return $ tcell >>= (tryEither . cellToValue)
+
+_randomSessionName :: IO Text
+_randomSessionName = do
+  ws <- forM [1..10] (\(_::Int) -> randomIO :: IO Word8)
+  let ints = (`mod` 10) <$> ws
+  return . T.pack $ "session" ++ concat (show <$> ints)
+
+type DefLogger a = LoggingT IO a
+
+_runLogger :: DefLogger a -> IO a
+_runLogger = runStdoutLoggingT
+
+_post :: (MonadIO m, Postable a) =>
+  Text -> a -> m (W.Response ByteString)
+_post url = liftIO . W.post (T.unpack url)
+
+_get :: (MonadIO m) =>
+  Text -> m (W.Response ByteString)
+_get url = liftIO $ W.get (T.unpack url)
+
+-- TODO move to more general utilities
+-- Performs repeated polling until the result can be converted
+-- to a certain other type.
+-- Int controls the delay in milliseconds between each poll.
+_pollMonad :: (MonadIO m) => m a -> Int -> (a -> Maybe b) -> m b
+_pollMonad rec delayMillis check = do
+  curr <- rec
+  case check curr of
+    Just res -> return res
+    Nothing -> do
+      _ <- liftIO $ threadDelay (delayMillis * 1000)
+      _pollMonad rec delayMillis check
+
+
+-- Creates a new session from a string containing a session ID.
+_createSparkSession :: SparkSessionConf -> Text -> Integer -> SparkSession
+_createSparkSession conf sessionId =
+  SparkSession conf sid where
+    sid = LocalSessionId sessionId
+
+-- The URL of the end point
+_sessionEndPoint :: SparkSession -> Text
+_sessionEndPoint sess =
+  let port = (pack . show . confPort . ssConf) sess
+      sid = (unLocalSession . ssId) sess
+  in
+    T.concat [
+      (confEndPoint . ssConf) sess, ":", port,
+      "/session/", sid]
+
+_sessionPortText :: SparkSession -> Text
+_sessionPortText = pack . show . confPort . ssConf
+
+-- The URL of the computation end point
+_compEndPoint :: SparkSession -> ComputationID -> Text
+_compEndPoint sess compId =
+  let port = _sessionPortText sess
+      sid = (unLocalSession . ssId) sess
+      cid = unComputationID compId
+  in
+    T.concat [
+      (confEndPoint . ssConf) sess, ":", port,
+      "/computation/", sid, "/", cid]
+
+-- The URL of the status of a computation
+_compEndPointStatus :: SparkSession -> ComputationID -> Text
+_compEndPointStatus sess compId =
+  let port = _sessionPortText sess
+      sid = (unLocalSession . ssId) sess
+      cid = unComputationID compId
+  in
+    T.concat [
+      (confEndPoint . ssConf) sess, ":", port,
+      "/status/", sid, "/", cid]
+
+-- Ensures that the server has instantiated a session with the given ID.
+_ensureSession :: (MonadLoggerIO m) => SparkSession -> m ()
+_ensureSession session = do
+  let url = _sessionEndPoint session <> "/create"
+  -- logDebugN $ "url:" <> url
+  _ <- _post url (toJSON 'a')
+  return ()
+
+
+_sendComputation :: (MonadLoggerIO m) => SparkSession -> Computation -> m ()
+_sendComputation session comp = do
+  let base' = _compEndPoint session (cId comp)
+  let url = base' <> "/create"
+  logInfoN $ "Sending computations at url: " <> url
+  _ <- _post url (toJSON (cNodes comp))
+  return ()
+
+_computationStatus :: (MonadLoggerIO m) =>
+  SparkSession -> ComputationID -> NodeName -> m PossibleNodeStatus
+_computationStatus session compId nname = do
+  let base' = _compEndPointStatus session compId
+  let rest = unNodeName nname
+  let url = base' <> "/" <> rest
+  logDebugN $ "Sending computations status request at url: " <> url
+  _ <- _get url
+  -- raw <- _get url
+  --logDebugN $ sformat ("Got raw status: "%sh) raw
+  status <- liftIO (W.asJSON =<< W.get (T.unpack url) :: IO (W.Response PossibleNodeStatus))
+  --logDebugN $ sformat ("Got status: "%sh) status
+  let s = status ^. responseBody
+  case s of
+    NodeFinishedSuccess _ -> logInfoN $ rest <> " finished: success"
+    NodeFinishedFailure _ -> logInfoN $ rest <> " finished: failure"
+    _ -> return ()
+  return s
+
+
+_waitSingleComputation :: (MonadLoggerIO m) =>
+  SparkSession -> Computation -> NodeName -> m FinalResult
+_waitSingleComputation session comp nname =
+  let
+    extract :: PossibleNodeStatus -> Maybe FinalResult
+    extract (NodeFinishedSuccess s) = Just $ Right s
+    extract (NodeFinishedFailure f) = Just $ Left f
+    extract _ = Nothing
+    -- getStatus :: m PossibleNodeStatus
+    getStatus = _computationStatus session (cId comp) nname
+    i = confPollingIntervalMillis $ ssConf session
+  in
+    _pollMonad getStatus i extract
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInteractive.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInteractive.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInteractive.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+-- | Functions to create and manipulate one default context.
+--
+-- This is most appropriate when working in an interactive session,
+-- during which it is usually clear that there is a single
+-- Spark context in use.
+--
+-- This module uses unsafe Haskell code that should not be used
+-- outside prototyping in an interactive REPL. In any good case,
+-- you should use the SparkState monad.
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInteractive(
+  SparkInteractiveException,
+  createSparkSessionDef,
+  exec1Def,
+  closeSparkSessionDef
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Control.Exception
+import Control.Monad.Catch(throwM)
+import Data.IORef
+import Data.Typeable
+import Control.Monad.State(runStateT)
+import Data.Text
+import System.IO.Unsafe(unsafePerformIO)
+import Control.Monad.Logger(runStdoutLoggingT)
+
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextIOInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenericsFrom(FromSQL)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+
+-- The global session reference. Should not be accessed outside
+-- this file.
+_globalSessionRef :: IORef (Maybe SparkSession)
+{-# NOINLINE _globalSessionRef #-}
+_globalSessionRef = unsafePerformIO (newIORef Nothing)
+
+-- | The exception thrown when a request cannot be completed
+-- in an interactive session.
+data SparkInteractiveException = SparkInteractiveException {
+  _sieInner :: NodeError
+} deriving Typeable
+
+instance Show SparkInteractiveException where
+  show (SparkInteractiveException inner) =
+    show inner
+
+instance Exception SparkInteractiveException
+
+{- | Creates a spark session that will be used as the default session.
+
+If a session already exists, an exception will be thrown.
+ -}
+createSparkSessionDef :: (HasCallStack) => SparkSessionConf -> IO ()
+createSparkSessionDef conf = do
+  current <- _currentSession
+  case current of
+    Nothing ->
+      return ()
+    Just _ ->
+      -- TODO let users change the state
+      _throw "A default context already exist. If you wish to modify the exsting context, you must use modifySparkConfDef"
+  new <- createSparkSession' conf
+  _setSession new
+  return ()
+
+{- | Executes a command using the default spark session.
+
+This is the most unsafe way of running a command:
+it executes a command using the default spark session, and
+throws an exception if any error happens.
+ -}
+exec1Def :: (FromSQL a, HasCallStack) => LocalData a -> IO a
+exec1Def ld = do
+  mCtx <- _currentSession
+  case mCtx of
+    Nothing ->
+      _throw "No default context found. You must first create a default spark context with createSparkSessionDef"
+    Just ctx -> do
+      (res, newSt) <- (runStateT . runStdoutLoggingT . executeCommand1) ld ctx
+      _setSession newSt
+      case res of
+        Right x ->
+          return x
+        Left err ->
+          throwM (SparkInteractiveException err)
+
+{-| Closes the default session. The default session is empty after this call
+completes.
+
+NOTE: This does not currently clear up the resources! It is a stub implementation
+used in testing.
+-}
+closeSparkSessionDef :: (HasCallStack) => IO ()
+closeSparkSessionDef = do
+  _ <- _removeSession
+  return ()
+
+_currentSession :: (HasCallStack) => IO (Maybe SparkSession)
+_currentSession = readIORef _globalSessionRef
+
+_setSession :: (HasCallStack) => SparkSession -> IO ()
+_setSession st = writeIORef _globalSessionRef (Just st)
+
+_removeSession :: (HasCallStack) => IO (Maybe SparkSession)
+_removeSession = do
+  current <- _currentSession
+  _ <- writeIORef _globalSessionRef Nothing
+  return current
+
+_throw :: (HasCallStack) => Text -> IO a
+_throw txt = throwM $
+  SparkInteractiveException Error {
+    ePath = NodePath V.empty,
+    eMessage = txt
+  }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInternal.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInternal.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextInternal.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+-- Functions to build the graph of computations.
+-- The following steps are performed:
+--  - typing checking
+--  - caching checks
+--  - building the final json
+--
+-- All the functions in this module are pure and use SparkStatePure for transforms.
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInternal(
+  FinalResult,
+  prepareExecution1,
+  buildComputationGraph,
+  performGraphTransforms,
+  getTargetNodes,
+  storeResults,
+) where
+
+import Control.Monad.State(get, put)
+import Control.Monad(forM)
+import Data.Text(pack)
+import Debug.Trace(trace)
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Formatting
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Caching
+import Spark.Core.Internal.CachingUntyped
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Client
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag
+import Spark.Core.Internal.PathsUntyped
+-- Required to import the instances.
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Paths()
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions(arrayType)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions(buildVertexList)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- The result from querying the status of a computation
+type FinalResult = Either NodeComputationFailure NodeComputationSuccess
+
+
+-- The main function that takes a single output point and
+-- tries to transform it as a valid computation.
+prepareExecution1 :: LocalData a -> SparkStatePure (Try Computation)
+prepareExecution1 ld = get >>= \session ->
+  let cg = buildComputationGraph ld
+      cg' = performGraphTransforms =<< cg
+      comp = _buildComputation session =<< cg'
+  in case comp of
+      Left _ -> return comp
+      Right _ -> do
+        _increaseCompCounter
+        return comp
+
+-- Here are the steps being run
+--  - node collection + cycle detection
+--  - naming:
+--    -> everything after that can be done with names, and on server
+--    -> for convenience, the vertex ids will be still the hash ids
+--  - verification of cache/uncache
+--  - deconstruction of unions and aggregations
+--  - caching swap
+--
+-- There is a lot more that could be done (merging the aggregations, etc.)
+-- but it is outside the scope of this MVP.
+
+{-| Builds the computation graph by expanding a single node until a transitive
+closure is reached.
+
+It performs the naming, node deduplication and cycle detection.
+
+TODO(kps) use the caching information to have a correct fringe
+-}
+buildComputationGraph :: ComputeNode loc a -> Try ComputeGraph
+buildComputationGraph ld = do
+  cg <- tryEither $ buildCGraph (untyped ld)
+  assignPathsUntyped cg
+
+{-| Performs all the operations that are done on the compute graph:
+
+- fullfilling autocache requests
+- checking the cache/uncache pairs
+- deconstructions of the unions (in the future)
+
+This could all be done on the server side at this point.
+-}
+performGraphTransforms :: ComputeGraph -> Try ComputeGraph
+performGraphTransforms cg = do
+  let g = traceHint "_performGraphTransforms g=" $ computeGraphToGraph cg
+  let acg = traceHint "_performGraphTransforms: After autocaching:" $ fillAutoCache cachingType autocacheGen g
+  g' <- tryEither acg
+  failures <- tryEither $ checkCaching g' cachingType
+  case failures of
+    [] -> return (graphToComputeGraph g')
+    _ -> tryError $ sformat ("Found some caching errors: "%sh) failures
+
+_buildComputation :: SparkSession -> ComputeGraph -> Try Computation
+_buildComputation session cg =
+  let sid = ssId session
+      cid = (ComputationID . pack . show . ssCommandCounter) session
+      tiedCg = tieNodes cg
+      allNodes = vertexData <$> toList (cdVertices tiedCg)
+      terminalNodeNames = nodeName . vertexData <$> toList (cdOutputs tiedCg)
+  -- TODO it is missing the first node here, hoping it is the first one.
+  in case terminalNodeNames of
+    [name] ->
+      return $ Computation sid cid allNodes [name] name
+    _ -> tryError $ sformat ("Programming error in _build1: cg="%sh) cg
+
+_increaseCompCounter :: SparkStatePure ()
+_increaseCompCounter = get >>= \session ->
+  let
+    curr = ssCommandCounter session
+    session2 = session { ssCommandCounter =  curr + 1 }
+  in put session2
+
+-- Given an end point, gathers all the nodes reachable from there.
+_gatherNodes :: LocalData a -> Try [UntypedNode]
+_gatherNodes = tryEither . buildVertexList . untyped
+
+_extractionType :: SQLType a -> SQLType [a]
+_extractionType = arrayType . SQLType . unSQLType
+
+-- Like the type, remove the row wrapper in the case of basic elements
+-- TODO(kps) figure out what the exact semantics are.
+-- It seems collect is behaving differently than the other nodes.
+_postprocessBasic :: (HasCallStack) => Cell -> Cell
+_postprocessBasic (RowArray rows) =
+  RowArray (process <$> rows)  where
+    process (RowArray arr) = case V.toList arr of
+       [IntElement x] -> IntElement x
+       [StringElement x] -> StringElement x
+       _ -> RowArray arr
+    process x = x
+_postprocessBasic x = x
+  --failure $ "Could not interpret this cell: " ++ show x
+
+-- Given a result, tries to build the corresponding object out of it
+_extract1 :: FinalResult -> SQLType Cell -> Try Cell
+_extract1 (Left nf) _ = tryError $ sformat ("got an error "%shown) nf
+_extract1 (Right ncs) sqlt = res0 where
+  -- Because of the Row semantics, all results are wrappend in a row.
+  -- We are using the equivalence between arrays and rows during decoding here.
+  wrappingType = _extractionType sqlt
+  trow = tryEither $ jsonToCell (unSQLType wrappingType) (ncsData ncs)
+  res = trow >>= \l -> case l of
+      RowArray arr | V.length arr == 1 -> Right $ _postprocessBasic (V.head arr)
+      x -> tryError $ sformat ("ContextInternal:_extract1: Expected on element, got "%shown) x
+  res0 = trace ("_extract1: wrappingType = " ++ show wrappingType ++ " ncs = " ++ show ncs ++ " res = " ++ show res) res
+
+
+-- Gets the relevant nodes for this computation from this spark session.
+-- The computation is assumed to be correct and to contain all the nodes
+-- already.
+-- TODO: make it a total function
+getTargetNodes :: (HasCallStack) => Computation -> [UntypedLocalData]
+getTargetNodes comp =
+  let
+    fun2 :: (HasCallStack) => UntypedNode -> UntypedLocalData
+    fun2 n = case asLocalObservable <$> castLocality n of
+      Right (Right x) -> x
+      err -> failure $ sformat ("_getNodes:fun2: err="%shown%" n="%shown) err n
+    finalNodeNames = traceHint "_getTargetNodes: finalNodeNames=" $cTerminalNodes comp
+    dct = traceHint "_getTargetNodes: dct=" $ M.fromList $ (nodeName &&& id) <$> cNodes comp
+    untyped' = finalNodeNames <&> \n ->
+      let err = failure $ sformat ("Could not find "%sh%" in "%sh) n dct
+      in M.findWithDefault err n dct
+  in fun2 <$> untyped'
+
+
+-- Stores the results of the computation in the state (so that we can accelerate the
+-- next sessions) and returns the expected final results (as a Cell to be converted)
+storeResults :: Computation -> [(LocalData Cell, FinalResult)] -> SparkStatePure (Try Cell)
+storeResults comp [] = return e where
+  e = tryError $ sformat ("No result returned for computation "%shown) comp
+storeResults _ res =
+  let
+    fun4 :: (LocalData Cell, FinalResult) -> Try Cell
+    fun4 (node, fresult) =
+      trace ("_storeResults node=" ++ show node ++ "final = " ++ show fresult) $
+        _extract1 fresult (nodeType node)
+    allResults = sequence $ forM res fun4
+    expResult = head allResults -- Just accessing the final result for now
+  in
+    -- TODO store the results:
+    return expResult
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/ContextStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures(
+  SparkSessionConf(..),
+  SparkSession(..),
+  SparkState,
+  SparkStatePure,
+  ComputeGraph
+) where
+
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Control.Monad.State(StateT, State)
+import Control.Monad.Logger(LoggingT)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Client(LocalSessionId)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag(ComputeDag)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures(UntypedNode, StructureEdge)
+
+-- | The configuration of a remote spark session in krapsh.
+data SparkSessionConf = SparkSessionConf {
+ -- | The URL of the end point.
+  confEndPoint :: !Text,
+  -- | The port used to configure the end point.
+  confPort :: !Int,
+  -- | (internal) the polling interval
+  confPollingIntervalMillis :: !Int,
+  -- | (optional) the requested name of the session.
+  -- This name must obey a number of rules:
+  --  - it must consist in alphanumerical and -,_: [a-zA-Z0-9\-_]
+  --  - if it already exists on the server, it will be reconnected to
+  --
+  -- The default value is "" (a new random context name will be chosen).
+  confRequestedSessionName :: !Text
+} deriving (Show)
+
+-- | A session in Spark.
+-- Encapsualates all the state needed to communicate with Spark
+-- and to perfor some simple optimizations on the code.
+data SparkSession = SparkSession {
+  ssConf :: SparkSessionConf,
+  ssId :: LocalSessionId,
+  ssCommandCounter :: Integer
+} deriving (Show)
+
+-- | Represents the state of a session and accounts for the communication
+-- with the server.
+type SparkState a = LoggingT (StateT SparkSession IO) a
+
+-- More minimalistic state transforms when doing pure evaluation.
+-- (internal type)
+type SparkStatePure x = State SparkSession x
+
+{-| internal
+
+A graph of computations. This graph is a direct acyclic graph. Each node is
+associated to a global path.
+-}
+type ComputeGraph = ComputeDag UntypedNode StructureEdge
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,315 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+{-| A set of utility functions to build and transform DAGs.
+
+Because I could not find a public library for such transforms.
+
+Most krapsh manipulations are converted into graph manipulations.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions(
+  DagTry,
+  -- Building
+  buildGraph,
+  buildVertexList,
+  buildGraphFromList,
+  -- Queries
+  graphSinks,
+  graphSources,
+  -- Transforms
+  graphMapVertices,
+  graphMapVertices',
+  vertexMap,
+  graphFlatMapEdges,
+  graphMapEdges,
+  reverseGraph,
+  verticesAndEdges,
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Set as S
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.List(sortBy)
+import Data.Maybe
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Control.Monad.Except
+import Formatting
+import Control.Monad.Identity
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- | Separate type of error to make it more general and easier
+-- to test.
+type DagTry a = Either Text a
+
+{-| Starts from a vertex and expands the vertex to reach all the transitive
+closure of the vertex.
+
+Returns a list in lexicographic order of dependencies: the graph corresponding
+to this list of elements has one sink (the start element) and potentially
+multiple sources. The nodes are ordered so that all the parents are visited
+before the node itself.
+-}
+buildVertexList :: (GraphVertexOperations v, Show v) => v -> DagTry [v]
+buildVertexList x = buildVertexListBounded x []
+
+{-| Builds the list of vertices, up to a boundary.
+-}
+buildVertexListBounded :: (GraphVertexOperations v, Show v) =>
+  v -> [v] -> DagTry [v]
+buildVertexListBounded x boundary =
+  let
+    boundaryIds = S.fromList $ vertexToId <$> boundary
+    traversals = toList $ _buildList boundaryIds [x] M.empty
+    lexico = _lexicographic vertexToId traversals in lexico
+
+-- | Builds a graph by expanding a start vertex.
+buildGraph :: forall v e. (GraphOperations v e, Show v, Show e) =>
+  v -> DagTry (Graph v e)
+buildGraph start = buildVertexList start <&> \vxData ->
+  let vertices = [Vertex (vertexToId vx) vx | vx <- vxData]
+      -- The edges and vertices are already in the right order, no need
+      -- to do further checks
+      f :: v -> (VertexId, V.Vector (VertexEdge e v))
+      f x =
+        let vid = vertexToId x
+            g :: (e, v) -> VertexEdge e v
+            g (ed, x') =
+              let toId = vertexToId x'
+                  v' = Vertex toId x'
+                  e = Edge vid toId ed
+              in VertexEdge v' e
+            vedges = g <$> expandVertex x
+        in (vid, V.fromList vedges)
+      vxs = traceHint "buildGraph: vertices=" $ V.fromList vertices
+      edges = traceHint "buildGraph: edges=" $ f <$> vxData
+      adj = M.fromList edges
+  in Graph adj vxs
+
+{-| Attempts to build a graph from a collection of vertices and edges.
+
+This collection may be invalid (cycles, etc.) and the vertices need not
+be in topological order.
+
+All the vertices referred by edges must be present in the list of vertices.
+-}
+buildGraphFromList :: forall v e. (Show v, Show e) =>
+  [Vertex v] -> [Edge e] -> DagTry (Graph v e)
+buildGraphFromList vxs eds = do
+  -- 1. Group the edges by start point
+  -- 2. Find the lexicgraphic order (if possible)
+  vxById <- _vertexById vxs
+  -- The topological information
+  let edTopo = myGroupBy $ (edgeFrom &&& edgeTo) <$> eds
+  let vertexById :: VertexId -> DagTry (Vertex v)
+      vertexById vid = case M.lookup vid vxById of
+        Nothing -> throwError $ sformat ("buildGraphFromList: vertex id found in edge but not in vertices: "%sh) vid
+        Just vx -> pure vx
+  let f :: Vertex v -> DagTry (Vertex v, [Vertex v])
+      f vx =
+        let links = M.findWithDefault [] (vertexId vx) edTopo
+        in sequence (vertexById <$> links) <&> \l -> (vx, l)
+  verticesWithEnds <- sequence $ f <$> vxs
+  let indexedVertices = zip [1..] verticesWithEnds <&> \(idx, (vx, l)) -> (idx, vx, l)
+  -- The nodes in lexicographic order.
+  lexico <- _lexicographic vertexId indexedVertices
+  -- Build the edge map:
+  -- vertexFromId -> vertexEdge
+  let vertexEdge :: Edge e -> DagTry (VertexId, VertexEdge e v)
+      vertexEdge e = do
+        vxTo <- vertexById (edgeTo e)
+        -- Used to confirm that the start vertex is here
+        _ <- vertexById (edgeFrom e)
+        return (edgeFrom e, VertexEdge vxTo e)
+  vEdges <- sequence $ vertexEdge <$> eds
+  let edgeMap = M.map V.fromList (myGroupBy vEdges)
+  return $ Graph edgeMap (V.fromList lexico)
+
+_vertexById :: (Show v) => [Vertex v] -> DagTry (M.Map VertexId (Vertex v))
+_vertexById vxs =
+  -- This is probably not the most pretty, but it works.
+  let vxById = myGroupBy $ (vertexId &&& id) <$> vxs
+      f (vid, [vx]) = pure (vid, vx)
+      f (vid, l) = throwError $ sformat ("_VertexById: Multiple vertices with the same id: "%sh%" in "%sh) vid l
+  in M.fromList <$> sequence (f <$> M.toList vxById)
+
+-- This implementation is not very efficient and is probably a performance
+-- bottleneck.
+-- Int is the traversal order. It is just used to break the ties.
+-- VertexId is the node id of the vertex.
+_lexicographic :: (v -> VertexId) -> [(Int, v, [v])] -> DagTry [v]
+_lexicographic _ [] = return []
+_lexicographic f m =
+  -- We use the traversal ordering to separate the ties.
+  -- The first nodes traversed get priority.
+  let fcmp (idx, _, []) (idx', _, []) = compare idx idx'
+      fcmp (_, _, []) (_, _, _) = LT
+      fcmp (_, _, _) (_, _, []) = GT
+      fcmp (_, _, _) (_, _, _) = EQ -- This one does not matter
+  in case sortBy fcmp m of
+    [] -> throwError "_lexicographic: there is a cycle"
+    ((_, v, _) : t) ->
+      let currentId = f v
+          removeCurrentId l = [v' | v' <- l, f v' /= currentId]
+          m' = t <&> \(idx, v', l) -> (idx, v', removeCurrentId l)
+          tl = _lexicographic f m'
+      in (v :) <$> tl
+
+
+_buildList :: (Show v, GraphVertexOperations v) =>
+  S.Set VertexId -> -- boundary ids, they will not be traversed
+  [v] -> -- fringe ids
+  M.Map VertexId (Int, v, [v]) -> -- all seen ids so far (the intermediate result)
+  M.Map VertexId (Int, v, [v])
+_buildList boundary fringe =
+  _buildListGeneral boundary fringe expandVertexAsVertices
+
+-- (internal)
+-- Gathers the list of all the nodes connected through this graph
+--
+-- The expansion function in that case can be controlled.
+--
+-- The expansion is done in a DFS manner (the order of the node is unique).
+_buildListGeneral :: (Show v, GraphVertexOperations v) =>
+  S.Set VertexId -> -- boundary ids, they will not be traversed
+  [v] -> -- fringe ids: the nodes that have been touched but not expanded.
+  (v -> [v]) -> -- The expansion function. They will be the next nodes to expand.
+  -- all seen ids so far (the intermediate result)
+  -- along with the index of the node during the traversal, and the
+  -- node itself.
+  M.Map VertexId (Int, v, [v]) ->
+  M.Map VertexId (Int, v, [v])
+_buildListGeneral _ [] _ allSeen = allSeen
+_buildListGeneral boundaryIds (x : t) expand allSeen =
+  let vid = vertexToId x in
+  if M.member vid allSeen || S.member vid boundaryIds then
+    _buildListGeneral boundaryIds t expand allSeen
+  else
+    let nextVertices = expand x
+        currIdx = M.size allSeen
+        allSeen2 = M.insert vid (currIdx, x, nextVertices) allSeen
+        filterFun y = not $ M.member (vertexToId y) allSeen2
+        nextVertices2 = filter filterFun nextVertices
+    in _buildListGeneral boundaryIds (nextVertices2 ++ t) expand allSeen2
+
+{-| The sources of a DAG (nodes with no parent).
+-}
+graphSources :: Graph v e -> [Vertex v]
+graphSources g =
+  let hasParent = do
+        vedges <- toList (gEdges g)
+        edge <- toList vedges
+        return . vertexId . veEndVertex $ edge
+      hasPSet = S.fromList hasParent
+      -- false iff the vertex has an incoming edge
+      filt vx = not (S.member (vertexId vx) hasPSet)
+  in filter filt (toList (gVertices g))
+
+{-| The sinks of a graph (nodes with no descendant).
+-}
+graphSinks :: Graph v e -> [Vertex v]
+graphSinks g =
+  let f vx = V.null (M.findWithDefault V.empty (vertexId vx) (gEdges g))
+  in filter f (toList (gVertices g))
+
+-- | Flips the edges of this graph (it is also a DAG)
+reverseGraph :: forall v e. (HasCallStack, Show v, Show e) => Graph v e -> Graph v e
+reverseGraph g =
+  let
+    vxMap = M.fromList ((vertexId &&& id) <$> toList (gVertices g))
+    flipVEdge :: (VertexId, V.Vector (VertexEdge e v)) -> [(VertexId, VertexEdge e v)]
+    flipVEdge (fromNid, vec) = case M.lookup fromNid vxMap of
+      Nothing -> [] -- Should be a programming error
+      Just endVx ->
+        toList vec <&> \ve ->
+          let ed = veEdge ve
+              oldEndVx = veEndVertex ve
+              oldEndVid = vertexId oldEndVx
+              ed' = Edge {
+                edgeFrom = oldEndVid,
+                edgeTo = fromNid,
+                edgeData = edgeData ed }
+          in (oldEndVid, VertexEdge { veEdge = ed', veEndVertex = endVx })
+    edges = myGroupBy $ concat $ flipVEdge <$> M.toList (gEdges g)
+  in Graph (V.fromList <$> edges) (V.reverse (gVertices g))
+
+-- | A generic transform over the graph that may account for potential failures
+-- in the process.
+graphMapVertices :: forall m v e v2. (HasCallStack, Show v2, Show v, Show e, Monad m) =>
+  Graph v e -> -- The start graph
+  (v -> [(v2,e)] -> m v2) -> -- The transform
+  m (Graph v2 e)
+graphMapVertices g f =
+  let
+    fun :: M.Map VertexId v2 -> [Vertex v] -> m [Vertex v2]
+    fun _ [] = return []
+    fun done (vx : t) =
+      let
+        vid = vertexId vx
+        parents = V.toList $ fromMaybe V.empty $ M.lookup vid (gEdges g)
+        parentEdges = veEdge <$> parents
+        getPairs :: Edge e -> (v2, e)
+        getPairs ed =
+          let vidTo = edgeTo ed
+              msg = sformat ("graphMapVertices: Could not locate "%shown%" in "%shown)vidTo done
+              -- The edges are flowing from child -> parent so
+              -- to == parent
+              vert = fromMaybe (failure msg) (M.lookup vidTo done)
+            in (vert, edgeData ed)
+        parents2 = [getPairs ed | ed <- parentEdges]
+        -- parents2 = [fromJust $ M.lookup vidFrom done | vidFrom <- parentVids]
+        merge0 :: v2 -> m [Vertex v2]
+        merge0 vx2Data =
+          let done2 = M.insert vid vx2Data done
+              vx2 = vx { vertexData = vx2Data }
+              rest = fun done2 t in
+            (vx2 : ) <$> rest
+      in
+        f (vertexData vx) parents2 >>= merge0
+  in do
+    verts2 <- fun M.empty (toList (gVertices g))
+    let
+      idxs2 = M.fromList [(vertexId vx2, vx2) | vx2 <- verts2]
+      trans :: Vertex v -> Vertex v2
+      trans vx = fromJust $ M.lookup (vertexId vx) idxs2
+      conv :: VertexEdge e v -> VertexEdge e v2
+      conv (VertexEdge vx1 e1) = VertexEdge (trans vx1) e1
+      adj2 = M.map (conv <$>) (gEdges g)
+    return Graph { gEdges = adj2, gVertices = V.fromList verts2 }
+
+-- | (internal) Maps the edges
+graphMapEdges :: Graph v e -> (e -> e') -> Graph v e'
+graphMapEdges g f = graphFlatMapEdges g ((:[]) . f)
+
+-- | (internal) Maps and the edges, and may create more or less.
+graphFlatMapEdges :: Graph v e -> (e -> [e']) -> Graph v e'
+graphFlatMapEdges g f = g { gEdges = edges } where
+  fun (VertexEdge vx ed) =
+    f (edgeData ed) <&> \ed' -> VertexEdge vx (ed { edgeData = ed' })
+  edges = (V.fromList . concatMap fun) <$> gEdges g
+
+-- | (internal) Maps the vertices.
+graphMapVertices' :: (Show v, Show e, Show v') => (v -> v') -> Graph v e -> Graph v' e
+graphMapVertices' f g =
+  runIdentity (graphMapVertices g f') where
+    f' v _ = return $ f v
+
+-- | The map of vertices, by vertex id.
+vertexMap :: Graph v e -> M.Map VertexId v
+vertexMap g =
+  M.fromList . toList $ gVertices g <&> (vertexId &&& vertexData)
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The vertices in lexicographic order, and the originating edges for these
+-- vertices.
+verticesAndEdges :: Graph v e -> [([(v, e)],v)]
+verticesAndEdges g =
+  toList (gVertices g) <&> \vx ->
+    let n = vertexData vx
+        l = V.toList $ M.findWithDefault V.empty (vertexId vx) (gEdges g)
+        lres = [(vertexData vx', edgeData e') | (VertexEdge vx' e') <- l]
+    in (lres, n)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+{-| Data structures to represent Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs).
+
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures where
+
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Data.ByteString(ByteString)
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import Data.Hashable(Hashable)
+import GHC.Generics(Generic)
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- | The unique ID of a vertex.
+newtype VertexId = VertexId { unVertexId :: ByteString } deriving (Eq, Ord, Generic)
+
+
+-- | An edge in a graph, parametrized by some payload.
+data Edge e = Edge {
+  edgeFrom :: !VertexId,
+  edgeTo :: !VertexId,
+  edgeData :: !e
+}
+
+-- | A vertex in a graph, parametrized by some payload.
+data Vertex v = Vertex {
+  vertexId :: !VertexId,
+  vertexData :: !v
+}
+
+{-| An edge, along with its end node.
+-}
+data VertexEdge e v = VertexEdge {
+    veEndVertex :: !(Vertex v),
+    veEdge :: !(Edge e) }
+
+{-| The adjacency map of a graph.
+
+The node Id corresponds to the start node, the pairs are the end node and
+and the edge to reach to the node. There may be multiple edges leading to the
+same node.
+-}
+type AdjacencyMap v e = M.Map VertexId (Vector (VertexEdge e v))
+
+-- | The representation of a graph.
+--
+-- In all the project, it is considered as a DAG.
+data Graph v e = Graph {
+  gEdges :: !(AdjacencyMap v e),
+  gVertices :: !(Vector (Vertex v))
+}
+
+-- | Graph operations on types that are supposed to
+-- represent vertices.
+class GraphVertexOperations v where
+  vertexToId :: v -> VertexId
+  expandVertexAsVertices :: v -> [v]
+
+-- | Graph operations on types that are supposed to represent
+-- edges.
+class (GraphVertexOperations v) => GraphOperations v e where
+  expandVertex :: v -> [(e,v)]
+
+instance Functor Vertex where
+  fmap f vx = vx { vertexData = f (vertexData vx) }
+
+instance Functor Edge where
+  fmap f ed = ed { edgeData = f (edgeData ed) }
+
+instance (Show v) => Show (Vertex v) where
+  show vx = "Vertex(vId=" ++ show (vertexId vx) ++ " v=" ++ show (vertexData vx) ++ ")"
+
+instance (Show e) => Show (Edge e) where
+  show ed = "Edge(from=" ++ show (edgeFrom ed) ++ " to=" ++ show (edgeTo ed) ++ " e=" ++ show (edgeData ed) ++ ")"
+
+instance (Show v, Show e) => Show (VertexEdge e v) where
+  show (VertexEdge v e) = "(" ++ show v ++ ", " ++ show e ++ ")"
+
+instance (Show v, Show e) => Show (Graph v e) where
+  show g =
+    let vxs = toList $ gVertices g <&> \(Vertex vid x) ->
+          sformat (sh%":"%sh) vid x
+        vedges = foldMap toList (M.elems (gEdges g))
+        edges = (veEdge <$> vedges) <&> \(Edge efrom eto x) ->
+          sformat (sh%"->"%sh%"->"%sh) efrom x eto
+        -- eds = (M.elems (gEdges g)) `foldMap` \v ->
+        --   (toList v) <&>
+        vxs' = T.intercalate "," vxs
+        eds' = T.intercalate " " edges
+        str = T.concat ["Graph{", vxs', ", ", eds', "}"]
+    in T.unpack str
+
+instance Hashable VertexId
+
+instance Show VertexId where
+  show (VertexId bs) = let s = show bs in
+    if length s > 9 then
+      (drop 1 . take 6) s ++ ".."
+    else
+      s
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,509 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions(
+  parents,
+  untyped,
+  logicalParents,
+  depends,
+  dataframe,
+  asDF,
+  asDS,
+  asLocalObservable,
+  -- Standard functions
+  identity,
+  autocache,
+  cache,
+  uncache,
+  union,
+  -- Developer
+  castLocality,
+  emptyDataset,
+  emptyLocalData,
+  emptyNodeStandard,
+  nodeId,
+  nodeLogicalDependencies,
+  nodeLogicalParents,
+  nodeLocality,
+  nodeName,
+  nodePath,
+  nodeOp,
+  nodeParents,
+  nodeType,
+  untypedDataset,
+  updateNode,
+  -- Developer conversions
+  fun1ToOpTyped,
+  fun2ToOpTyped,
+  nodeOpToFun1,
+  nodeOpToFun1Typed,
+  nodeOpToFun1Untyped,
+  nodeOpToFun2,
+  nodeOpToFun2Typed,
+  -- Internal
+  opnameCache,
+  opnameUnpersist,
+  opnameAutocache,
+
+) where
+
+import qualified Crypto.Hash.SHA256 as SHA
+import qualified Data.Aeson as A
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Data.Text.Format as TF
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.Aeson((.=), toJSON)
+import Data.Text.Encoding(decodeUtf8)
+import Data.ByteString.Base16(encode)
+import Data.Maybe(fromMaybe, listToMaybe)
+import Data.Text.Lazy(toStrict)
+import Data.String(IsString(fromString))
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtils
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesGenerics
+
+-- | (developer) The operation performed by this node.
+nodeOp :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodeOp
+nodeOp = _cnOp
+
+-- | The nodes this node depends on directly.
+nodeParents :: ComputeNode loc a -> [UntypedNode]
+nodeParents = V.toList . _cnParents
+
+-- | (developer) Returns the logical parenst of a node.
+nodeLogicalParents :: ComputeNode loc a -> Maybe [UntypedNode]
+nodeLogicalParents = (V.toList <$>) . _cnLogicalParents
+
+-- | Returns the logical dependencies of a node.
+nodeLogicalDependencies :: ComputeNode loc a -> [UntypedNode]
+nodeLogicalDependencies = V.toList . _cnLogicalDeps
+
+-- | The name of a node.
+-- TODO: should be a NodePath
+nodeName :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodeName
+nodeName node = fromMaybe (_defaultNodeName node) (_cnName node)
+
+{-| The path of a node, as resolved.
+
+This path includes information about the logical parents (after resolution).
+-}
+nodePath :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodePath
+nodePath node =
+  if V.null . unNodePath . _cnPath $ node
+    then NodePath . V.singleton . nodeName $ node
+    else _cnPath node
+
+-- | The type of the node
+-- TODO have nodeType' for dynamic types as well
+nodeType :: ComputeNode loc a -> SQLType a
+nodeType = SQLType . _cnType
+
+{-| The identity function.
+
+Returns a compute node with the same datatype and the same content as the
+previous node. If the operation of the input has a side effect, this side
+side effect is *not* reevaluated.
+
+This operation is typically used when establishing an ordering between some
+operations such as caching or side effects, along with `logicalDependencies`.
+-}
+identity :: ComputeNode loc a -> ComputeNode loc a
+identity n = n2 `parents` [untyped n]
+  where n2 = emptyNodeStandard (nodeLocality n) (nodeType n) name
+        name = if _cnLocality n == Local
+                then "org.spark.LocalIdentity"
+                else "org.spark.Identity"
+
+{-| Caches the dataset.
+
+This function instructs Spark to cache a dataset with the default persistence
+level in Spark (MEMORY_AND_DISK).
+
+Note that the dataset will have to be evaluated first for the caching to take
+effect, so it is usual to call `count` or other aggregrators to force
+the caching to occur.
+-}
+cache :: Dataset a -> Dataset a
+cache  n = n2 `parents` [untyped n]
+  where n2 = emptyNodeStandard (nodeLocality n) (nodeType n) opnameCache
+
+-- (internal)
+opnameCache :: T.Text
+opnameCache = "org.spark.Cache"
+
+{-| Uncaches the dataset.
+
+This function instructs Spark to unmark the dataset as cached. The disk and the
+memory used by Spark in the future.
+
+Unlike Spark, Krapsh is stricter with the uncaching operation:
+ - the argument of cache must be a cached dataset
+ - once a dataset is uncached, its cached version cannot be used again (i.e. it
+   must be recomputed).
+
+Krapsh performs escape analysis and will refuse to run programs with caching
+issues.
+-}
+uncache :: ComputeNode loc a -> ComputeNode loc a
+uncache  n = n2 `parents` [untyped n]
+  where n2 = emptyNodeStandard (nodeLocality n) (nodeType n) opnameUnpersist
+
+-- (internal)
+opnameUnpersist :: T.Text
+opnameUnpersist = "org.spark.Unpersist"
+
+{-| Automatically caches the dataset on a need basis, and performs deallocation
+when the dataset is not required.
+
+This function marks a dataset as eligible for the default caching level in
+Spark. The current implementation performs caching only if it can be established
+that the dataset is going to be involved in more than one shuffling or
+aggregation operation.
+
+If the dataset has no observable child, no uncaching operation is added: the
+autocache operation is equivalent to unconditional caching.
+-}
+autocache :: Dataset a -> Dataset a
+autocache n = n2 `parents` [untyped n]
+  where n2 = emptyNodeStandard (nodeLocality n) (nodeType n) opnameAutocache
+
+opnameAutocache :: T.Text
+opnameAutocache = "org.spark.Autocache"
+
+{-| Returns the union of two datasets.
+
+In the context of streaming and differentiation, this union is biased towards
+the left: the left argument expresses the stream and the right element expresses
+the increment.
+-}
+union :: Dataset a -> Dataset a -> Dataset a
+union n1 n2 = n `parents` [untyped n1, untyped n2]
+  where n = emptyNodeStandard (nodeLocality n1) (nodeType n1) _opnameUnion
+
+_opnameUnion :: T.Text
+_opnameUnion = "org.spark.Union"
+
+-- | Converts to a dataframe and drops the type info.
+-- This always works.
+asDF :: ComputeNode LocDistributed a -> DataFrame
+asDF = pure . _unsafeCastNode
+
+-- | Attempts to convert a dataframe into a (typed) dataset.
+--
+-- This will fail if the dataframe itself is a failure, of if the casting
+-- operation is not correct.
+-- This operation assumes that both field names and types are correct.
+asDS :: forall a. (SQLTypeable a) => DataFrame -> Try (Dataset a)
+asDS df = do
+  n <- df
+  let dt = unSQLType (buildType :: SQLType a)
+  let dt' = unSQLType (nodeType n)
+  if dt == dt'
+    then pure (_unsafeCastNode n)
+    else tryError $ sformat ("Casting error: dataframe has type "%sh%" incompatible with type "%sh) dt' dt
+
+
+-- | Converts a local node to a local frame.
+-- This always works.
+asLocalObservable :: ComputeNode LocLocal a -> LocalFrame
+asLocalObservable = pure . _unsafeCastNode
+
+-- | Converts any node to an untyped node
+untyped :: ComputeNode loc a -> UntypedNode
+untyped = _unsafeCastNode
+
+untypedDataset :: ComputeNode LocDistributed a -> UntypedDataset
+untypedDataset = _unsafeCastNode
+
+{-| Adds parents to the node.
+It is assumed the parents are the unique set of nodes required
+by the operation defined in this node.
+If you want to set parents for the sake of organizing computation
+use logicalParents.
+If you want to add some timing dependencies between nodes,
+use depends.
+-}
+parents :: ComputeNode loc a -> [UntypedNode] -> ComputeNode loc a
+parents node l = updateNode node $ \n ->
+  n { _cnParents = V.fromList l V.++ _cnParents n }
+
+{-| Establishes a naming convention on this node: the path of this node will be
+determined as if the parents of this node were the list provided (and without
+any effect from the direct parents of this node).
+
+For this to work, the logical parents should split the nodes between internal
+nodes, logical parents, and the rest. In other words, for any ancestor of this node,
+and for any valid path to reach this ancestor, this path should include at least one
+node from the logical dependencies.
+
+This set can be a super set of the actual logical parents.
+
+The check is lazy (done during the analysis phase). An error (if any) will
+only be reported during analysis.
+-}
+logicalParents :: ComputeNode loc a -> [UntypedNode] -> ComputeNode loc a
+logicalParents node l = updateNode node $ \n ->
+  n { _cnLogicalParents = pure . V.fromList $ l }
+
+{-| Sets the logical dependencies on this node.
+
+All the nodes given will be guaranteed to be executed before the current node.
+
+If there are any failures, this node will also be treated as a failure (even
+if the parents are all successes).
+-}
+depends :: ComputeNode loc a -> [UntypedNode] -> ComputeNode loc a
+depends node l = updateNode node $ \n ->
+  n { _cnLogicalDeps = V.fromList l }
+
+
+-- (internal)
+-- Tries to update the locality of a node. This is a checked cast.
+-- TODO: remove, it is only used to cast to local frame
+castLocality :: forall a loc loc'. (
+  CheckedLocalityCast loc, CheckedLocalityCast loc') =>
+    ComputeNode loc a -> Try (ComputeNode loc' a)
+castLocality node =
+  let
+    loc2 = _cnLocality node
+    locs = unTypedLocality <$> (_validLocalityValues :: [TypedLocality loc'])
+  in if locs == [loc2] then
+    pure $ node { _cnLocality = loc2 }
+  else
+    tryError $ sformat ("Wrong locality :"%shown%", expected: "%shown) loc2 locs
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The id of a node. If it is not set in the node, it will be
+-- computed from scratch.
+-- This is a potentially long operation.
+nodeId :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodeId
+nodeId = _cnNodeId
+
+-- (internal)
+-- This operation should always be used to make sure that the
+-- various caches inside the compute node are maintained.
+updateNode :: ComputeNode loc a -> (ComputeNode loc a -> ComputeNode loc' b) -> ComputeNode loc' b
+updateNode ds f = ds2 { _cnNodeId = id2 } where
+  ds2 = f ds
+  id2 = _nodeId ds2
+
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The locality of the node
+nodeLocality :: ComputeNode loc a -> TypedLocality loc
+nodeLocality = TypedLocality . _cnLocality
+
+-- (internal)
+emptyDataset :: NodeOp -> SQLType a -> Dataset a
+emptyDataset = _emptyNode
+
+-- (internal)
+emptyLocalData :: NodeOp -> SQLType a -> LocalData a
+emptyLocalData = _emptyNode
+
+{-| Creates a dataframe from a list of cells and a datatype.
+
+Wil fail if the content of the cells is not compatible with the
+data type.
+-}
+dataframe :: DataType -> [Cell] -> DataFrame
+dataframe dt cells' = do
+  validCells <- tryEither $ sequence (checkCell dt <$> cells')
+  let jData = V.fromList (toJSON <$> validCells)
+  let op = NodeDistributedLit dt jData
+  return $ _emptyNode op (SQLType dt)
+
+
+-- *********** function / object conversions *******
+
+-- | (internal)
+placeholderTyped :: forall a loc. (IsLocality loc) =>
+  SQLType a -> ComputeNode loc a
+placeholderTyped tp =
+  let
+    so = makeOperator "org.spark.Placeholder" tp
+    (TypedLocality l) = _getTypedLocality :: TypedLocality loc
+    op = case l of
+      Local -> NodeLocalOp so
+      Distributed -> NodeDistributedOp so
+  in  _emptyNode op tp
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+fun1ToOpTyped :: forall a loc a' loc'. (IsLocality loc) =>
+  SQLType a -> (ComputeNode loc a -> ComputeNode loc' a') -> NodeOp
+fun1ToOpTyped sqlt f = nodeOp $ f (placeholderTyped sqlt)
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+fun2ToOpTyped :: forall a1 a2 a loc1 loc2 loc. (IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  SQLType a1 -> SQLType a2 -> (ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2 -> ComputeNode loc a) -> NodeOp
+fun2ToOpTyped sqlt1 sqlt2 f = nodeOp $ f (placeholderTyped sqlt1) (placeholderTyped sqlt2)
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+nodeOpToFun1 :: forall a1 a2 loc1 loc2. (IsLocality loc1, SQLTypeable a2, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2
+nodeOpToFun1 = nodeOpToFun1Typed (buildType :: SQLType a2)
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+nodeOpToFun1Typed :: forall a1 a2 loc1 loc2. (HasCallStack, IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  SQLType a2 -> NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2
+nodeOpToFun1Typed sqlt no node =
+  let n2 = _emptyNode no sqlt :: ComputeNode loc2 a2
+  in n2 `parents` [untyped node]
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+nodeOpToFun1Untyped :: forall loc1 loc2. (HasCallStack, IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  DataType -> NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc1 Cell -> ComputeNode loc2 Cell
+nodeOpToFun1Untyped dt no node =
+  let n2 = _emptyNode no (SQLType dt) :: ComputeNode loc2 Cell
+  in n2 `parents` [untyped node]
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+nodeOpToFun2 :: forall a a1 a2 loc loc1 loc2. (SQLTypeable a, IsLocality loc, IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2 -> ComputeNode loc a
+nodeOpToFun2 = nodeOpToFun2Typed (buildType :: SQLType a)
+
+-- | (internal) conversion
+nodeOpToFun2Typed :: forall a a1 a2 loc loc1 loc2. (IsLocality loc, IsLocality loc1, IsLocality loc2) =>
+  SQLType a -> NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc1 a1 -> ComputeNode loc2 a2 -> ComputeNode loc a
+nodeOpToFun2Typed sqlt no node1 node2 =
+  let n2 = _emptyNode no sqlt :: ComputeNode loc a
+  in n2 `parents` [untyped node1, untyped node2]
+
+-- ******* INSTANCES *********
+
+-- Put here because it depends on some private functions.
+instance forall loc a. Show (ComputeNode loc a) where
+  show ld = let
+    txt = fromString "{}@{}{}{{}}" :: TF.Format
+    loc :: T.Text
+    loc = case nodeLocality ld of
+      TypedLocality Local -> "!"
+      TypedLocality Distributed -> ""
+    nn = unNodeName . nodeName $ ld
+    no = simpleShowOp . nodeOp $ ld
+    fields = T.pack . show . nodeType $ ld in
+      T.unpack $ toStrict $ TF.format txt (nn, no, loc, fields)
+
+instance forall loc a. A.ToJSON (ComputeNode loc a) where
+  toJSON node = A.object [
+    "locality" .= nodeLocality node,
+    "name" .= nodeName node,
+    "op" .= (simpleShowOp . nodeOp $ node),
+    "extra" .= (extraNodeOpData . nodeOp $ node),
+    "parents" .= (nodeName <$> nodeParents node),
+    "logicalDependencies" .= (nodeName <$> nodeLogicalDependencies node),
+    "_type" .= (unSQLType . nodeType) node]
+
+instance forall loc. A.ToJSON (TypedLocality loc) where
+  toJSON (TypedLocality Local) = A.String "local"
+  toJSON (TypedLocality Distributed) = A.String "distributed"
+
+-- Performs an unsafe type recast.
+-- This is useful for internal code that knows whether
+-- this operation is legal or not through some other means.
+-- This may still throw an error if the cast is illegal.
+_unsafeCastNode :: CheckedLocalityCast loc2 => ComputeNode loc1 a -> ComputeNode loc2 b
+_unsafeCastNode x = x {
+    _cnType = _cnType x,
+    _cnLocality = _cnLocality x
+  }
+
+_unsafeCastNodeTyped :: TypedLocality loc2 -> ComputeNode loc1 a -> ComputeNode loc2 b
+_unsafeCastNodeTyped l x = x {
+    _cnType = _cnType x,
+    _cnLocality = unTypedLocality l
+  }
+
+--
+_unsafeCastLoc :: CheckedLocalityCast loc' =>
+  TypedLocality loc -> TypedLocality loc'
+_unsafeCastLoc (TypedLocality Local) =
+  checkLocalityValidity (TypedLocality Local)
+_unsafeCastLoc (TypedLocality Distributed) =
+  checkLocalityValidity (TypedLocality Distributed)
+
+
+-- This should be a programming error
+checkLocalityValidity :: forall loc. (HasCallStack, CheckedLocalityCast loc) =>
+  TypedLocality loc -> TypedLocality loc
+checkLocalityValidity x =
+  if x `notElem` _validLocalityValues
+    then
+      let msg = sformat ("CheckedLocalityCast: element "%shown%" not in the list of accepted values: "%shown)
+                  x (_validLocalityValues :: [TypedLocality loc])
+      in failure msg x
+    else x
+
+
+-- Computes the ID of a node.
+-- Since this is a complex operation, it should be cached by each node.
+_nodeId :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodeId
+_nodeId node =
+  let c1 = SHA.init
+      f2 = unNodeId . nodeId
+      c2 = hashUpdateNodeOp c1 (nodeOp node)
+      c3 = SHA.updates c2 $ f2 <$> nodeParents node
+      c4 = SHA.updates c3 $ f2 <$> nodeLogicalDependencies node
+      -- c6 = SHA.update c4 $ (BS.concat . LBS.toChunks) b
+  in
+    -- Using base16 encoding to make sure it is readable.
+    -- Not sure if it is a good idea in general.
+    (NodeId . encode . SHA.finalize) c4
+
+_defaultNodeName :: ComputeNode loc a -> NodeName
+_defaultNodeName node =
+  let opName = (simpleShowOp . nodeOp) node
+      namePieces = T.splitOn (T.pack ".") opName
+      lastOpt = (listToMaybe . reverse) namePieces
+      l = fromMaybe (T.pack "???") lastOpt
+      idbs = nodeId node
+      idt = (T.take 6 . decodeUtf8 . unNodeId) idbs
+      n = T.concat [T.toLower l, T.pack "_", idt]
+  in NodeName n
+
+-- Create a new empty node. Also performs a locality check to
+-- make sure the info being provided is correct.
+_emptyNode :: forall loc a. (IsLocality loc) =>
+  NodeOp -> SQLType a -> ComputeNode loc a
+_emptyNode op sqlt = _emptyNodeTyped (_getTypedLocality :: TypedLocality loc) sqlt op
+
+_emptyNodeTyped :: forall loc a.
+  TypedLocality loc -> SQLType a -> NodeOp -> ComputeNode loc a
+_emptyNodeTyped tloc (SQLType dt) op = updateNode (_unsafeCastNodeTyped tloc ds) id where
+  ds :: ComputeNode loc a
+  ds = ComputeNode {
+    _cnName = Nothing,
+    _cnOp = op,
+    _cnType = dt,
+    _cnParents = V.empty,
+    _cnLogicalParents = Nothing,
+    _cnLogicalDeps = V.empty,
+    _cnLocality = unTypedLocality tloc,
+    _cnNodeId = error "_emptyNode: _cnNodeId",
+    _cnPath = NodePath V.empty
+  }
+
+emptyNodeStandard :: forall loc a.
+  TypedLocality loc -> SQLType a -> T.Text -> ComputeNode loc a
+emptyNodeStandard tloc sqlt name = _emptyNodeTyped tloc sqlt op where
+  so = StandardOperator {
+         soName = name,
+         soOutputType = unSQLType sqlt,
+         soExtra = A.Null
+       }
+  op = if unTypedLocality tloc == Local
+          then NodeLocalOp so
+          else NodeDistributedOp so
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/DatasetStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+
+{-| (internal) The main data structure that represents a data node in the
+computation graph.
+
+This data structure forms the backbone of computation graphs expressed
+with spark operations.
+
+loc is a typed locality tag.
+a is the type of the data, as seen by the Haskell compiler. If erased, it
+will be a Cell type.
+-}
+-- TODO: separate the topology info from the node info. It will help when
+-- building the graphs.
+data ComputeNode loc a = ComputeNode {
+  -- | The id of the node.
+  --
+  -- Non strict because it may be expensive.
+  _cnNodeId :: NodeId,
+  -- The following fields are used to build a unique ID to
+  -- a compute node:
+
+  -- | The operation associated to this node.
+  _cnOp :: !NodeOp,
+  -- | The type of the node
+  _cnType :: !DataType,
+  -- | The direct parents of the node. The order of the parents is important
+  -- for the semantics of the operation.
+  _cnParents :: !(Vector UntypedNode),
+  -- | A set of extra dependencies that can be added to force an order between
+  -- the nodes.
+  --
+  -- The order is not important, they are sorted by ID.
+  --
+  -- TODO(kps) add this one to the id
+  _cnLogicalDeps :: !(Vector UntypedNode),
+  -- | The locality of this node.
+  --
+  -- TODO(kps) add this one to the id
+  _cnLocality :: !Locality,
+  -- Attributes that are not included in the id
+  -- These attributes are mostly for the user to relate to the nodes.
+  -- They are not necessary for the computation.
+  --
+  -- | The name
+  _cnName :: !(Maybe NodeName),
+  -- | A set of nodes considered as the logical input for this node.
+  -- This has no influence on the calculation of the id and is used
+  -- for organization purposes only.
+  _cnLogicalParents :: !(Maybe (Vector UntypedNode)),
+  -- | The path of this oned in a computation flow.
+  --
+  -- This path includes the node name.
+  -- Not strict because it may be expensive to compute.
+  -- By default it only contains the name of the node (i.e. the node is
+  -- attached to the root)
+  _cnPath :: NodePath
+} deriving (Eq)
+
+-- (internal) Phantom type tags for the locality
+data TypedLocality loc = TypedLocality { unTypedLocality :: !Locality } deriving (Eq, Show)
+data LocLocal
+data LocDistributed
+data LocUnknown
+
+-- (developer) The type for which we drop all the information expressed in
+-- types.
+--
+-- This is useful to express parent dependencies (pending a more type-safe
+-- interface)
+type UntypedNode = ComputeNode LocUnknown Cell
+
+-- (internal) A dataset for which we have dropped type information.
+-- Used internally by columns.
+type UntypedDataset = Dataset Cell
+
+type UntypedLocalData = LocalData Cell
+
+{-| A typed collection of distributed data.
+
+Most operations on datasets are type-checked by the Haskell
+compiler: the type tag associated to this dataset is guaranteed
+to be convertible to a proper Haskell type. In particular, building
+a Dataset of dynamic cells is guaranteed to never happen.
+
+If you want to do untyped operations and gain
+some flexibility, consider using UDataFrames instead.
+
+Computations with Datasets and observables are generally checked for
+correctness using the type system of Haskell.
+-}
+type Dataset a = ComputeNode LocDistributed a
+
+{-|
+A unit of data that can be accessed by the user.
+
+This is a typed unit of data. The type is guaranteed to be a proper
+type accessible by the Haskell compiler (instead of simply a Cell
+type, which represents types only accessible at runtime).
+
+TODO(kps) rename to Observable
+-}
+type LocalData a = ComputeNode LocLocal a
+
+
+{-|
+The dataframe type. Any dataset can be converted to a dataframe.
+
+For the Spark users: this is different than the definition of the
+dataframe in Spark, which is a dataset of rows. Because the support
+for single columns is more akward in the case of rows, it is more
+natural to generalize datasets to contain cells.
+When communicating with Spark, though, single cells are wrapped
+into rows with single field, as Spark does.
+-}
+type DataFrame = Try (Dataset Cell)
+
+{-| Observable, whose type can only be infered at runtime and
+that can fail to be computed at runtime.
+
+Any observable can be converted to an untyped
+observable.
+
+Untyped observables are more flexible and can be combined in
+arbitrary manner, but they will fail during the validation of
+the Spark computation graph.
+
+TODO(kps) rename to DynObservable
+-}
+type LocalFrame = Try (LocalData Cell)
+
+{-| The different paths of edges in the compute DAG of nodes, at the
+start of computations.
+
+ - scope edges specify the scope of a node for naming. They are not included in
+   the id.
+
+-}
+data NodeEdge = ScopeEdge | DataStructureEdge StructureEdge deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+{-| The edges in a compute DAG, after name resolution (which is where most of
+the checks and computations are being done)
+
+- parent edges are the direct parents of a node, the only ones required for
+  defining computations. They are included in the id.
+- logical edges define logical dependencies between nodes to force a specific
+  ordering of the nodes. They are included in the id.
+-}
+data StructureEdge = ParentEdge | LogicalEdge deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+
+class CheckedLocalityCast loc where
+  _validLocalityValues :: [TypedLocality loc]
+
+-- Class to retrieve the locality associated to a type.
+-- Is it better to use type classes?
+class (CheckedLocalityCast loc) => IsLocality loc where
+  _getTypedLocality :: TypedLocality loc
+
+instance CheckedLocalityCast LocLocal where
+  _validLocalityValues = [TypedLocality Local]
+
+instance CheckedLocalityCast LocDistributed where
+  _validLocalityValues = [TypedLocality Distributed]
+
+-- LocLocal is a locality associated to Local
+instance IsLocality LocLocal where
+  _getTypedLocality = TypedLocality Local
+
+-- LocDistributed is a locality associated to Distributed
+instance IsLocality LocDistributed where
+  _getTypedLocality = TypedLocality Distributed
+
+instance CheckedLocalityCast LocUnknown where
+  _validLocalityValues = [TypedLocality Distributed, TypedLocality Local]
+
+instance forall loc a. CanRename (ComputeNode loc a) String where
+  -- There is no need to update the id, as this field is not involved
+  -- in the calculation of the id.
+  -- TODO: make this fail immediately? If the name is wrong, it is
+  -- harder to figure out what is happening.
+  (@@) cn name = cn { _cnName = Just nn } where
+    nn = NodeName . T.pack $ name
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/FunctionsInternals.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/FunctionsInternals.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/FunctionsInternals.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FunctionalDependencies #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE UndecidableInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+-- A number of utilities related to data sets and dataframes.
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals(
+  DynColPackable,
+  StaticColPackable2,
+  NameTuple(..),
+  TupleEquivalence(..),
+  asCol,
+  pack1,
+  pack,
+  pack',
+  struct',
+  struct,
+) where
+
+import Control.Arrow
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Data.List(sort, nub)
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ColumnFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesGenerics
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Try
+
+{-| The class of pairs of types that express the fact that some type a can
+be converted to a dataset of type b.
+
+This class is only inhabited by some internal types: lists, tuples, etc.
+-}
+class DynColPackable a where
+  -- Returns (possibly) some form of the type a packed into a single column.
+  -- This implementation must make sure that the final column is either a
+  -- failure or is well-formed (no name duplicates, etc.)
+  _packAsColumn :: a -> DynColumn
+
+{-| The class of pairs of types that express the fact that some type a can
+be converted to a dataset of type b.
+
+This class is meant to be extended by users to create converters associated
+to their data types.
+-}
+class StaticColPackable2 ref a b | a -> ref where
+  _staticPackAsColumn2 :: a -> Column ref b
+
+data NameTuple to = NameTuple [String]
+
+{-| A class that expresses the fact that a certain type (that is well-formed)
+is equivalent to a tuple of points.
+
+Useful for auto conversions between tuples of columns and data structures.
+-}
+class TupleEquivalence to tup | to -> tup where
+  tupleFieldNames :: NameTuple to
+
+-- Here is the basic algorithm:
+--  - datasets can only contain rows of things
+--  - columns and observables contain cells (which may be empty)
+--  - a strict struct cell is equivalent to a row
+--  - a non-strict or non-struct cell is equivalent to a row with a single item
+--  - as a consequence, there is no "row with a unique field". This is equivalent
+--    to the element inside the field
+
+-- Invariants to respect in terms of types (not in terms of values)
+--   untypedCol . asCol == asCol'
+--   pack1 . asCol == asCol . pack1
+--   for single columns, pack = Right . pack1
+
+-- The typed function
+-- This only works for inner types that are known to the Haskell type system
+-- fun :: (SQLTypeable a, HasCallStack) => Column a -> Column a -> Column a
+-- fun = undefined
+
+-- The untyped equivalent
+-- Each of the inputs can be either a column or a try, and the final outcome is always a try
+-- When both types are known to the type system, the 2 calls are equivalent
+-- fun' :: (ColumnLike a1, ColumnLike a2, HasCallStack) => a1 -> a2 -> Try DynColumn
+-- fun' = undefined
+
+-- | Represents a dataframe as a single column.
+asCol :: (HasCallStack) => Dataset a -> Column a a
+asCol ds =
+  -- Simply recast the dataset as a column.
+  -- The empty path indicates that we are wrapping the whole thing.
+  iEmptyCol ds (unsafeCastType $ nodeType ds) (FieldPath V.empty)
+
+-- | Packs a single column into a dataframe.
+pack1 :: (HasCallStack) => Column ref a -> Dataset a
+pack1 c =
+  emptyDataset (NodeStructuredTransform (colOp c)) (colType c)
+      `parents` [untyped (colOrigin c)]
+
+{-| Packs a number of columns into a single dataframe.
+
+This operation is checked for same origin and no duplication of columns.
+
+This function accepts columns, list of columns and tuples of columns (both
+typed and untyped).
+-}
+pack' :: (DynColPackable a) => a -> DataFrame
+-- Pack the columns and check that they have the same origin.
+pack' z = pack1 <$> _packAsColumn z
+
+{-| Packs a number of columns with the same references into a single dataset.
+
+The type of the dataset must be provided in order to have proper type inference.
+
+TODO: example.
+-}
+pack :: forall ref a b. (StaticColPackable2 ref a b, HasCallStack) => a -> Dataset b
+pack z =
+  let c = _staticPackAsColumn2 z :: ColumnData ref b
+  in pack1 c
+
+{-| Packs a number of columns into a single column (the struct construct).
+
+Columns must have different names, or an error is returned.
+-}
+struct' :: (HasCallStack) => [DynColumn] -> DynColumn
+struct' cols = do
+  l <- sequence cols
+  let fields = (colFieldName &&& id) <$> l
+  _buildStruct fields
+
+{-| Packs a number of columns into a single structure, given a return type.
+
+The field names of the columns are discarded, and replaced by the field names
+of the structure.
+-}
+struct :: forall ref a b. (StaticColPackable2 ref a b, HasCallStack) => a -> Column ref b
+struct = _staticPackAsColumn2
+
+
+instance forall x. (DynColPackable x) => DynColPackable [x] where
+  _packAsColumn = struct' . (_packAsColumn <$>)
+
+instance DynColPackable DynColumn where
+  _packAsColumn = id
+
+instance forall ref a. DynColPackable (Column ref a) where
+  _packAsColumn = pure . iUntypedColData
+
+instance forall z1 z2. (DynColPackable z1, DynColPackable z2) => DynColPackable (z1, z2) where
+  _packAsColumn (c1, c2) = struct' [_packAsColumn c1, _packAsColumn c2]
+
+-- ******** Experimental ************
+instance forall ref a. StaticColPackable2 ref (Column ref a) a where
+  _staticPackAsColumn2 = id
+
+-- Tuples are equivalent to tuples
+instance forall a1 a2. TupleEquivalence (a1, a2) (a1, a2) where
+  tupleFieldNames = NameTuple ["_1", "_2"]
+
+
+-- The equations that bind column packable stuff through their tuple equivalents
+instance forall ref b a1 a2 z1 z2. (
+          SQLTypeable b,
+          TupleEquivalence b (a1, a2),
+          StaticColPackable2 ref z1 a1,
+          StaticColPackable2 ref z2 a2) =>
+  StaticColPackable2 ref (z1, z2) b where
+    _staticPackAsColumn2 (c1, c2) =
+      let
+        x1 = iUntypedColData (_staticPackAsColumn2 c1 :: Column ref a1)
+        x2 = iUntypedColData (_staticPackAsColumn2 c2 :: Column ref a2)
+        names = tupleFieldNames :: NameTuple b
+      in _unsafeBuildStruct [x1, x2] names
+
+instance forall ref b a1 a2 a3 z1 z2 z3. (
+          SQLTypeable b,
+          TupleEquivalence b (a1, a2, a3),
+          StaticColPackable2 ref z1 a1,
+          StaticColPackable2 ref z2 a2,
+          StaticColPackable2 ref z3 a3) =>
+  StaticColPackable2 ref (z1, z2, z3) b where
+    _staticPackAsColumn2 (c1, c2, c3) =
+      let
+        x1 = iUntypedColData (_staticPackAsColumn2 c1 :: Column ref a1)
+        x2 = iUntypedColData (_staticPackAsColumn2 c2 :: Column ref a2)
+        x3 = iUntypedColData (_staticPackAsColumn2 c3 :: Column ref a3)
+        names = tupleFieldNames :: NameTuple b
+      in _unsafeBuildStruct [x1, x2, x3] names
+
+_unsafeBuildStruct :: (HasCallStack, SQLTypeable x) =>
+  [UntypedColumnData] -> NameTuple x -> Column ref x
+_unsafeBuildStruct cols (NameTuple names) =
+  if length cols /= length names
+    then failure $ sformat ("The number of columns and names differs:"%sh%" and "%sh) cols names
+    else
+      let fnames = unsafeFieldName . T.pack <$> names
+          uc = _buildStruct (fnames `zip` cols)
+          z = forceRight uc
+      in z { _cOp = _cOp z }
+
+
+_buildStruct :: [(FieldName, UntypedColumnData)] -> Try UntypedColumnData
+_buildStruct [] = tryError "You cannot build an empty structure"
+_buildStruct ((hfn, hcol):t) =
+  let cols = ((hfn, hcol):t)
+      cols' = V.fromList cols
+      fields = ColStruct $ (uncurry TransformField .(fst &&& colOp . snd)) <$> cols'
+      ct = StructType $ (uncurry StructField . (fst &&& unSQLType . colType . snd)) <$> cols'
+      name = "struct(" <> T.intercalate "," (unFieldName . fst <$> cols) <> ")"
+      names = fst <$> cols
+      numNames = length names
+      numDistincts = length . nub $ names
+      origins = _columnOrigin (snd <$> cols)
+  in case (origins, numNames == numDistincts) of
+    ([_], True) ->
+        pure ColumnData {
+                    _cOrigin = _cOrigin hcol,
+                    _cType = StrictType $ Struct ct,
+                    _cOp = fields,
+                    _cReferingPath = Just $ unsafeFieldName name
+                  }
+    (l, True) -> tryError $ sformat ("Too many distinct origins: "%sh) l
+    (_, False) -> tryError $ sformat ("Duplicate field names when building the struct: "%sh) (sort names)
+
+_columnOrigin :: [UntypedColumnData] -> [UntypedDataset]
+_columnOrigin l =
+  let
+    groups = myGroupBy' (nodeId . colOrigin) l
+  in (colOrigin . head . snd) <$> groups
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+-- A number of functions related to local data.
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctions(
+  constant
+) where
+
+import Data.Aeson(toJSON, Value(Null))
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Control.Exception.Base(assert)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures(unSQLType)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions(intType)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+
+constant :: (ToSQL a, SQLTypeable a) => a -> LocalData a
+constant cst =
+  let
+    sqlt = buildType
+    dt = unSQLType sqlt
+  in emptyLocalData (NodeLocalLit dt (toJSON (valueToCell cst))) sqlt
+
+instance (Num a, ToSQL a, SQLTypeable a) => Num (LocalData a) where
+  (+) = _binOp "org.spark.LocalPlus"
+  (-) = _binOp "org.spark.LocalMinus"
+  (*) = _binOp "org.spark.LocalMult"
+  abs = _unaryOp "org.spark.LocalAbs"
+  signum = _unaryOp "org.spark.LocalSignum"
+  fromInteger x = constant (fromInteger x :: a)
+  negate = _unaryOp "org.spark.LocalNegate"
+
+instance forall a. (ToSQL a, Enum a, SQLTypeable a) => Enum (LocalData a) where
+  toEnum x = constant (toEnum x :: a)
+  fromEnum = failure "Cannot use fromEnum against a local data object"
+  -- TODO(kps) some of the others are still available for implementation
+
+instance (Num a, Ord a) => Ord (LocalData a) where
+  compare = failure "You cannot compare instances of LocalData. (yet)."
+  min = _binOp "org.spark.LocalMin"
+  max = _binOp "org.spark.LocalMax"
+
+instance forall a. (Real a, ToSQL a, SQLTypeable a) => Real (LocalData a) where
+  toRational = failure "Cannot convert LocalData to rational"
+
+instance (ToSQL a, Integral a, SQLTypeable a) => Integral (LocalData a) where
+  quot = _binOp "org.spark.LocalQuotient"
+  rem = _binOp "org.spark.LocalReminder"
+  div = _binOp "org.spark.LocalDiv"
+  mod = _binOp "org.spark.LocalMod"
+  quotRem = failure "quotRem is not implemented (yet). Use quot and rem."
+  divMod = failure "divMod is not implemented (yet). Use div and mod."
+  toInteger = failure "Cannot convert LocalData to integer"
+
+instance (ToSQL a, SQLTypeable a, Fractional a) => Fractional (LocalData a) where
+  fromRational x = constant (fromRational x :: a)
+  (/) = _binOp "org.spark.LocalDiv"
+
+
+_unaryOp :: T.Text -> LocalData a -> LocalData a
+_unaryOp optxt ld =
+  let so = StandardOperator {
+            soName = optxt,
+            soOutputType = unSQLType $ nodeType ld,
+            soExtra = Null }
+      op = NodeLocalOp so in
+  emptyLocalData op (nodeType ld)
+    `parents` [untyped ld]
+
+_binOp :: T.Text -> LocalData a -> LocalData a -> LocalData a
+_binOp optxt ld1 ld2 = assert (nodeType ld1 == nodeType ld2) $
+  let so = StandardOperator {
+          soName = optxt,
+          soOutputType = unSQLType $ nodeType ld1,
+          soExtra = Null }
+      op = NodeLocalOp so in
+  emptyLocalData op (nodeType ld1)
+    `parents` [untyped ld1, untyped ld2]
+
+-- TODO(kps) more input tests
+_binOp' :: StandardOperator -> LocalData a -> LocalData a -> LocalData a
+_binOp' so ld1 ld2 = assert (nodeType ld1 == nodeType ld2) $
+  let op = NodeLocalOp so in
+  emptyLocalData op (nodeType ld1)
+    `parents` [untyped ld1, untyped ld2]
+
+_intOperator :: T.Text -> StandardOperator
+_intOperator optxt = StandardOperator {
+  soName = optxt,
+  soOutputType = intType,
+  soExtra = Null
+}
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocatedBase.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocatedBase.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/LocatedBase.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+-- Taken from https://hackage.haskell.org/package/located-base-0.1.1.0/docs/src/GHC-Err-Located.html
+
+{-# LANGUAGE CPP #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ConstraintKinds #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ImplicitParams #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.LocatedBase (error, undefined, HasCallStack, showCallStack) where
+
+#if __GLASGOW_HASKELL__ < 800
+
+import GHC.SrcLoc
+import GHC.Stack (CallStack, getCallStack)
+import Prelude hiding (error, undefined)
+import qualified Prelude
+import Text.Printf
+import Data.Text(Text, unpack)
+
+type HasCallStack = (?callStack :: CallStack)
+
+error :: HasCallStack => Text -> a
+error msg = Prelude.error (unpack msg ++ "\n" ++ showCallStack ?callStack)
+
+undefined :: HasCallStack => a
+undefined = error "Prelude.undefined"
+
+showCallStack :: CallStack -> String
+showCallStack stk = case getCallStack stk of
+  _:locs -> unlines $ "Callstack:" : map format locs
+  _ -> Prelude.error "showCallStack: empty call-stack"
+  where
+  format (fn, loc) = printf "  %s, called at %s" fn (showSrcLoc loc)
+
+#else
+
+import GHC.Stack
+
+{-# DEPRECATED showCallStack "use GHC.Stack.prettyCallStack instead" #-}
+showCallStack :: CallStack -> String
+showCallStack = prettyCallStack
+
+#endif
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions(
+  simpleShowOp,
+  extraNodeOpData,
+  hashUpdateNodeOp,
+  prettyShowColOp,
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Data.Aeson as A
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.ByteString as BS
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
+import Data.Aeson((.=), toJSON)
+import Data.Char(isSymbol)
+import qualified Crypto.Hash.SHA256 as SHA
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The serialized type of a node operation, as written in
+-- the JSON description.
+simpleShowOp :: NodeOp -> T.Text
+simpleShowOp (NodeLocalOp op) = soName op
+simpleShowOp (NodeDistributedOp op) = soName op
+simpleShowOp (NodeLocalLit _ _) = T.pack "org.spark.LocalConstant"
+simpleShowOp (NodeOpaqueAggregator op) = soName op
+simpleShowOp (NodeUniversalAggregator ua) = soName . uaoMergeBuffer $ ua
+simpleShowOp (NodeStructuredTransform _) = T.pack "org.spark.Select"
+simpleShowOp (NodeDistributedLit _ _) = T.pack "org.spark.Constant"
+
+-- A human-readable string that represents column operations.
+prettyShowColOp :: ColOp -> T.Text
+prettyShowColOp (ColExtraction fpath) = T.pack (show fpath)
+prettyShowColOp (ColFunction txt cols) =
+  _prettyShowColFun txt (V.toList cols)
+prettyShowColOp (ColLit _ cell) = T.pack (show cell)
+prettyShowColOp (ColStruct s) =
+  "struct(" <> T.intercalate "," (prettyShowColOp . tfValue <$> V.toList s) <> ")"
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The extra data associated with the operation, and that is required
+-- by the backend to successfully perform the operation.
+-- We pass the type as seen by krapsh (along with some extra information about
+-- nullability). This information is required by spark to analyze the exact
+-- type of some operations.
+extraNodeOpData :: NodeOp -> A.Value
+extraNodeOpData (NodeLocalLit dt cell) =
+  A.object [ "type" .= toJSON dt,
+             "content" .= toJSON cell]
+extraNodeOpData (NodeStructuredTransform st) = toJSON st
+extraNodeOpData (NodeDistributedLit dt lst) =
+  -- The backend deals with all the details translating the augmented type
+  -- as a SQL datatype.
+  A.object [ "cellType" .= toJSON dt,
+             "content" .= toJSON lst]
+extraNodeOpData _ = A.Null
+
+-- Adds the content of a node op to a hash.
+-- Right now, this builds the json representation and passes it
+-- to the hash function, which simplifies the verification on
+-- on the server side.
+-- TODO: this depends on some implementation details such as the hashing
+-- function used by Aeson.
+hashUpdateNodeOp :: SHA.Ctx -> NodeOp -> SHA.Ctx
+hashUpdateNodeOp ctx op = _hashUpdateJson ctx $ A.object [
+  "op" .= simpleShowOp op,
+  "extra" .= extraNodeOpData op]
+
+
+_prettyShowColFun :: T.Text -> [ColOp] -> T.Text
+_prettyShowColFun txt [col] | _isSym txt =
+  T.concat [txt, prettyShowColOp col]
+_prettyShowColFun txt [col1, col2] | _isSym txt =
+  -- This is not perfect for complex operations, but it should get the job done
+  -- for now.
+  -- TODO eventually use operator priority here
+  T.concat [prettyShowColOp col1, txt, prettyShowColOp col2]
+_prettyShowColFun txt cols =
+  let vals = T.intercalate ", " (prettyShowColOp <$> cols) in
+  T.concat [txt, "(", vals, ")"]
+
+_isSym :: T.Text -> Bool
+_isSym txt = all isSymbol (T.unpack txt)
+
+-- This schema is not great because there is some ambiguity about the final
+-- nodes.
+-- Someone could craft a JSON that would confuse the object detection.
+-- Not sure if this is much of a security risk anyway.
+instance A.ToJSON ColOp where
+  toJSON (ColExtraction fp) = A.object [
+    "colOp" .= T.pack "extraction",
+    "field" .= toJSON fp]
+  toJSON (ColFunction txt cols) = A.object [
+    "colOp" .= T.pack "fun",
+    "function" .= txt,
+    "args" .= (toJSON <$> cols)]
+  toJSON (ColLit _ cell) = A.object [
+    "colOp" .= T.pack "literal",
+    "lit" .= toJSON cell]
+  toJSON (ColStruct v) =
+    let fun (TransformField fn colOp) =
+          A.object ["name" .= T.pack (show fn), "op" .= toJSON colOp]
+    in A.Array $ fun <$> v
+
+
+_hashUpdateJson :: SHA.Ctx -> A.Value -> SHA.Ctx
+_hashUpdateJson ctx val = SHA.update ctx bs where
+  bs = BS.concat . LBS.toChunks . encodeDeterministicPretty $ val
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/OpStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+{-|
+A description of the operations that can be performed on
+nodes and columns.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.OpStructures where
+
+import Data.Text as T
+import Data.Aeson(Value, Value(Null))
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures(DataType, SQLType, SQLType(unSQLType))
+
+{-| The invariant respected by a transform.
+
+Depending on the value of the invariant, different optimizations
+may be available.
+-}
+data TransformInvariant =
+    -- | This operator has no special property. It may depend on
+    -- the partitioning layout, the number of partitions, the order
+    -- of elements in the partitions, etc.
+    -- This sort of operator is unwelcome in Krapsh...
+    Opaque
+    -- | This operator respects the canonical partition order, but may
+    -- not have the same number of elements.
+    -- For example, this could be a flatMap on an RDD (filter, etc.).
+    -- This operator can be used locally with the signature a -> [a]
+  | PartitioningInvariant
+    -- | The strongest invariant. It respects the canonical partition order
+    -- and it outputs the same number of elements.
+    -- This is typically a map.
+    -- This operator can be used locally with the signature a -> a
+  | DirectPartitioningInvariant
+
+
+-- | The dynamic value of locality.
+-- There is still a tag on it, but it can be easily dropped.
+data Locality =
+    -- | The data associated to this node is local. It can be materialized
+    -- and accessed by the user.
+    Local
+    -- | The data associated to this node is distributed or not accessible
+    -- locally. It cannot be accessed by the user.
+  | Distributed deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+-- ********* PHYSICAL OPERATORS ***********
+-- These structures declare some operations that correspond to operations found
+-- in Spark itself, or in the surrounding libraries.
+
+-- | An operator defined by default in the release of Krapsh.
+-- All other physical operators can be converted to a standard operators.
+data StandardOperator = StandardOperator {
+  soName :: !T.Text,
+  soOutputType :: !DataType,
+  soExtra :: !Value
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- | A scala method of a singleton object.
+data ScalaStaticFunctionApplication = ScalaStaticFunctionApplication {
+  sfaObjectName :: !T.Text,
+  sfaMethodName :: !T.Text
+  -- TODO add the input and output types?
+}
+
+
+-- | The different kinds of column operations.
+-- These operations describe the physical operations on columns as supported
+-- by Spark SQL. They can operate on column -> column, column -> row, row->row.
+-- Of course, not all operators are valid for each configuration.
+data ColOp =
+    -- | A projection onto a single column
+    -- An extraction is always direct.
+    ColExtraction !FieldPath
+    -- | A function of other columns.
+    -- In this case, the other columns may matter
+    -- TODO(kps) add if this function is partition invariant.
+    -- It should be the case most of the time.
+  | ColFunction !T.Text !(Vector ColOp)
+    -- | A constant defined for each element.
+    -- The type should be the same as for the column
+    -- A literal is always direct
+  | ColLit !DataType !Value
+    -- | A structure.
+  | ColStruct !(Vector TransformField)
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- | A field in a structure.
+data TransformField = TransformField {
+  tfName :: !FieldName,
+  tfValue :: !ColOp
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- | The content of a structured transform.
+data StructuredTransform =
+    InnerOp !ColOp
+  | InnerStruct !(Vector TransformField)
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+
+-- ********* DATASET OPERATORS ************
+-- These describe Dataset -> Dataset transforms.
+
+
+data DatasetTransformDesc =
+    DSScalaStaticFunction !ScalaStaticFunctionApplication
+  | DSStructuredTransform !ColOp
+  | DSOperator !StandardOperator
+
+
+-- ****** OBSERVABLE OPERATORS *******
+-- These operators describe Observable -> Observable transforms
+
+-- **** AGGREGATION OPERATORS *****
+-- The different types of aggregators
+
+-- The low-level description of a
+-- The name of the aggregator is the name of the
+-- Dataset -> Local data transform
+data UniversalAggregatorOp = UniversalAggregatorOp {
+  uaoMergeType :: !DataType,
+  uaoInitialOuter :: !StandardOperator,
+  uaoMergeBuffer :: !StandardOperator
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+{-
+A node operation.
+A description of all the operations between nodes.
+These are the low-level, physical operations that Spark implements.
+
+Each node operation is associated with:
+ - a locality
+ - an operation name (implicit or explicit)
+ - a data type
+ - a representation in JSON
+
+Additionally, some operations are associated with algebraic invariants
+to enable programmatic transformations.
+-}
+data NodeOp =
+    -- | An operation between local nodes: [Observable] -> Observable
+    NodeLocalOp StandardOperator
+    -- | An observable literal
+  | NodeLocalLit !DataType !Value
+    -- | Some aggregator that does not respect any particular invariant.
+  | NodeOpaqueAggregator StandardOperator
+    -- | A universal aggregator.
+  | NodeUniversalAggregator UniversalAggregatorOp
+    -- | A structured transform, performed either on a local node or a
+    -- distributed node.
+  | NodeStructuredTransform !ColOp
+    -- | A distributed dataset (with no partition information)
+  | NodeDistributedLit !DataType !(Vector Value)
+    -- | An opaque distributed operator.
+  | NodeDistributedOp StandardOperator
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- | Makes a standard operator with no extra value
+makeOperator :: T.Text -> SQLType a -> StandardOperator
+makeOperator txt sqlt =
+  StandardOperator {
+    soName = txt,
+    soOutputType = unSQLType sqlt,
+    soExtra = Null }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Paths.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Paths.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Paths.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.Paths(
+  HasNodeName(..),
+  PathEdge(..),
+  computePaths,
+  assignPaths',
+  -- For testing:
+  Scopes,
+  ParentSplit(..),
+  mergeScopes,
+  gatherPaths,
+  iGetScopes0,
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Set as S
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.List(sort)
+import Data.Maybe(fromMaybe, catMaybes)
+import Data.Foldable(foldr', foldl', toList)
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+
+class HasNodeName v where
+  -- Retrieves the name of the node
+  getNodeName :: v -> NodeName
+  -- Assigns a path to the node
+  assignPath :: v -> NodePath -> v
+
+{-| The types of edges for the calculation of paths.
+ - same level parent -> the node should have the same prefix as its parents
+ - inner edge -> the parent defines the scope of this node
+ -}
+data PathEdge = SameLevelEdge | InnerEdge deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+-- Assigns paths in a graph.
+--
+computePaths :: (HasCallStack, HasNodeName v) =>
+  ComputeDag v PathEdge -> Try (M.Map VertexId NodePath)
+computePaths cd =
+  let nodecg = mapVertexData getNodeName cd
+  in _computePaths nodecg
+
+assignPaths' :: (HasCallStack, HasNodeName v) =>
+  M.Map VertexId NodePath -> ComputeDag v e -> ComputeDag v e
+assignPaths' m cd =
+  let f vx =
+        let old = NodePath . V.singleton $ getNodeName (vertexData vx)
+            new = M.findWithDefault old (vertexId vx) m
+        in assignPath (vertexData vx) new
+  in mapVertices f cd
+
+-- The main function to perform the pass assignments.
+-- It starts from the graph of dependencies and from the local name info,
+-- and computes the complete paths (if possible), starting from the fringe.
+_computePaths :: (HasCallStack) =>
+  ComputeDag NodeName PathEdge -> Try (M.Map VertexId NodePath)
+_computePaths cg =
+  let
+    scopes = iGetScopes0 (toList . cdOutputs $ cg) (_splitParents' (cdEdges cg))
+    paths = gatherPaths scopes
+    nodeNames = M.fromList [(vertexId vx, vertexData vx)| vx <- toList . cdVertices $ cg]
+    lookup' nid = M.lookup nid nodeNames
+    f :: VertexId -> [[VertexId]] -> Try NodePath
+    f nid ls = case ls of
+      [l] ->
+        return . NodePath . V.fromList . catMaybes $ lookup' <$> (l ++ [nid])
+      x ->
+        tryError $ sformat ("Node has too many paths: node="%shown%" discovered paths ="%shown) nid x
+    nodePaths = M.traverseWithKey f paths
+  in nodePaths
+
+-- (private)
+-- The top-level scope may not have an ID associated to it
+type Scopes = M.Map (Maybe VertexId) (S.Set VertexId)
+
+
+-- (internal)
+-- The separation of parents into logical and inner parents
+data ParentSplit a = ParentSplit {
+  psLogical :: ![Vertex a],
+  psInner :: ![Vertex a]
+} deriving (Show)
+
+_lookupOrEmpty :: Scopes -> Maybe VertexId -> [VertexId]
+_lookupOrEmpty scopes mnid =
+  S.toList $ fromMaybe S.empty (M.lookup mnid scopes)
+
+mergeScopes :: Scopes -> Scopes -> Scopes
+mergeScopes = M.unionWith S.union
+
+_singleScope :: Maybe VertexId -> VertexId -> Scopes
+_singleScope mKey nid = M.singleton mKey (S.singleton nid)
+
+-- For each node, finds the one, or more than one if possible, path(s)
+-- from the root to the node (which is itself not included at the end)
+-- The gathering of paths may not be exaustive.
+gatherPaths :: Scopes -> M.Map VertexId [[VertexId]]
+gatherPaths scopes = M.map sort $ _gatherPaths0 scopes start where
+  start = _lookupOrEmpty scopes Nothing
+
+_gatherPaths0 :: Scopes -> [VertexId] -> M.Map VertexId [[VertexId]]
+_gatherPaths0 _ [] = M.empty
+_gatherPaths0 scopes (nid : t) =
+  let
+    inner = _lookupOrEmpty scopes (Just nid)
+    innerPaths = _gatherPaths0 scopes inner
+    innerWithHead = M.map (\l -> (nid : ) <$> l) innerPaths
+    thisPaths = M.singleton nid [[]]
+    innerPaths2 = M.unionWith (++) innerWithHead thisPaths
+  in M.unionWith (++) innerPaths2 (_gatherPaths0 scopes t)
+
+
+iGetScopes0 :: forall a. (Show a) =>
+  [Vertex a] ->
+  (Vertex a -> ParentSplit a) ->
+  Scopes
+iGetScopes0 [] _splitter = M.empty
+iGetScopes0 (h : t) splitter =
+  let
+    startScope = _singleScope Nothing (vertexId h)
+    folder :: Scopes -> Vertex a -> Scopes
+    folder current un =
+      if M.member (Just (vertexId un)) current then
+        current
+      else
+        let split = _getScopes' splitter Nothing S.empty un current
+        in mergeScopes split current
+  -- Important here to use a left folder, as we want to start with the head
+  -- and move down the list.
+  in foldl' folder startScope (h : t)
+
+_splitParents' :: AdjacencyMap v PathEdge -> Vertex v -> ParentSplit v
+_splitParents' m vx =
+  let ves = V.toList $ M.findWithDefault V.empty (vertexId vx) m
+      scope = [veEndVertex ve | ve <- ves, edgeData (veEdge ve) == SameLevelEdge]
+      parents' = [veEndVertex ve | ve <- ves, edgeData (veEdge ve) == InnerEdge]
+  in ParentSplit { psLogical = scope, psInner = parents' }
+
+
+-- TODO(kps) this recursive code is most probably going to explode for deep stacks
+_getScopes' :: forall a. (Show a) =>
+  (Vertex a -> ParentSplit a) -> -- The expansion of a node into logical and inner nodes
+  Maybe VertexId -> -- the current parent (if any)
+  S.Set VertexId -> -- the current boundary to respect
+  Vertex a -> -- the current node to expand
+  Scopes -> -- the scopes seen so far
+  Scopes
+_getScopes' splitter mScopeId boundary un scopes =
+  if S.member (vertexId un) boundary then
+    scopes
+  else
+    let
+      split = splitter un
+      logParents = psLogical split
+      innerParents = psInner split
+      -- A fold on the parents
+      parF :: Vertex a -> Scopes -> Scopes
+      parF v s =
+        -- Same boundary and parent, but update the scopes
+        _getScopes' splitter mScopeId boundary v s
+      scopesPar = foldr' parF scopes logParents
+      -- Now work on the inner nodes:
+      vid = vertexId un
+      boundary' = S.fromList (vertexId <$> logParents)
+      inF :: Vertex a -> Scopes -> Scopes
+      inF v s =
+        -- parent is current, boundary is current logical
+        _getScopes' splitter (Just vid) boundary' v s
+      scopesIn = foldr' inF scopesPar innerParents
+      scopesFinal = scopesIn
+          `mergeScopes` _singleScope mScopeId vid
+          `mergeScopes` M.singleton (Just vid) S.empty
+    in scopesFinal
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsUntyped.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsUntyped.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsUntyped.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-orphans #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.PathsUntyped(
+  assignPathsUntyped,
+  tieNodes
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import Data.Maybe(fromMaybe)
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import Data.List(nub)
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Formatting
+import Control.Monad.Identity
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Paths
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(unNodeId)
+
+instance GraphVertexOperations UntypedNode where
+  vertexToId = VertexId . unNodeId . nodeId
+  expandVertexAsVertices n =
+    nodeParents n
+      ++ fromMaybe [] (nodeLogicalParents n)
+      ++ nodeLogicalDependencies n
+
+instance GraphOperations UntypedNode NodeEdge where
+  expandVertex n =
+    -- The logical parents are more important than the parents
+    let
+      -- If the logical parents are not specified, the logical parents are the
+      -- direct parents.
+      scopeNodes = fromMaybe (nodeParents n) (nodeLogicalParents n)
+      loParents = [(ScopeEdge, v) | v <- scopeNodes]
+      -- The direct parents. They may overload with the scoping parents, but
+      -- this will be checked during the name analysis.
+      parents' = (const (DataStructureEdge ParentEdge) &&& id) <$> nodeParents n
+      loDeps = (const (DataStructureEdge LogicalEdge) &&& id) <$> nodeLogicalDependencies n
+    in loParents ++ parents' ++ loDeps
+
+instance HasNodeName UntypedNode where
+  getNodeName = nodeName
+  assignPath n p = updateNode n $ \n' -> n' { _cnPath = p }
+
+
+-- Stitches the nodes together to make sure that the edges in the graph also
+-- correspond to the dependencies in the nodes themselves.
+-- This does not update the nodeIds
+-- TODO is it needed?
+tieNodes :: ComputeDag UntypedNode StructureEdge -> ComputeDag UntypedNode StructureEdge
+tieNodes cd =
+  let g = computeGraphToGraph cd
+      f :: UntypedNode -> [(UntypedNode, StructureEdge)] -> Identity UntypedNode
+      f v l =
+        let parents' = V.fromList [n | (n, e) <- l, e == ParentEdge]
+            logDeps = V.fromList [n | (n, e) <- l, e == LogicalEdge]
+            res = updateNode v $ \n -> n {
+                  _cnParents = parents',
+                  _cnLogicalDeps = logDeps,
+                  _cnLogicalParents = Nothing }
+        in return res
+      g2 = runIdentity $ graphMapVertices g f
+  in graphToComputeGraph g2
+
+-- Assigs the paths, and drops the scoping edges.
+assignPathsUntyped :: (HasCallStack) =>
+  ComputeDag UntypedNode NodeEdge -> Try (ComputeDag UntypedNode StructureEdge)
+assignPathsUntyped cd = do
+  let pathCGraph = _getPathCDag cd
+  paths <- computePaths pathCGraph
+  let g = computeGraphToGraph $ assignPaths' paths cd
+  let f ScopeEdge = []
+      f (DataStructureEdge x) = [x]
+  let g' = graphFlatMapEdges g  f
+  return $ graphToComputeGraph g'
+
+
+-- transforms node edges into path edges
+_cleanEdges :: (HasCallStack) => [VertexEdge NodeEdge v] -> [VertexEdge PathEdge v]
+_cleanEdges [] = []
+_cleanEdges (h : t) =
+  let vid = vertexId (veEndVertex h)
+      others = [ve | ve <- t, (vertexId . veEndVertex $ ve) /= vid]
+      sames = [ve | ve <- t, (vertexId . veEndVertex $ ve) == vid]
+      rest = _cleanEdges others
+      e = veEdge h
+      -- If there multiple edges between nodes, they are dropped.
+      -- This distinction is not required for names.
+      eData = nub $ edgeData . veEdge <$> (h : sames)
+      eData' = case eData of
+        [DataStructureEdge ParentEdge] -> Just InnerEdge
+        [DataStructureEdge ParentEdge, ScopeEdge] -> Just SameLevelEdge
+        [ScopeEdge, DataStructureEdge ParentEdge] -> Just SameLevelEdge
+        [ScopeEdge] -> Just SameLevelEdge
+        [DataStructureEdge LogicalEdge] -> Nothing
+        l -> failure (sformat ("Could not understand combination "%shown) l)
+      res = case eData' of
+        Just v -> (h { veEdge = e { edgeData = v } }) : rest
+        Nothing -> rest
+    in res
+
+
+_getPathCDag :: (HasCallStack) => ComputeDag v NodeEdge -> ComputeDag v PathEdge
+_getPathCDag cd =
+  let adj' = M.map (V.fromList . _cleanEdges . toList) (cdEdges cd)
+  in cd { cdEdges = adj' }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenerics.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenerics.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenerics.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE PolyKinds #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DefaultSignatures #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE BangPatterns #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+
+
+-- The generic implementation for the protocol that converts to
+-- and from SQL cells.
+-- Going through JSON is not recommended because of precision loss
+-- for the numbers, and other issues related to numbers.
+module Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenerics(
+  ToSQL,
+  valueToCell,
+) where
+
+import GHC.Generics
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.Text(pack)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- We need to differentiate between the list built for the
+-- constructor and an inner object.
+data CurrentBuffer =
+  ConsData ![Cell]
+  | BuiltCell !Cell deriving (Show)
+
+_cellOrError :: CurrentBuffer -> Cell
+_cellOrError (BuiltCell cell) = cell
+_cellOrError x = let msg = "Expected built cell, received " ++ show x in
+  failure (pack msg)
+
+-- All the types that can be converted to a SQL value.
+class ToSQL a where
+  _valueToCell :: a -> Cell
+
+  default _valueToCell :: (Generic a, GToSQL (Rep a)) => a -> Cell
+  _valueToCell !x = _g2cell (from x)
+
+valueToCell :: (ToSQL a) => a -> Cell
+valueToCell = _valueToCell
+
+-- class FromSQL a where
+--   _cellToValue :: Cell -> Try a
+
+instance ToSQL a => ToSQL (Maybe a) where
+  _valueToCell (Just x) = _valueToCell x
+  _valueToCell Nothing = Empty
+
+instance ToSQL Int where
+  _valueToCell = IntElement
+
+class GToSQL r where
+  _g2buffer :: r a -> CurrentBuffer
+  _g2cell :: r a -> Cell
+  _g2cell = _cellOrError . _g2buffer
+
+instance GToSQL U1 where
+  _g2buffer U1 = failure $ pack "GToSQL UI called"
+
+-- | Constants, additional parameters and recursion of kind *
+instance (GToSQL a, GToSQL b) => GToSQL (a :*: b) where
+  _g2buffer (a :*: b) = case (_g2buffer a, _g2buffer b) of
+    (ConsData l1, ConsData l2) -> ConsData (l1 ++ l2)
+    (y1, y2) -> failure $ pack $ "GToSQL (a :*: b): Expected buffers, received " ++ show y1 ++ " and " ++ show y2
+
+instance (GToSQL a, GToSQL b) => GToSQL (a :+: b) where
+  _g2buffer (L1 x) = _g2buffer x
+  _g2buffer (R1 x) = let !y = _g2buffer x in y
+
+-- -- | Sums: encode choice between constructors
+-- instance (GToSQL a) => GToSQL (M1 i c a) where
+--   _g2cell !(M1 x) = let !y = _g2cell x in
+--     trace ("GToSQL M1: y = " ++ show y) y
+
+instance (GToSQL a, Constructor c) => GToSQL (M1 C c a) where
+  _g2buffer (M1 x) = let !y = _g2buffer x in y
+
+instance (GToSQL a, Selector c) => GToSQL (M1 S c a) where
+  _g2buffer (M1 x) = let !y = ConsData [_g2cell x] in y
+
+instance (GToSQL a, Datatype c) => GToSQL (M1 D c a) where
+  _g2buffer (M1 x) =
+    case _g2buffer x of
+      ConsData cs -> BuiltCell $ RowArray (V.fromList cs)
+      BuiltCell cell -> BuiltCell cell
+
+-- | Products: encode multiple arguments to constructors
+instance (ToSQL a) => GToSQL (K1 i a) where
+  _g2buffer (K1 x) = let !y = _valueToCell x in BuiltCell y
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenericsFrom.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenericsFrom.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowGenericsFrom.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE PolyKinds #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DefaultSignatures #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+
+-- The generic implementation for the protocol that converts to
+-- and from SQL cells.
+-- Going through JSON is not recommended because of precision loss
+-- for the numbers, and other issues related to numbers.
+module Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenericsFrom(
+  FromSQL,
+  cellToValue,
+) where
+
+import GHC.Generics
+import Data.Text(Text, pack)
+import Control.Monad.Except
+import Formatting
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- Convert a cell to a value (if possible)
+cellToValue :: (FromSQL a) => Cell -> Either Text a
+cellToValue = _cellToValue
+
+type TryS = Either Text
+
+-- Switch between the constructor list or parsing a regular cell.
+data Decode2 =
+    D2Cons ![Cell]
+  | D2Normal !Cell
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- All the types that can be converted to a SQL value.
+class FromSQL a where
+  _cellToValue :: Cell -> TryS a
+
+  default _cellToValue :: (Generic a, GFromSQL (Rep a)) => Cell -> TryS a
+  _cellToValue cell = let
+      x1r = _gFcell (D2Normal cell) :: TryS (Rep a a)
+      x1t = to <$> x1r
+    in x1t
+
+
+instance FromSQL a => FromSQL (Maybe a) where
+  _cellToValue Empty = pure Nothing
+  _cellToValue x = pure <$> _cellToValue x
+
+instance FromSQL Int where
+  _cellToValue (IntElement x) = pure x
+  _cellToValue x = throwError $ sformat ("FromSQL: Decoding an int from "%shown) x
+
+instance FromSQL Cell where
+  _cellToValue = pure
+
+instance FromSQL a => FromSQL [a] where
+  _cellToValue (RowArray xs) = sequence (_cellToValue <$> V.toList xs)
+  _cellToValue x = throwError $ sformat ("FromSQL: Decoding array from "%shown) x
+-- ******* GENERIC ********
+
+class GFromSQL r where
+  _gFcell :: Decode2 -> TryS (r a)
+
+instance GFromSQL U1 where
+  _gFcell x = failure $ pack $ "GFromSQL UI called" ++ show x
+
+instance (GFromSQL a, GFromSQL b) => GFromSQL (a :*: b) where
+  _gFcell (D2Normal (RowArray arr)) | not (V.null arr) =
+    let (cell : l) = V.toList arr
+        x1t = _gFcell (D2Normal cell)
+        x2t = _gFcell (D2Cons l)
+        x = do
+          x1 <- x1t
+          x2 <- x2t
+          return (x1 :*: x2)
+    in x
+  _gFcell (D2Cons (cell : l)) =
+    let x1t = _gFcell (D2Cons [cell])
+        x2t = _gFcell (D2Cons l)
+        x = do
+          x1 <- x1t
+          x2 <- x2t
+          return (x1 :*: x2)
+    in x
+  _gFcell x = failure $ pack ("GFromSQL (a :*: b) " ++ show x)
+
+
+instance (GFromSQL a, GFromSQL b) => GFromSQL (a :+: b) where
+  _gFcell x = failure $ pack $ "GFromSQL (a :+: b)" ++ show x
+
+_m1 :: GFromSQL f1 => String -> Decode2 -> TryS (M1 i1 c1 f1 p1)
+_m1 msg (D2Cons x) = failure $ pack (msg ++ " FAILED CONS: " ++ show x)
+_m1 _ (D2Normal cell) =
+    let xt = _gFcell (D2Normal cell) in
+      M1 <$> xt
+
+instance (GFromSQL a, Constructor c) => GFromSQL (M1 C c a) where
+  _gFcell = _m1 "GFromSQL (M1 C c a)"
+
+instance (GFromSQL a, Selector c) => GFromSQL (M1 S c a) where
+  _gFcell (D2Normal (RowArray arr)) | V.length arr == 1 =
+    M1 <$> _gFcell (D2Cons [cell]) where
+      cell = V.head arr
+  _gFcell z @ (D2Cons [_]) =
+    M1 <$> _gFcell z
+  _gFcell x = _m1 "GFromSQL (M1 S c a)" x
+
+instance (GFromSQL a, Datatype c) => GFromSQL (M1 D c a) where
+  _gFcell z @ (D2Normal (RowArray _)) =
+    let xt = _gFcell z in
+      M1 <$> xt
+  _gFcell x = failure $ pack $ "FAIL GFromSQL (M1 D c a)" ++ show x
+
+-- | Products: encode multiple arguments to constructors
+instance (FromSQL a) => GFromSQL (K1 i a) where
+  _gFcell (D2Normal cell) =
+    let xt = _cellToValue cell :: TryS a in
+      K1 <$> xt
+  _gFcell (D2Cons [cell]) =
+    let xt = _cellToValue cell in
+      K1 <$> xt
+  _gFcell x = failure $ pack ("GFromSQLK FAIL " ++ show x)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+module Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+
+-- | The basic representation of one row of data. This is a standard type that comes out of the
+-- SQL engine in Spark.
+
+-- | An element in a Row object.
+-- All objects manipulated by the Spark framework are assumed to
+-- be convertible to cells.
+--
+-- This is usually handled by generic transforms.
+data Cell =
+    Empty -- To represent maybe
+    | IntElement !Int
+    | StringElement !T.Text
+    | RowArray !(Vector Cell) deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+-- | A Row of data: the basic data structure to transport information
+-- TODO rename to rowCells
+data Row = Row {
+    cells :: !(Vector Cell)
+  } deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+
+-- AESON INSTANCES
+
+-- TODO(kps) add some workaround to account for the restriction of
+-- JSON types:
+-- int32 -> int32
+-- double -> double
+-- weird double -> string?
+-- long/bigint -> string?
+
+-- | Cell
+instance ToJSON Cell where
+  toJSON Empty = Null
+  toJSON (IntElement i) = toJSON i
+  toJSON (StringElement s) = toJSON s
+  toJSON (RowArray arr) = toJSON arr
+
+-- | Row
+instance ToJSON Row where
+  toJSON (Row x) = toJSON x
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtils.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtils.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtils.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtils(
+  jsonToCell,
+  checkCell,
+) where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Data.Maybe(catMaybes, listToMaybe)
+import Formatting
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HM
+import Data.Scientific(floatingOrInteger)
+import Control.Monad.Except
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(FieldName(..))
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+
+-- | Decodes a JSON into a row.
+-- This operation requires a SQL type that describes
+ -- the schema.
+jsonToCell :: DataType -> Value -> Either Text Cell
+jsonToCell dt v = _j2Cell v dt
+
+{-| Given a datatype, ensures that the cell has the corresponding type.
+-}
+checkCell :: DataType -> Cell -> Either Text Cell
+checkCell dt c = case _checkCell dt c of
+  Nothing -> pure c
+  Just txt -> throwError txt
+
+
+type TryCell = Either Text Cell
+
+-- Returns an error message if something wrong is found
+_checkCell :: DataType -> Cell -> Maybe Text
+_checkCell dt c = case (dt, c) of
+  (NullableType _, Empty) -> Nothing
+  (StrictType _, Empty) ->
+    pure $ sformat ("Expected a strict value of type "%sh%" but no value") dt
+  (StrictType sdt, x) -> _checkCell' sdt x
+  (NullableType sdt, x) -> _checkCell' sdt x
+
+-- Returns an error message if something wrong is found
+_checkCell' :: StrictDataType -> Cell -> Maybe Text
+_checkCell' sdt c = case (sdt, c) of
+  (_, Empty) ->
+    pure $ sformat ("Expected a strict value of type "%sh%" but no value") sdt
+  (IntType, IntElement _) -> Nothing
+  (StringType, StringElement _) -> Nothing
+  (Struct (StructType fields), RowArray cells') ->
+    if V.length fields == V.length cells'
+      then
+        let types = V.toList $ structFieldType <$> fields
+            res = uncurry _checkCell <$> (types `zip` V.toList cells')
+        in listToMaybe (catMaybes res)
+      else
+        pure $ sformat ("Struct "%sh%" has "%sh%" fields, asked to be matched with "%sh%" cells") sdt (V.length fields) (V.length cells')
+  (ArrayType dt, RowArray cells') ->
+    let res = uncurry _checkCell <$> (repeat dt `zip` V.toList cells')
+    in listToMaybe (catMaybes res)
+  (_, _) ->
+    pure $ sformat ("Type "%sh%" is incompatible with cell content "%sh) sdt c
+
+
+_j2Cell :: Value -> DataType -> TryCell
+_j2Cell Null (StrictType t) =
+  throwError $ sformat ("_j2Cell: Expected "%shown%", got null") t
+_j2Cell Null (NullableType _) = pure Empty
+_j2Cell x (StrictType t) = _j2CellS x t
+-- We do not express optional types at cell level. They have to be
+-- encoded in the data type.
+_j2Cell x (NullableType t) = _j2CellS x t
+--_j2Cell x t = throwError $ sformat ("_j2Cell: Could not match value "%shown%" with type "%shown) x t
+
+_j2CellS :: Value -> StrictDataType -> TryCell
+_j2CellS (String t) StringType = Right . StringElement $ t
+_j2CellS (Array v) (ArrayType t) =
+  let trys = flip _j2Cell t <$> v in
+    RowArray <$> sequence trys
+_j2CellS (Number s) IntType = case floatingOrInteger s :: Either Double Int of
+  Left _ -> throwError $ sformat ("_j2CellS: Could not cast as int "%shown) s
+  Right i -> pure (IntElement i)
+-- Normal representation as object.
+_j2CellS (Object o) (Struct struct) =
+  let
+    o2f :: StructField -> TryCell
+    o2f field =
+      let nullable = isNullable $ structFieldType field
+          val = HM.lookup (unFieldName $ structFieldName field) o in
+      case val of
+        Nothing ->
+          if nullable then
+            pure Empty
+          else throwError $ sformat ("_j2CellS: Could not find key "%shown%" in object "%shown) field o
+        Just x -> _j2Cell x (structFieldType field)
+    fields = o2f <$> structFields struct
+  in RowArray <$> sequence fields
+-- Compact array-based representation.
+_j2CellS (Array v) (Struct (StructType fields)) =
+  if V.length v == V.length fields
+    then
+      let dts = structFieldType <$> fields
+          inner = uncurry _j2Cell <$> V.zip v dts
+      in RowArray <$> sequence inner
+    else throwError $ sformat ("_j2CellS: Compact object format a different number of fields '"%shown%"' compared "%shown) v fields
+_j2CellS x t = throwError $ sformat ("_j2CellS: Could not match value '"%shown%"' with type "%shown) x t
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesFunctions.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesFunctions.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesFunctions.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions(
+  isNullable,
+  iInnerStrictType,
+  columnType,
+  unsafeCastType,
+  intType,
+  arrayType,
+  arrayType',
+  frameTypeFromCol,
+  colTypeFromFrame,
+  canNull,
+  structField,
+  structType,
+  iSingleField,
+  -- cellType,
+) where
+
+import Data.Text as T
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+
+-- Performs a cast of the type.
+-- This may throw an error if the required type b is not
+-- compatible with the type embedded in a.
+unsafeCastType :: SQLType a -> SQLType b
+-- TODO add more error checking here.
+unsafeCastType (SQLType dt) = SQLType dt
+
+
+-- Given a sql type tag, returns the equivalent data type for a column or a blob
+-- (internal)
+columnType :: SQLType a -> DataType
+columnType (SQLType dt) = dt
+
+-- (internal)
+isNullable :: DataType -> Bool
+isNullable (StrictType _) = False
+isNullable (NullableType _) = True
+
+
+-- *** Creation of data types ***
+
+
+-- Takes a data type (assumed to be that of a column or cell) and returns the
+-- corresponding dataset type.
+-- This should only be used when talking to Spark.
+-- All visible operations in Krapsh use Cell types instead.
+-- TODO should it use value or _1? Both seem to be used in Spark.
+frameTypeFromCol :: DataType -> StructType
+frameTypeFromCol (StrictType (Struct struct)) = struct
+frameTypeFromCol dt = _structFromUnfields [("value", dt)]
+
+-- Given the structural type for a dataframe or a dataset, returns the
+-- equivalent column type.
+colTypeFromFrame :: StructType -> DataType
+colTypeFromFrame st @ (StructType fs) = case V.toList fs of
+  [StructField {
+    structFieldName = fname,
+    structFieldType = (StrictType dt)}] | fname == "value" ->
+      StrictType dt
+  _ -> StrictType (Struct st)
+
+
+-- The strict int type
+intType :: DataType
+intType = StrictType IntType
+
+-- a string
+structField :: T.Text -> DataType -> StructField
+structField txt = StructField (FieldName txt)
+
+-- The strict structure type
+structType :: [StructField] -> DataType
+structType = StrictType . Struct . StructType . V.fromList
+
+-- The strict array type
+arrayType' :: DataType -> DataType
+arrayType' = StrictType . ArrayType
+
+-- Returns the equivalent data type that may be nulled.
+canNull :: DataType -> DataType
+canNull = NullableType . iInnerStrictType
+
+-- Given a type, returns the corresponding array type.
+-- This is preferred to using directly buildType, as it may encounter some
+-- overlapping instances.
+arrayType :: SQLType a -> SQLType [a]
+arrayType (SQLType dt) = SQLType (arrayType' dt)
+
+iInnerStrictType :: DataType -> StrictDataType
+iInnerStrictType (StrictType st) = st
+iInnerStrictType (NullableType st) = st
+
+iSingleField :: DataType -> Maybe DataType
+iSingleField (StrictType (Struct (StructType fields))) = case V.toList fields of
+  [StructField _ dt] -> Just dt
+  _ -> Nothing
+iSingleField _ = Nothing
+
+
+_structFromUnfields :: [(T.Text, DataType)] -> StructType
+_structFromUnfields l = StructType . V.fromList $ x where
+   x = [StructField (FieldName name) dt | (name, dt) <- l]
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesGenerics.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesGenerics.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesGenerics.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE PolyKinds #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DefaultSignatures #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE BangPatterns #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.TypesGenerics where
+
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.Text(Text, pack)
+import Data.Proxy
+import GHC.Generics
+import Formatting
+import Debug.Trace
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(FieldName(..), unsafeFieldName)
+
+-- The 3rd attempt to get generics conversions.
+
+-- Given a tag on a type, returns the equivalent SQL type.
+-- This is the type for a cell, not for a row.
+-- TODO(kps) more documentation
+buildType :: (SQLTypeable a) => SQLType a
+buildType = _buildType
+
+
+-- The class of all the types for which the SQL type can be inferred
+-- from the Haskell type only.
+-- Two notable exceptions are Row and Cell, which are the dynamic types
+-- used by Spark.
+-- See also buildType on how to use it.
+class SQLTypeable a where
+  _genericTypeFromValue :: a -> GenericType
+  default _genericTypeFromValue :: (Generic a, GenSQLTypeable (Rep a)) => a -> GenericType
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ = genBuildType (Proxy :: Proxy a)
+
+  -- | The only function that should matter for users in this file.
+  -- Given a type, returns the SQL representation of this type.
+  _buildType :: SQLType a
+  _buildType =
+    let !dt = _genericTypeFromValue (undefined :: a)
+        SQLType u = dt in SQLType u
+
+-- These a private types that should not be used elsewhere.
+data GenericRow
+type GenericType = SQLType GenericRow
+
+
+-- Generic building type.
+genBuildType :: forall a. (Generic a, GenSQLTypeable (Rep a)) => Proxy a -> GenericType
+genBuildType _ = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy (Rep a))
+
+
+instance SQLTypeable Int where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ = SQLType (StrictType IntType)
+
+instance SQLTypeable Text where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ = SQLType (StrictType StringType)
+
+instance {-# INCOHERENT #-} SQLTypeable String where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ = SQLType (StrictType StringType)
+
+instance SQLTypeable a => SQLTypeable (Maybe a) where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ = let SQLType dt = buildType :: (SQLType a) in
+    (SQLType . NullableType . iInnerStrictType) dt
+
+instance {-# OVERLAPPABLE #-} SQLTypeable a => SQLTypeable [a] where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ =
+    let SQLType dt = buildType :: (SQLType a) in
+      (SQLType . StrictType . ArrayType) dt
+
+instance forall a1 a2. (
+    SQLTypeable a2,
+    SQLTypeable a1) => SQLTypeable (a1, a2) where
+  _genericTypeFromValue _ =
+    let
+      SQLType t1 = buildType :: SQLType a1
+      SQLType t2 = buildType :: SQLType a2
+    in _buildTupleStruct [t1, t2]
+
+_buildTupleStruct :: [DataType] -> SQLType x
+_buildTupleStruct dts =
+  let fnames = unsafeFieldName . pack. ("_" ++) . show <$> ([1..] :: [Int])
+      fs = uncurry StructField <$> zip fnames dts
+  in SQLType . StrictType . Struct . StructType $ V.fromList fs
+
+-- instance (SQLTypeable a, SQLTypeable b) => SQLTypeable (a,b) where
+--   _genericTypeFromValue _ = _genericTypeFromValue (undefined :: a) ++ _genericTypeFromValue (undefined :: b)
+
+-- Generic SQLTypeable
+class GenSQLTypeable a where
+  genTypeFromProxy :: Proxy a -> GenericType
+
+-- Datatype
+instance GenSQLTypeable f => GenSQLTypeable (M1 D x f) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy f)
+
+-- Constructor Metadata
+instance (GenSQLTypeable f, Constructor c) => GenSQLTypeable (M1 C c f) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _
+    | conIsRecord (undefined :: t c f a) =
+        let !dt = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy f) in
+          dt
+    | otherwise =
+        -- It is assumed to be a newtype and we are going to unwrap it
+        let !dt1 = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy f)
+        in case iSingleField (unSQLType dt1) of
+          Just dt -> SQLType dt
+          Nothing ->
+            failure $ sformat ("M1 C "%sh%" dt1="%sh) n dt1
+              where m = undefined :: t c f a
+                    n = conName m
+
+-- Selector Metadata
+instance (GenSQLTypeable f, Selector c) => GenSQLTypeable (M1 S c f) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ =
+    let !st = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy f)
+        m = undefined :: t c f a
+        n = selName m
+        SQLType innerdt = st
+        field = StructField { structFieldName = FieldName $ pack n, structFieldType = innerdt }
+        st2 = StructType (V.singleton field) in
+      SQLType (StrictType $ Struct st2)
+
+-- Constructor Paramater
+instance (GenSQLTypeable (Rep f), SQLTypeable f) => GenSQLTypeable (K1 R f) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ = _genericTypeFromValue (undefined :: f)
+
+-- Sum branch
+instance (GenSQLTypeable a, GenSQLTypeable b) => GenSQLTypeable (a :+: b) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ =
+    let !y1 = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy a)
+        !y2 = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy b) in
+      -- TODO: need to prune the branch and throw an error here
+      trace ("SUM: y1=" ++ show y1 ++ " y2=" ++ show y2) y1
+
+-- Product branch
+instance (GenSQLTypeable a, GenSQLTypeable b) => GenSQLTypeable (a :*: b) where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ =
+    let y1 = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy a)
+        y2 = genTypeFromProxy (Proxy :: Proxy b) in case (y1, y2) of
+        (SQLType (StrictType (Struct s1)), SQLType (StrictType (Struct s2))) ->
+          (SQLType . StrictType . Struct) s where
+            fs = structFields s1 V.++ structFields s2
+            s = StructType fs
+        _ -> failure $ sformat ("should not happen: left="%sh%" right="%sh) y1 y2
+
+-- Void branch
+instance GenSQLTypeable U1 where
+  genTypeFromProxy _ = failure "U1"
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesStructures.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesStructures.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/TypesStructures.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+{-| The structures of data types in Krapsh.
+
+For a detailed description of the supported types, see
+http://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/sql-programming-guide.html#data-types
+
+At a high-level, Spark DataFrames and Datasets are equivalent to lists of
+objects whose type can be mapped to the same StructType:
+Dataset a ~ ArrayType StructType (...)
+Columns of a dataset are equivalent to lists of object whose type can be
+mapped to the same DataType (either Strict or Nullable)
+Local data (or "blobs") are single elements whose type can be mapped to a
+DataType (either strict or nullable)
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.Aeson as A
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import GHC.Generics(Generic)
+import Test.QuickCheck
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(FieldName(..))
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+
+-- The core type algebra
+
+-- | The data types that are guaranteed to not be null: evaluating them will return a value.
+data StrictDataType =
+    IntType
+  | StringType
+  | Struct !StructType
+  | ArrayType { elementType :: !DataType } deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | All the data types supported by the Spark engine.
+-- The data types can either be nullable (they may contain null values) or strict (all the values are present).
+-- There are a couple of differences with the algebraic data types in Haskell:
+-- Maybe (Maybe a) ~ Maybe a which implies that arbitrary nesting of values will be flattened to a top-level Nullable
+-- Similarly, [[]] ~ []
+data DataType =
+    StrictType !StrictDataType
+  | NullableType !StrictDataType deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | A field in a structure
+data StructField = StructField {
+  structFieldName :: !FieldName,
+  structFieldType :: !DataType
+} deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | The main structure of a dataframe or a dataset
+data StructType = StructType {
+  structFields :: !(Vector StructField)
+} deriving (Eq)
+
+
+-- Convenience types
+
+-- | Represents the choice between a strict and a nullable field
+data Nullable = CanNull | NoNull deriving (Show, Eq)
+
+-- | Encodes the type of all the nullable data types
+data NullableDataType = NullableDataType !StrictDataType deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | A tagged datatype that encodes the sql types
+-- This is the main type information that should be used by users.
+data SQLType a = SQLType {
+  -- | The underlying data type.
+  unSQLType :: !DataType
+} deriving (Eq, Generic)
+
+
+instance Show DataType where
+  show (StrictType x) = show x
+  show (NullableType x) = show x ++ "?"
+
+instance Show StrictDataType where
+  show StringType = "string"
+  show IntType = "int"
+  show (Struct struct) = show struct
+  show array = "[" ++ show (elementType array) ++ "]"
+
+instance Show StructField where
+  show field = (T.unpack . unFieldName . structFieldName) field ++ ":" ++ s where
+    s = show $ structFieldType field
+
+instance Show StructType where
+  show struct = "{" ++ unwords (map show (V.toList . structFields $ struct)) ++ "}"
+
+instance Show (SQLType a) where
+  show (SQLType dt) = show dt
+
+
+-- QUICKCHECK INSTANCES
+
+
+instance Arbitrary StructField where
+  arbitrary = do
+    name <- elements ["_1", "a", "b", "abc"]
+    dt <- arbitrary :: Gen DataType
+    return $ StructField (FieldName $ T.pack name) dt
+
+instance Arbitrary StructType where
+  arbitrary = do
+    fields <- listOf arbitrary
+    return . StructType . V.fromList $ fields
+
+instance Arbitrary StrictDataType where
+  arbitrary = do
+    idx <- elements [1,2] :: Gen Int
+    return $ case idx of
+      1 -> StringType
+      2 -> IntType
+      _ -> failure "Arbitrary StrictDataType"
+
+instance Arbitrary DataType where
+  arbitrary = do
+    x <- arbitrary
+    u <- arbitrary
+    return $ if x then
+      StrictType u
+    else
+      NullableType u
+
+-- AESON INSTANCES
+
+-- This follows the same structure as the JSON generated by Spark.
+instance ToJSON StrictDataType where
+  toJSON IntType = "integer"
+  toJSON StringType = "string"
+  toJSON (Struct struct) = toJSON struct
+  toJSON (ArrayType (StrictType dt)) =
+    object [ "type" .= A.String "array"
+           , "elementType" .= toJSON dt
+           , "containsNull" .= A.Bool False ]
+  toJSON (ArrayType (NullableType dt)) =
+    object [ "type" .= A.String "array"
+           , "elementType" .= toJSON dt
+           , "containsNull" .= A.Bool True ]
+
+instance ToJSON StructType where
+  toJSON (StructType fields) =
+    let
+      fs = (snd . _fieldToJson) <$> V.toList fields
+    in object [ "type" .= A.String "struct"
+              , "fields" .= fs ]
+
+-- Spark drops the info at the highest level.
+instance ToJSON DataType where
+  toJSON (StrictType dt) = object [
+    "nullable" .= A.Bool False,
+    "dt" .= toJSON dt]
+  toJSON (NullableType dt) = object [
+    "nullable" .= A.Bool True,
+    "dt" .= toJSON dt]
+
+_fieldToJson :: StructField -> (T.Text, A.Value)
+_fieldToJson (StructField (FieldName n) (StrictType dt)) =
+  (n, object [ "name" .= A.String n
+             , "type" .= toJSON dt
+             , "nullable" .= A.Bool False])
+_fieldToJson (StructField (FieldName n) (NullableType dt)) =
+  (n, object [ "name" .= A.String n
+             , "type" .= toJSON dt
+             , "nullable" .= A.Bool True])
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Utilities.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Utilities.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Internal/Utilities.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE BangPatterns #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+
+{-| A collection of small utility functions.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities(
+  LB.HasCallStack,
+  UnknownType,
+  pretty,
+  myGroupBy,
+  myGroupBy',
+  CanRename(..),
+  missing,
+  failure,
+  failure',
+  forceRight,
+  show',
+  encodeDeterministicPretty,
+  strictList,
+  traceHint,
+  SF.sh,
+  (<&>),
+  (<>)
+  ) where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Aeson.Encode.Pretty
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as Char8
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Formatting.ShortFormatters as SF
+import Control.Arrow ((&&&))
+import Data.List
+import Data.Function
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Formatting
+import Debug.Trace(trace)
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import Data.Monoid((<>))
+
+import qualified Spark.Core.Internal.LocatedBase as LB
+
+(<&>) :: Functor f => f a -> (a -> b) -> f b
+(<&>) = flip fmap
+
+-- | A type that is is not known and that is not meant to be exposed to the
+-- user.
+data UnknownType
+
+{-| Pretty printing for Aeson values (and deterministic output)
+-}
+pretty :: Value -> Text
+pretty = T.pack . Char8.unpack . encodeDeterministicPretty
+
+-- | Produces a bytestring output of a JSON value that is deterministic
+-- and that is invariant to the insertion order of the keys.
+-- (i.e the keys are stored in alphabetic order)
+-- This is to ensure that all id computations are stable and reproducible
+-- on the server part.
+-- TODO(kps) use everywhere JSON is converted
+encodeDeterministicPretty :: Value -> LBS.ByteString
+encodeDeterministicPretty =
+  encodePretty' (defConfig { confIndent = Spaces 0, confCompare = compare })
+
+-- | group by
+myGroupBy' :: (Ord b) => (a -> b) -> [a] -> [(b, [a])]
+myGroupBy' f = map (f . head &&& id)
+                   . groupBy ((==) `on` f)
+                   . sortBy (compare `on` f)
+
+-- | group by
+myGroupBy :: (Ord a) => [(a, b)] -> M.Map a [b]
+myGroupBy l = let
+  l2 = myGroupBy' fst l in
+  M.map (snd <$>) $ M.fromList l2
+
+-- | The class of types that can be renamed.
+-- It is made generic because it covers 2 notions:
+--   - the name of a compute node that will eventually determine its compute path
+--   - the name of field (which may become an object path)
+-- This syntax tries to be convenient and will fail immediately
+-- for basic errors such as illegal characters.
+--
+-- This could be revisited in the future, but it is a compromise
+-- on readability.
+class CanRename a txt where
+  (@@) :: a -> txt -> a
+
+infixl 1 @@
+
+-- | Missing implementations in the code base.
+missing :: (LB.HasCallStack) => Text -> a
+missing msg = LB.error $ T.concat ["MISSING IMPLEMENTATION: ", msg]
+
+{-| The function that is used to trigger exception due to internal programming
+errors.
+
+Currently, all programming errors simply trigger an exception. All these
+impure functions are tagged with an implicit call stack argument.
+-}
+failure :: (LB.HasCallStack) => Text -> a
+failure msg = LB.error (T.concat ["FAILURE in Spark. Hint: ", msg])
+
+failure' :: (LB.HasCallStack) => Format Text (a -> Text) -> a -> c
+failure' x = failure . sformat x
+
+
+{-| Given a DataFrame or a LocalFrame, attempts to get the value,
+or throws the error.
+
+This function is not total.
+-}
+forceRight :: (LB.HasCallStack, Show a) => Either a b -> b
+forceRight (Right b) = b
+forceRight (Left a) = LB.error $
+  sformat ("Failure from either, got instead a left: "%shown) a
+
+-- | Force the complete evaluation of a list to WNF.
+strictList :: (Show a) => [a] -> [a]
+strictList [] = []
+strictList (h : t) = let !t' = strictList t in (h : t')
+
+-- | (internal) prints a hint with a value
+traceHint :: (Show a) => Text -> a -> a
+traceHint hint x = trace (T.unpack hint ++ show x) x
+
+-- | show with Text
+show' :: (Show a) => a -> Text
+show' x = T.pack (show x)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Row.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Row.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Row.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+module Spark.Core.Row(
+  module Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures,
+  ToSQL,
+  FromSQL,
+  valueToCell,
+  cellToValue,
+  jsonToCell
+  ) where
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenerics
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowGenericsFrom
+import Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtils
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/StructuresInternal.hs b/src/Spark/Core/StructuresInternal.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/StructuresInternal.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+-- Some basic structures about nodes in a graph, etc.
+
+module Spark.Core.StructuresInternal(
+  NodeName(..),
+  NodePath(..),
+  NodeId(..),
+  FieldName(..),
+  FieldPath(..),
+  catNodePath,
+  fieldName,
+  unsafeFieldName,
+  fieldPath,
+) where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Data.ByteString(ByteString)
+import GHC.Generics (Generic)
+import Data.Hashable(Hashable)
+import Data.List(intercalate)
+import qualified Data.Aeson as A
+import Data.String(IsString(..))
+import Data.Vector(Vector)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+-- | The name of a node (without path information)
+newtype NodeName = NodeName { unNodeName :: T.Text } deriving (Eq, Ord)
+
+-- | The user-defined path of the node in the hierarchical representation of the graph.
+newtype NodePath = NodePath { unNodePath :: Vector NodeName } deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | The unique ID of a node. It is based on the parents of the node
+-- and all the relevant intrinsic values of the node.
+newtype NodeId = NodeId { unNodeId :: ByteString } deriving (Eq, Ord, Generic)
+
+-- | The name of a field in a sql structure
+-- This structure ensures that proper escaping happens if required.
+-- TODO: prevent the constructor from being used, it should be checked first.
+newtype FieldName = FieldName { unFieldName :: T.Text } deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | A path to a nested field an a sql structure.
+-- This structure ensures that proper escaping happens if required.
+newtype FieldPath = FieldPath { unFieldPath :: Vector FieldName } deriving (Eq)
+
+-- | A safe constructor for field names that fixes all the issues relevant to
+-- SQL escaping
+-- TODO: proper implementation
+fieldName :: T.Text -> Either String FieldName
+fieldName = Right . FieldName
+
+-- | Constructs the field name, but will fail if the content is not correct.
+unsafeFieldName :: (HasCallStack) => T.Text -> FieldName
+unsafeFieldName = forceRight . fieldName
+
+-- | A safe constructor for field names that fixes all the issues relevant to SQL escaping
+-- TODO: proper implementation
+fieldPath :: T.Text -> Either String FieldPath
+fieldPath x = Right . FieldPath . V.singleton $ FieldName x
+
+-- | The concatenated path. This is the inverse function of fieldPath.
+catNodePath :: NodePath -> T.Text
+catNodePath (NodePath np) =
+  T.intercalate "/" (unNodeName <$> V.toList np)
+
+instance Show NodeId where
+  show (NodeId bs) = let s = show bs in
+    if length s > 9 then
+      (drop 1 . take 6) s ++ ".."
+    else
+      s
+
+instance Show NodeName where
+  show (NodeName nn) = T.unpack nn
+
+instance Show NodePath where
+  show np = T.unpack $ T.concat ["NPath(", catNodePath np, ")" ]
+
+instance Show FieldPath where
+  show (FieldPath l) =
+    intercalate "." (show <$> V.toList l)
+
+instance Show FieldName where
+  -- TODO(kps) escape the '.' characters in the field name
+  show (FieldName fn) = T.unpack fn
+
+instance Hashable NodeId
+
+instance IsString FieldName where
+  fromString = FieldName . T.pack
+
+instance A.ToJSON NodeName where
+  toJSON = A.toJSON . unNodeName
+
+instance A.ToJSON NodePath where
+  toJSON = A.toJSON . unNodePath
+
+instance A.ToJSON FieldName where
+  toJSON = A.toJSON . unFieldName
+
+instance A.ToJSON FieldPath where
+  toJSON = A.toJSON . unFieldPath
+
+instance Ord FieldName where
+  compare f1 f2 = compare (unFieldName f1) (unFieldName f2)
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Try.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Try.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Try.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+
+{-|
+Useful classes and functions to deal with failures
+within the Krapsh framework.
+
+This is a developer API. Users should not have to invoke functions
+from this module.
+-}
+module Spark.Core.Try(
+  NodeError(..),
+  Try,
+  tryError,
+  tryEither
+  ) where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+
+-- | An error associated to a particular node (an observable or a dataset).
+data NodeError = Error {
+  ePath :: NodePath,
+  eMessage :: T.Text
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+-- | The common result of attempting to build something.
+type Try = Either NodeError
+
+
+-- TODO: rename to tryError
+_error :: T.Text -> Try a
+_error txt = Left Error {
+    ePath = NodePath V.empty,
+    eMessage = txt
+  }
+
+-- | Returns an error object given a text clue.
+tryError :: T.Text -> Try a
+tryError = _error
+
+-- | Returns an error object given a string clue.
+--Remove this method
+--tryError' :: String -> Try a
+--tryError' = _error . T.pack
+
+-- | (internal)
+-- Given a potentially errored object, converts it to a Try.
+tryEither :: Either T.Text a -> Try a
+tryEither (Left msg) = tryError msg
+tryEither (Right x) = Right x
diff --git a/src/Spark/Core/Types.hs b/src/Spark/Core/Types.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spark/Core/Types.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Types(
+  DataType,
+  Nullable(..),
+  TupleEquivalence(..),
+  NameTuple(..),
+  -- intType,
+  -- canNull,
+  -- noNull,
+  -- stringType,
+  -- arrayType',
+  -- cellType,
+  -- structField,
+  -- structType,
+  -- arrayType,
+  SQLType,
+  columnType,
+  SQLTypeable,
+  buildType,
+  StructField,
+  StructType,
+  castType,
+  catNodePath
+) where
+
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesGenerics
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.FunctionsInternals(TupleEquivalence(..), NameTuple(..))
+import Spark.Core.Try
+
+-- | Description of types supported in DataSets
+-- Krapsh supports a restrictive subset of Algebraic Datatypes that is amenable to SQL
+-- transformations. This file contains the description of all the supported types, and some
+-- conversion tools.
+
+
+-- -- Converts an (untyped) datatype to a generic tagged SQLType.
+-- cellType :: DataType -> CellType
+-- cellType = SQLType
+
+-- Takes a given type and attempts to cast it to another type,
+-- which is known by the type system.
+castType :: forall a b. (SQLTypeable b) => SQLType a -> Try (SQLType b)
+castType sqlt =
+  let sqlt' = buildType :: SQLType b in
+    if unSQLType sqlt == unSQLType sqlt' then Right sqlt'
+      else tryError $ sformat ("castType: tried to cast "%shown%" into incompatible type "%shown) sqlt sqlt'
diff --git a/test-integration/Spark/Core/CachingSpec.hs b/test-integration/Spark/Core/CachingSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-integration/Spark/Core/CachingSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.CachingSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Text
+
+import Spark.Core.Context
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions
+
+
+-- Collecting a dataset made from a list should yield the same list (modulo
+-- some reordering)
+collectIdempotent :: [Int] -> IO ()
+collectIdempotent l = do
+  let ds = dataset l
+  let ds' = autocache ds
+  let c1 = asCol ds'
+  let s1 = colSum c1
+  let s2 = count ds'
+  let x = s1 + s2
+  l2 <- exec1Def x
+  l2 `shouldBe` (sum l + length l)
+
+run :: String -> IO () -> SpecWith (Arg (IO ()))
+run s f = it s $ do
+  createSparkSessionDef $ defaultConf { confRequestedSessionName = Data.Text.pack s }
+  f
+  -- This is horribly not robust to any sort of failure, but it will do for now
+  -- TODO(kps) make more robust
+  closeSparkSessionDef
+  return ()
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Integration test - caching on ints" $ do
+    run "cache_sum1" $
+      collectIdempotent ([1,2,3] :: [Int])
diff --git a/test-integration/Spark/Core/CollectSpec.hs b/test-integration/Spark/Core/CollectSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-integration/Spark/Core/CollectSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.CollectSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Text
+import Data.List(sort)
+
+import Spark.Core.Context
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Column
+
+
+-- Collecting a dataset made from a list should yield the same list (modulo
+-- some reordering)
+-- TODO: replace the ordering by the canonical ordering over the data
+collectIdempotent :: (Ord a, Eq a, Show a, SQLTypeable a, ToSQL a, FromSQL a) => [a] -> IO ()
+collectIdempotent l = do
+  let ds = dataset l
+  l2 <- exec1Def $ collect (asCol ds)
+  l2 `shouldBe` sort l
+
+run :: String -> IO () -> SpecWith (Arg (IO ()))
+run s f = it s $ do
+  createSparkSessionDef $ defaultConf { confRequestedSessionName = Data.Text.pack s }
+  f
+  -- This is horribly not robust to any sort of failure, but it will do for now
+  -- TODO(kps) make more robust
+  closeSparkSessionDef
+  return ()
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Integration test - collect on ints" $ do
+    run "empty_ints1" $
+      collectIdempotent ([] :: [Int])
+    run "ints1" $
+      collectIdempotent ([4,5,1,2,3] :: [Int])
+    -- TODO(kps) in Spark 2.0.2, this fails!!!
+    -- Works with Spark 2.0.1 -> report
+    -- run "ints1_opt" $
+    --   collectIdempotent ([Just 1, Nothing] :: [Maybe Int])
+    -- run "nothing_ints_opt" $
+    --   collectIdempotent ([Nothing] :: [Maybe Int])
+    run "ints1_opt" $
+      collectIdempotent ([Just 1, Just 2] :: [Maybe Int])
+    run "empty_ints_opt" $
+      collectIdempotent ([] :: [Maybe Int])
+  -- describe "Integration test - collect on TestStruct5" $ do
+  --   run "empty_TestStruct5" $
+  --     collectIdempotent ([] :: [TestStruct5])
+  --   run "empty_TestStruct5" $
+  --     collectIdempotent ([TestStruct5 1 2] :: [TestStruct5])
diff --git a/test-integration/Spark/Core/IntegrationUtilities.hs b/test-integration/Spark/Core/IntegrationUtilities.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-integration/Spark/Core/IntegrationUtilities.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.IntegrationUtilities where
+
+import GHC.Generics (Generic)
+
+import Spark.Core.Context
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+
+data TestStruct1 = TestStruct1 {
+  ts1f1 :: Int,
+  ts1f2 :: Maybe Int } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+instance ToSQL TestStruct1
+instance FromSQL TestStruct1
+instance SQLTypeable TestStruct1
+
+data TestStruct2 = TestStruct2 {
+  ts2f1 :: [Int]
+} deriving (Show, Generic)
+instance SQLTypeable TestStruct2
+
+data TestStruct3 = TestStruct3 {
+  ts3f1 :: Int
+} deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+instance ToSQL TestStruct3
+instance SQLTypeable TestStruct3
+
+data TestStruct4 = TestStruct4 {
+  ts4f1 :: TestStruct3
+} deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+
+data TestStruct5 = TestStruct5 {
+  ts5f1 :: Int,
+  ts5f2 :: Int
+} deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+-- instance ToJSON TestStruct5
+instance SQLTypeable TestStruct5
+instance FromSQL TestStruct5
+instance ToSQL TestStruct5
+
+data TestStruct6 = TestStruct6 {
+  ts6f1 :: Int,
+  ts6f2 :: Int,
+  ts6f3 :: TestStruct3
+} deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+
+newtype TestT1 = TestT1 {
+  unTestT1 :: Int
+} deriving (Eq, Show, Generic, Num)
diff --git a/test-integration/Spark/Core/SimpleAddSpec.hs b/test-integration/Spark/Core/SimpleAddSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-integration/Spark/Core/SimpleAddSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.SimpleAddSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Text
+
+import Spark.Core.Context
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+
+
+-- Collecting a dataset made from a list should yield the same list (modulo
+-- some reordering)
+smallSum :: (Eq a, Show a, SQLTypeable a, ToSQL a, FromSQL a, Num a) => a -> a -> IO ()
+smallSum x y = do
+  let x' = constant x
+  let y' = constant y
+  let z1' = x' + y'
+  z1 <- exec1Def z1'
+  z1 `shouldBe` (x + y)
+  let z2' = y' + x'
+  z2 <- exec1Def z2'
+  z2 `shouldBe` (x + y)
+
+negation :: (Eq a, Show a, SQLTypeable a, ToSQL a, FromSQL a, Num a) => a -> a -> IO ()
+negation x y = do
+  let x' = constant x
+  let y' = constant y
+  let z1' = x' - y'
+  z1 <- exec1Def z1'
+  z1 `shouldBe` (x - y)
+  let z2' = y' - x'
+  z2 <- exec1Def z2'
+  z2 `shouldBe` (y - x)
+
+checkNegate :: (Eq a, Show a, SQLTypeable a, ToSQL a, FromSQL a, Num a) => a -> IO ()
+checkNegate x = do
+  let x' = constant x
+  let z1' = negate x'
+  z1 <- exec1Def z1'
+  z1 `shouldBe` negate x
+
+run :: String -> IO () -> SpecWith (Arg (IO ()))
+run s f = it s $ do
+  createSparkSessionDef $ defaultConf {
+    confRequestedSessionName = Data.Text.pack s,
+    confPollingIntervalMillis = 100 }
+  f
+  -- This is horribly not robust to any sort of failure, but it will do for now
+  -- TODO(kps) make more robust
+  closeSparkSessionDef
+  return ()
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Integration test - sum on ints" $ do
+    run "empty_ints1" $
+      smallSum (1 :: Int) (2 :: Int)
+    run "zero_ints1" $
+      smallSum (0 :: Int) (2 :: Int)
+    run "negation_ints1" $
+      negation (1 :: Int) (2 :: Int)
+    run "negate_ints1" $
+      checkNegate (1 :: Int)
diff --git a/test-integration/Spec.hs b/test-integration/Spec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-integration/Spec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+-- Not working???
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -F -pgmF hspec-discover #-}
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/ColumnSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/ColumnSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/ColumnSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+
+module Spark.Core.ColumnSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions
+
+data Z
+data Y
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "ColumnSpec: ensure rules compile correctly" $ do
+    let c1 = undefined :: Column Z Int
+    let c2 = undefined :: Column Z Int
+    let c1' = undefined :: DynColumn
+    let c2' = undefined :: DynColumn
+    let i1 = 3 :: Int
+    let o1 = constant 4 :: LocalData Int
+    let o2 = 5 :: LocalData Int
+    let o1' = undefined :: LocalFrame
+    let o2' = undefined :: LocalFrame
+    it "+ should not blow up" $ do
+      let z1 = c1 + c2
+      let z2 = c1' + c2'
+      let z3 = c1 + 1
+      let z4 = 1 + c1
+      'a' `shouldBe` 'a'
+    it ".+ should not blow up" $ do
+      let z1 = c1 .+ c2
+      let z2 = c1' .+ c2'
+      let z3 = c1 .+ c2'
+      let z4 = c1' .+ c2
+      'a' `shouldBe` 'a'
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/ContextSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/ContextSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/ContextSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+
+
+module Spark.Core.ContextSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Basic routines to get something out" $ do
+    it "should print a node" $ do
+      let x = dataset ([1 ,2, 3, 4]::[Int])
+      x `shouldBe` x
+        --   b = nodeToBundle (untyped x) in
+        -- trace (pretty b) $
+        --   1 `shouldBe` 1
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/DatasetSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/DatasetSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/DatasetSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+-- {-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+-- {-# LANGUAGE ExtendedDefaultRules #-}
+
+
+module Spark.Core.DatasetSpec where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInternal
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag
+
+nName :: String -> NodeName
+nName = NodeName . T.pack
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "create a dataframe" $ do
+    it "should not explode" $
+      let x = dataset ([1 ,2, 3, 4]::[Int]) in
+        nodeName x `shouldBe` nName "constant_1b99f8"
+
+    it "renaming should work" $
+      let x = dataset ([1 ,2, 3]::[Int]) @@ "ds1" in
+        nodeName x `shouldBe` nName "ds1"
+
+  describe "check localset" $ do
+    it "should not explode" $
+      let x = dataset ([1 ,2, 3]::[Int]) in
+        nodeName x `shouldBe` nName "constant_e5125b"
+
+    it "renaming should work" $
+      let x = dataset ([1 ,2, 3]::[Int]) @@ "ds1" in
+        nodeName x `shouldBe` nName "ds1"
+
+  describe "column syntax" $
+    it "should not explode" $ do
+      let ds = dataset ([1 ,2, 3]::[Int])
+      let c1 = ds // "c1"
+      c1 `shouldBe` c1
+
+  describe "Logical dependencies" $ do
+    it "should work" $ do
+      let ds = dataset ([1 ,2, 3, 4]::[Int])
+      let ds1 = dataset ([1]::[Int]) `depends` [untyped ds]
+      let g = traceHint (T.pack "g=") $ computeGraphToGraph $ forceRight $ buildComputationGraph ds1
+      V.length (gVertices g) `shouldBe` 2
+
+
+--   describe "simple test" $ do
+--     it "the type should match" $ do
+--       let
+--        n1 = constant "xxx"
+--        n = NodeType $ T.pack "org.spark.Constant" in
+--         (nodeOp n1) `shouldBe` n
+
+--     it "no name" $ do
+--       let n1 = constant "xxx"
+--           t = NodeName $ T.pack "org.spark.Constant" in
+--         (nodeName n1) `shouldBe` t
+
+--     it "some name" $ do
+--       let n1 = constant "xxx" @@ "name"
+--           t = NodeName $ T.pack "name" in
+--         (nodeName n1) `shouldBe` t
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/CachingSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.CachingSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as C8
+import Data.Either(isLeft, isRight)
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Data.Text(Text)
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+import Formatting
+
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Caching
+-- Required for instance resolution
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal()
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ContextInternal
+
+data TestType = AutocacheNode | CacheNode | UncacheNode | Dataset | Row deriving (Eq, Show)
+
+data TestNode = TestNode { tnId :: VertexId, tnType :: TestType, tnParents :: [(StructureEdge, TestNode)] } deriving (Eq)
+
+instance Show TestNode where
+  show v = "TestNode(" ++ (C8.unpack . unVertexId. tnId $ v) ++ ")"
+
+nid :: String -> VertexId
+nid = VertexId . C8.pack
+
+node :: String -> TestType -> [TestNode] -> TestNode
+node s tp p = TestNode (VertexId (C8.pack s)) tp ((const ParentEdge &&& id) <$> p)
+
+instance GraphVertexOperations TestNode where
+  vertexToId = tnId
+  expandVertexAsVertices x = snd <$> tnParents x
+
+instance GraphOperations TestNode StructureEdge where
+  expandVertex tn = tnParents tn
+
+acGen :: AutocacheGen TestNode
+acGen =
+  let deriveUncache' (Vertex (VertexId x) (TestNode _ AutocacheNode _)) =
+        let vid' = VertexId $ C8.pack . (++ "_uncache") . C8.unpack $ x
+        in Vertex vid' (TestNode vid' UncacheNode [])
+      deriveUncache' x = error (show x)
+      deriveIdentity' (Vertex (VertexId x) (TestNode _ r _)) =
+        let vid' = VertexId $ C8.pack . (++ "_identity") . C8.unpack $ x
+        in Vertex vid' (TestNode vid' r [])
+  in AutocacheGen {
+    deriveUncache = deriveUncache',
+    deriveIdentity = deriveIdentity'
+  }
+
+expandFun :: TestNode -> CacheTry NodeCachingType
+expandFun n = case (tnType n, tnParents n) of
+  (AutocacheNode, [_]) -> pure $ AutocacheOp (tnId n)
+  (AutocacheNode, x) -> Left $ sformat ("Node: "%shown%": expected one parent for autocaching, got "%shown) n x
+  (CacheNode, [_]) -> pure $ CacheOp (tnId n)
+  (CacheNode, x) -> Left $ sformat ("Node: "%shown%": expected one parent for caching, got "%shown) n x
+  (UncacheNode, [(ParentEdge, x)]) -> pure $ UncacheOp (tnId n) (tnId x)
+  (UncacheNode, x) -> Left $ sformat ("Node: "%shown%": Expected one parent for uncaching, got "%shown) n x
+  (Dataset, _) -> Right Through
+  (Row, _) -> Right Stop
+
+errors :: TestNode -> CacheTry [CachingFailure]
+errors tn = do
+  g <- buildGraph tn :: Either Text (Graph TestNode StructureEdge)
+  checkCaching (graphMapEdges g (const ParentEdge)) expandFun
+
+errors' :: TestNode -> CacheTry (Graph TestNode StructureEdge)
+errors' tn = do
+  g <- buildGraph tn :: Either Text (Graph TestNode StructureEdge)
+  fillAutoCache expandFun acGen g
+
+intErrors :: LocalData a -> Try ComputeGraph
+intErrors ld =
+  let cg = buildComputationGraph ld
+  in performGraphTransforms =<< cg
+
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Caching operations" $ do
+    it "missing parent node" $ do
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode []
+      errors n1 `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "caching: parent node" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode [n0]
+      errors n1 `shouldBe` Right []
+    it "uncaching: missing parent node" $ do
+      let n1 = node "1" UncacheNode []
+      errors n1 `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "uncaching: parent node" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode [n0]
+      let n2 = node "2" CacheNode [n1]
+      errors n2 `shouldBe` Right []
+    it "too many nodes for uncaching" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode [n0]
+      let n2 = node "2" UncacheNode [n1, n2]
+      errors n2 `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "access after uncaching" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode [n0]
+      let n2 = node "2" UncacheNode [n1]
+      let n3 = node "3" Dataset [n1, n2]
+      errors n3 `shouldBe` Right [CachingFailure (nid "1") (nid "2") (nid "3")]
+    it "ambigous access after uncaching" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" CacheNode [n0]
+      let n2 = node "2" UncacheNode [n1]
+      let n3 = node "3" Dataset [n1]
+      let n4 = node "4" Dataset [n3, n2]
+      errors n4 `shouldBe` Right [CachingFailure (nid "1") (nid "2") (nid "3")
+                                  ,CachingFailure (nid "1") (nid "2") (nid "4")]
+  describe "Autocaching operations" $ do
+    it "missing parent node" $ do
+      let n1 = node "1" AutocacheNode []
+      let g = traceHint "g=" (errors' n1)
+      g `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "auto-uncaching with no child should not create uncaching" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" AutocacheNode [n0]
+      let g = traceHint "g=" (errors' n1)
+      g `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+      ((length . toList . gVertices) <$> g) `shouldBe` Right 2
+    it "access after uncaching" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" AutocacheNode [n0]
+      let n2 = node "2" Row [n1]
+      let g = traceHint "g=" (errors' n2)
+      g `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+      ((length . toList . gVertices) <$> g) `shouldBe` Right 5
+    it "access after and scoping" $ do
+      let n0 = node "0" Dataset []
+      let n1 = node "1" AutocacheNode [n0]
+      let n2a = node "2a" Row [n1]
+      let n2b = node "2b" Row [n1]
+      let n3 = node "3" Row [n2a, n2b]
+      let g = traceHint "g=" (errors' n3)
+      g `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+      ((length . toList . gVertices) <$> g) `shouldBe` Right 8
+  describe "Autocaching integration tests" $ do
+    it "test 1" $ do
+      let l = [1,2,3] :: [Int]
+      let ds = dataset l
+      let ds' = autocache ds
+      let c1 = asCol ds'
+      let s1 = colSum c1
+      let s2 = count ds'
+      let x = s1 + s2
+      let g = traceHint "g=" (intErrors x)
+      g `shouldSatisfy` isRight
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctionsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctionsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/DAGFunctionsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+
+-- :script test/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsSpec.hs
+module Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctionsSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as C8
+import Control.Arrow((&&&))
+import Data.Foldable(toList)
+
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+
+data MyV = MyV {
+  mvId :: VertexId,
+  mvParents :: [MyV]
+} deriving (Eq)
+
+id2Str :: VertexId -> String
+id2Str = C8.unpack . unVertexId
+
+instance Show MyV where
+  show v = "MyV(" ++ (id2Str . mvId $ v) ++ ")"
+
+
+instance GraphVertexOperations MyV where
+  vertexToId = mvId
+  expandVertexAsVertices = mvParents
+
+instance GraphOperations MyV () where
+  expandVertex = ((const () &&& id) <$>) . mvParents
+
+myv :: String -> [MyV] -> MyV
+myv s = MyV (VertexId (C8.pack s))
+
+expandNodes :: MyV -> DagTry [String]
+expandNodes vx =
+  let tg = buildGraph vx :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+  in (id2Str . mvId . vertexData <$>) . toList . gVertices <$> tg
+
+-- edges: from -> to
+expandEdges :: MyV -> DagTry [(String, String)]
+expandEdges vx =
+  let tg = buildGraph vx :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+  in tg <&> \g ->
+    concat $ M.assocs (gEdges g) <&> \(vid, v) ->
+      (C8.unpack . unVertexId . vertexId . veEndVertex &&&
+       C8.unpack . unVertexId . const vid) <$> V.toList v
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Tests on paths" $ do
+    it "no parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      expandNodes v0 `shouldBe` Right ["v0"]
+    it "common parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v0' = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0, v0']
+      expandEdges v1 `shouldBe` Right [("v0", "v1"), ("v0", "v1")]
+    it "diamond" $ do
+      let va = myv "va" []
+      let va' = myv "va" []
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [va]
+      let v0' = myv "v0" [va']
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0, v0']
+      expandEdges v1 `shouldBe` Right [("va", "v0"), ("v0", "v1"), ("v0", "v1")]
+    it "simple sources" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let tg = buildGraph v1 :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+      let g = forceRight tg
+      mvId . vertexData <$> graphSources g `shouldBe` [mvId v1]
+    it "simple sinks" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let tg = buildGraph v1 :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+      let g = forceRight tg
+      mvId . vertexData <$> graphSinks g `shouldBe` [mvId v0]
+    it "longer sources" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v1]
+      let tg = buildGraph v2 :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+      let g = forceRight tg
+      mvId . vertexData <$> graphSources g `shouldBe` [mvId v2]
+    it "longer sinks" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v1]
+      let tg = buildGraph v2 :: DagTry (Graph MyV ())
+      let g = forceRight tg
+      mvId . vertexData <$> graphSinks g `shouldBe` [mvId v0]
+  describe "building DAGs" $ do
+    it "2 nodes" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v1]
+      let l = forceRight $ buildVertexList v2
+      id2Str . mvId <$> l `shouldBe` ["v0", "v1", "v2"]
+    it "triangle" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v0, v1]
+      let l = forceRight $ buildVertexList v2
+      -- The return order should be in lexicographic order
+      -- (which is unique in this case).
+      id2Str . mvId <$> l `shouldBe` ["v0", "v1", "v2"]
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctionsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctionsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/LocalDataFunctionsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.LocalDataFunctionsSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Functions()
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Arithmetic operations on local data (integers)" $ do
+    it "ints" $ do
+      let x1 = 1 :: LocalData Int
+      let x2 = 2 :: LocalData Int
+      let y1 = x1 + x2
+      let y2 = x1 `div` x2
+      (y2 `shouldBe` y2)
+      (y1 `shouldBe` y1)
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctionsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctionsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/OpFunctionsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE QuasiQuotes #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctionsSpec where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Test.Hspec
+import Text.RawString.QQ
+
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "extraNodeOpData" $ do
+    it "should have the content of a constant dataset" $ do
+      let l = [1,2,3] :: [Int]
+      let res :: Maybe Value
+          res = decode
+              ([r|{"content": [1,2,3],
+                    "cellType" : {
+                      "dt": "integer",
+                      "nullable": false
+                    }
+                  }|])
+      let ds = dataset l
+      let d = extraNodeOpData . nodeOp $ ds
+      Just d `shouldBe` res
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+-- :script test/Spark/Core/Internal/PathsSpec.hs
+module Spark.Core.Internal.PathsSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as M
+import qualified Data.Set as S
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as C8
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+
+import Spark.Core.StructuresInternal
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Paths
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DAGFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.ComputeDag
+import Spark.Core.Internal.PathsUntyped
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+
+data MyV = MyV {
+  mvId :: VertexId,
+  mvLogical :: [MyV],
+  mvParents :: [MyV]
+} deriving (Eq)
+
+instance Show MyV where
+  show v = "MyV(" ++ (C8.unpack . unVertexId . mvId $ v) ++ ")"
+
+
+assignPaths :: UntypedNode -> [UntypedNode]
+assignPaths n =
+  let cgt = buildCGraph n :: DagTry (ComputeDag UntypedNode NodeEdge)
+      cg = forceRight cgt
+      acgt = assignPathsUntyped cg
+      ncg = forceRight acgt
+  in graphDataLexico . tieNodes $ ncg
+
+
+instance GraphVertexOperations MyV where
+  vertexToId = mvId
+  expandVertexAsVertices = mvParents
+
+myv :: String -> [MyV] -> [MyV] -> MyV
+myv s logical inner = MyV (VertexId (C8.pack s)) logical inner
+
+myvToVertex :: MyV -> Vertex MyV
+myvToVertex x = Vertex (mvId x) x
+
+buildScopes :: [MyV] -> Scopes
+buildScopes l = iGetScopes0 l' fun where
+  l' = myvToVertex <$> l
+  fun vx = ParentSplit {
+    psLogical = myvToVertex <$> (mvLogical . vertexData $ vx),
+    psInner = myvToVertex <$> (mvParents . vertexData $ vx) }
+
+simple :: [(Maybe String, [String])] -> Scopes
+simple [] = M.empty
+simple ((ms, ss) : t) =
+  let
+    key = VertexId . C8.pack <$> ms
+    vals = VertexId . C8.pack <$> ss
+    new = M.singleton key (S.fromList vals)
+  in mergeScopes new (simple t)
+
+gatherings :: [(String, [[String]])] -> M.Map VertexId [[VertexId]]
+gatherings [] = M.empty
+gatherings ((key, paths) : t) =
+  let
+    k = VertexId . C8.pack $ key
+    ps = (VertexId . C8.pack <$>) <$> paths
+    new = M.singleton k ps
+  in M.unionWith (++) new (gatherings t)
+
+gatherPaths' :: [MyV] -> M.Map VertexId [[VertexId]]
+gatherPaths' = gatherPaths . buildScopes
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Tests on paths" $ do
+    it "nothing" $ do
+      buildScopes [] `shouldBe` simple []
+    it "no parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["v0"]), (Just "v0", []) ]
+      buildScopes [v0] `shouldBe` simple res
+    it "one logical parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0] []
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["v0", "v1"])
+                , (Just "v1", [])
+                , (Just "v0", []) ]
+      buildScopes [v1, v0] `shouldBe` simple res
+    it "one inner parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [] [v0]
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["v1"])
+                , (Just "v1", ["v0"])
+                , (Just "v0", []) ]
+      buildScopes [v1, v0] `shouldBe` simple res
+    it "logical scoping over a parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0] []
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v0] [v1]
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["v0", "v2"])
+                , (Just "v0", [])
+                , (Just "v1", [])
+                , (Just "v2", ["v1"]) ]
+      buildScopes [v2] `shouldBe` simple res
+    it "common ancestor" $ do
+      let top = myv "top" [] []
+      let inner = myv "inner" [top] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [top] [inner]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [top] [inner]
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["top", "v1", "v2"])
+                , (Just "inner", [])
+                , (Just "top", [])
+                , (Just "v1", ["inner"])
+                , (Just "v2", ["inner"]) ]
+      buildScopes [v1, v2] `shouldBe` simple res
+    it "common ancestor, unbalanced" $ do
+      let top = myv "top" [] []
+      let inner = myv "inner" [top] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [top] [inner]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [] [inner]
+      let res = [ (Nothing, ["top", "v1", "v2"])
+                , (Just "inner", [])
+                , (Just "top", [])
+                , (Just "v1", ["inner"])
+                , (Just "v2", ["inner", "top"]) ]
+      buildScopes [v1, v2] `shouldBe` simple res
+  describe "Path gatherings" $ do
+    it "nothing" $ do
+      gatherPaths' [] `shouldBe` gatherings []
+    it "no parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let res = [("v0", [[]])]
+      gatherPaths' [v0] `shouldBe` gatherings res
+    it "one logical parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0] []
+      let res = [ ("v1", [[]])
+                , ("v0", [[]])]
+      gatherPaths' [v1] `shouldBe` gatherings res
+    it "one inner parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [] [v0]
+      let res = [ ("v1", [[]])
+                , ("v0", [["v1"]])]
+      gatherPaths' [v1] `shouldBe` gatherings res
+    it "logical scoping over a parent" $ do
+      let v0 = myv "v0" [] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [v0] []
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [v0] [v1]
+      let res = [ ("v0", [[]])
+                , ("v1", [["v2"]])
+                , ("v2", [[]]) ]
+      gatherPaths' [v2] `shouldBe` gatherings res
+    it "common ancestor" $ do
+      let top = myv "top" [] []
+      let inner = myv "inner" [top] []
+      let v1 = myv "v1" [top] [inner]
+      let v2 = myv "v2" [top] [inner]
+      let res = [ ("inner", [["v1"], ["v2"]])
+                , ("top", [[]])
+                , ("v1", [[]])
+                , ("v2", [[]]) ]
+      gatherPaths' [v1, v2] `shouldBe` gatherings res
+  describe "Real paths" $ do
+    it "simple test" $ do
+      let c0 = constant (1 :: Int) @@ "c0"
+      let c1 = identity c0 @@ "c1"
+      let c2 = identity c1 `logicalParents` [untyped c0] @@ "c2"
+      nodeId <$> nodeParents c1 `shouldBe` [nodeId c0]
+      nodeId <$> nodeParents c2 `shouldBe` [nodeId c1]
+      let withParents = T.unpack . catNodePath . nodePath <$> assignPaths (untyped c2)
+      withParents `shouldBe` ["c0", "c2/c1", "c2"]
+    it "simple test 2" $ do
+      let ds = dataset ([1 ,2, 3, 4]::[Int]) @@ "ds"
+      let c = count ds @@ "c"
+      let c2 = (c + (identity c @@ "id")) `logicalParents` [untyped ds] @@ "c2"
+      let withParents = T.unpack . catNodePath . nodePath <$> assignPaths (untyped c2)
+      withParents `shouldBe`  ["ds","c2/select_44dd5f","c2/c","c2/id","c2"]
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtilsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtilsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/Internal/RowUtilsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.Internal.RowUtilsSpec where
+
+import Data.Aeson
+import Data.Maybe(fromJust)
+import Test.Hspec
+import Data.ByteString.Lazy(ByteString)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+
+fun :: ByteString -> DataType -> Cell -> IO ()
+fun js dt cell2 =
+  let
+    mval = decode js :: Maybe Value
+    val = fromJust mval
+    cellt = jsonToCell dt val
+  in cellt `shouldBe` (Right cell2)
+
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "JSON -> Row" $ do
+    it "ints" $ do
+      fun "2" intType (IntElement 2)
+    it "[ints]" $ do
+      fun "[2]" (arrayType' intType) (RowArray (V.singleton (IntElement 2)))
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/PathSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/PathSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/PathSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE ExistentialQuantification #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.PathSpec where
+
+import Data.Maybe(fromJust)
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+
+fun1 :: LocalData Int
+fun1 =
+  let m1 = constant (1::Int)
+      m2 = constant (2::Int) in
+    constant (3::Int)
+      `logicalParents` [untyped m1, untyped m2]
+      `parents` []
+
+
+fun2 :: LocalData Int -> LocalData Int
+fun2 ld1 = let
+  m1 = constant (1 :: Int) `parents` [untyped ld1] @@ "m1"
+    in
+      constant (3 :: Int)
+        `logicalParents` [untyped m1]
+        `parents` [untyped ld1]
+        @@ "c2"
+
+-- fun3 :: LocalData Int -> LocalData Int
+-- fun3 ld = ld + 3
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Tests with nodes" $ do
+    it "should get a node" $ do
+      let n1 = fun1
+      let l = fromJust $ nodeLogicalParents n1
+      (length l) `shouldBe` 2
+    -- it "should work with ints" $ do
+    --   let n2 = (fun3 4) @@ "" in
+    --     (length $ nodeDependencies n2) `shouldBe` 2
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/ProjectionsSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/ProjectionsSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/ProjectionsSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE ExistentialQuantification #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.ProjectionsSpec where
+
+import Test.Hspec
+import GHC.Generics
+import Data.List(isPrefixOf)
+import Data.Either(isRight, isLeft)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.Row
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Try
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+
+
+data Tree = Tree {
+  treeId :: Int,
+  treeWidth :: Int,
+  treeHeight :: Int } deriving (Generic, Show)
+
+treeId' :: StaticColProjection Tree Int
+treeId' = unsafeStaticProjection buildType "treeId"
+treeWidth' :: StaticColProjection Tree Int
+treeWidth' = unsafeStaticProjection buildType "treeWidth"
+instance SQLTypeable Tree
+instance ToSQL Tree
+
+newtype MyId = MyId Int deriving (Generic, Show, Num)
+instance SQLTypeable MyId
+instance ToSQL MyId
+
+newtype Height = Height Int deriving (Generic, Num, Show)
+instance SQLTypeable Height
+instance ToSQL Height
+
+data STree = STree {
+  sTreeId :: MyId,
+  sTreeWidth :: Height,
+  sTreeHeight :: Int } deriving (Generic, Show)
+
+instance SQLTypeable STree
+instance ToSQL STree
+sTreeId' :: StaticColProjection STree MyId
+sTreeId' = unsafeStaticProjection buildType "sTreeId"
+sTreeWidth' :: StaticColProjection STree Height
+sTreeWidth' = unsafeStaticProjection buildType "sTreeWidth"
+instance TupleEquivalence STree (MyId, Height, Int) where
+  tupleFieldNames = NameTuple ["sTreeId", "sTreeWidth", "sTreeHeight"]
+
+rawData :: [(Int, Int, Int)]
+rawData = [(1, 3, 2)]
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  let ds = dataset [Tree 1 3 2]
+  -- The untyped elements
+  let dt = structType [structField (T.pack "treeId") intType, structField (T.pack "treeWidth") intType, structField (T.pack "treeHeight") intType]
+  let fun (id', height, width) = RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement id', IntElement height, IntElement width]
+  let df1 = traceHint (T.pack "df1=") $ dataframe dt (fun <$> rawData)
+  let ds1 = traceHint (T.pack "ds1=") $ forceRight (asDS df1) :: Dataset Tree
+  describe "Simple projection demos" $ do
+    it "should get a node" $ do
+      ds `shouldBe` ds1
+    it "Failing dynamic projection on dataframe" $ do
+      df1//"xx" `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "Failing dynamic projection on dataset" $ do
+      ds1//"xx" `shouldSatisfy` isLeft
+    it "Basic arithmetic on DS cols" $ do
+      let c1 = ds1//treeWidth'
+      let c2 = (c1 + c1)
+      (show c2) `shouldSatisfy` ("sum(treeWidth, treeWidth){int}" `isPrefixOf`)
+    it "Basic arithmetic on DF cols" $ do
+      let c1 = df1//treeWidth'
+      let c2 = c1 + c1
+      (show c2) `shouldSatisfy` ("Right sum(treeWidth, treeWidth){int}" `isPrefixOf`)
+    it "Construction of ds2" $ do
+      let str = struct' [ (df1//"treeId") @@ "sTreeId",
+                          (df1//"treeWidth") @@ "sTreeWidth",
+                          (df1//"treeHeight") @@ "sTreeHeight"]
+      let df2 = pack' str
+      let ds2 = traceHint (T.pack "ds2=") $ asDS df2 :: Try (Dataset STree)
+      ds2 `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+    it "Static construction of ds2" $ do
+      let ds2 = do
+              idCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType MyId) (df1//"treeId")
+              widthCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType Height) (df1//"treeWidth")
+              heightCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType Int) (df1//"treeWidth")
+              let s = pack (idCol, widthCol, heightCol) :: Dataset STree
+              return $ traceHint (T.pack "ds2=") s
+      ds2 `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+    it "Basic arithmetic on DS cols 1" $ do
+      let ds2' = do
+              idCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType MyId) (df1//"treeId")
+              widthCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType Height) (df1//"treeWidth")
+              heightCol <- castCol' (buildType::SQLType Int) (df1//"treeWidth")
+              let s = pack (idCol, widthCol, heightCol) :: Dataset STree
+              return $ traceHint (T.pack "ds2=") s
+      let ds2 = forceRight ds2'
+      let c1 = ds2//sTreeWidth'
+      let c2 = c1 + c1
+      (show c2) `shouldSatisfy` ("sum(sTreeWidth, sTreeWidth){int}" `isPrefixOf`)
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/RowToSQLSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/RowToSQLSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/RowToSQLSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE BangPatterns #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.RowToSQLSpec where
+
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import GHC.Generics (Generic)
+import Test.Hspec
+
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Row
+
+data TestStruct1 = TestStruct1 {
+  ts1f1 :: Int,
+  ts1f2 :: Maybe Int } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic, ToSQL, FromSQL)
+
+data TestStruct2 = TestStruct2 { ts2f1 :: [Int] } deriving (Show, Generic, SQLTypeable)
+
+data TestStruct3 = TestStruct3 { ts3f1 :: Int } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic, ToSQL, FromSQL)
+data TestStruct4 = TestStruct4 { ts4f1 :: TestStruct3 } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic, ToSQL, FromSQL)
+
+data TestStruct5 = TestStruct5 {
+  ts5f1 :: Int,
+  ts5f2 :: Int,
+  ts5f3 :: TestStruct3
+} deriving (Show, Eq, Generic, ToSQL, FromSQL)
+
+newtype TestT1 = TestT1 { unTestT1 :: Int } deriving (Eq, Show, Generic, ToSQL, FromSQL)
+
+
+v2c :: (Show a, ToSQL a, FromSQL a, Eq a) => a -> Cell -> IO ()
+v2c !x !y = do
+  _ <- shouldBe (valueToCell x) y
+  _ <- shouldBe (cellToValue y) (Right x)
+  return ()
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Simple type tests" $ do
+    it "int" $
+      v2c (3 :: Int) (IntElement 3)
+    it "int?" $
+      v2c (Just 3 :: Maybe Int) (IntElement 3)
+    it "int? 2" $
+      v2c (Nothing :: Maybe Int) Empty
+    it "TestStruct3" $
+      v2c (TestStruct3 2) (RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement 2])
+    it "TestStruct4" $
+      v2c (TestStruct4 (TestStruct3 3)) $
+        (RowArray $ V.fromList [
+            RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement 3]
+          ])
+    it "TestStruct1 - empty" $
+      v2c (TestStruct1 2 Nothing) (RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement 2, Empty])
+    it "TestStruct1 - full" $
+      v2c (TestStruct1 2 (Just 4)) (RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement 2, IntElement 4])
+    it "TestStruct5" $
+      v2c (TestStruct5 1 2 (TestStruct3 3)) $
+        (RowArray $ V.fromList [
+            IntElement 1,
+            IntElement 2,
+            RowArray $ V.fromList [IntElement 3]
+          ])
+  -- describe "Simple type tests" $ do
+  --   it "newtype" $
+  --     v2c (TestT1 3) (IntElement 3)
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/SimpleExamplesSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/SimpleExamplesSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/SimpleExamplesSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE QuasiQuotes #-}
+
+-- Some small examples that get fully verified.
+module Spark.Core.SimpleExamplesSpec where
+
+import Data.Either(isRight)
+import Data.Maybe(isJust)
+import Test.Hspec
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import Text.RawString.QQ
+
+import Spark.Core.Dataset
+import Spark.Core.Functions
+import Spark.Core.Column
+import Spark.Core.ColumnFunctions
+import Spark.Core.Internal.DatasetStructures
+import Spark.Core.Internal.Utilities(pretty)
+import Spark.Core.Internal.OpFunctions(extraNodeOpData)
+
+ds1 :: Dataset Int
+ds1 = dataset [1,2,3]
+
+ds2 :: Dataset Double
+ds2 = error "ds2"
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Simple examples" $ do
+    it "Precdence of renaming" $ do
+      let numbers = asCol ds1
+      let s = colSum numbers
+      let numCount = count ds1
+      let avg = s `div` numCount @@ "myaverage"
+      _cnName avg `shouldSatisfy` isJust
+    it "name for simple integers" $ do
+      let numbers = asCol ds1
+      let s = colSum numbers
+      let numCount = count ds1
+      let avg = s `div` numCount @@ "myaverage"
+      -- TODO: should it show "value: int" instead?
+      -- I think it should show it for distributed nodes only.
+      -- SQL is not allowed on observables
+      (show avg) `shouldBe` "myaverage@org.spark.LocalDiv!{int}"
+  describe "pack1" $ do
+    it "Extracting and packing one column" $ do
+      let numbers = asCol ds1
+      let ds1' = pack1 numbers
+      (nodeType ds1) `shouldBe` (nodeType ds1')
+  describe "pack" $ do
+    it "Extracting and packing one column" $ do
+      let ds1' = pack' . asCol $ ds1
+      (nodeType <$> (asDF ds1)) `shouldBe` (nodeType <$> ds1')
+  describe "simple json example" $ do
+    it "packing and unpacking one column" $ do
+      let ds1' = pack' . asCol $ ds1
+      let d' = pretty . extraNodeOpData . nodeOp <$> ds1'
+      d' `shouldBe` Right (T.pack [r|{"colOp":"extraction","field":[]}|])
+    it "packing and unpacking 2 columns, one with a bad name" $ do
+      let col1 = asCol ds1
+      let col2 = col1 @@ "other"
+      let ds1' = pack' (col1, col2)
+      ds1' `shouldSatisfy` isRight -- NOT SURE WHY IT WOULD FAIL
+    it "packing and unpacking 2 columns, one with a good name" $ do
+      let col1 = asCol ds1 @@ "first"
+      let col2 = col1 @@ "second"
+      let ds1' = pack' (col1, col2)
+      ds1' `shouldSatisfy` isRight
+
+
+    -- it "example2" $ do
+    --   let numbers = asCol ds2
+    --   let avg = (colSum numbers) / (count ds2)
+    --   1 `shouldBe` 1
diff --git a/test/Spark/Core/TypesSpec.hs b/test/Spark/Core/TypesSpec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spark/Core/TypesSpec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveAnyClass #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Spark.Core.TypesSpec where
+
+import GHC.Generics (Generic)
+import Test.Hspec
+import Test.Hspec.QuickCheck
+
+import Spark.Core.Types
+import Spark.Core.Internal.TypesFunctions
+
+data TestStruct1 = TestStruct1 {
+  ts1f1 :: Int,
+  ts1f2 :: Maybe Int } deriving (Show, Generic, SQLTypeable)
+
+data TestStruct2 = TestStruct2 { ts2f1 :: [Int] } deriving (Show, Generic, SQLTypeable)
+
+data TestStruct3 = TestStruct3 { ts3f1 :: Int } deriving (Show, Generic, SQLTypeable)
+data TestStruct4 = TestStruct4 { ts4f1 :: TestStruct3 } deriving (Show, Generic, SQLTypeable)
+
+-- instance SQLTypeable TestStruct1
+-- instance Menu TestStruct1
+
+
+-- main :: IO ()
+-- main = hspec spec
+
+spec :: Spec
+spec = do
+  describe "Simple type tests" $ do
+    it "show ints" $
+      show intType `shouldBe` "int"
+
+    it "show arrays" $
+      show (arrayType' intType) `shouldBe` "[int]"
+
+    it "show structures" $
+      show (arrayType' (canNull intType)) `shouldBe` "[int?]"
+
+  describe "The basic tests for int types" $ do
+    it "ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType Int)
+          dt = columnType t in
+        dt `shouldBe` intType
+
+    it "opt ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType (Maybe Int))
+          dt = columnType t in
+        dt `shouldBe` canNull intType
+
+    -- The projection of all the product types
+    it "opt opt ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType (Maybe (Maybe Int))) in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` canNull intType
+
+    it "array ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType [Int]) in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` arrayType' intType
+
+    it "array opt ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType [Maybe Int]) in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` arrayType' (canNull intType)
+
+    it "opt array ints" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType (Maybe [Int])) in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` canNull (arrayType' intType)
+
+  describe "The basic tests for records" $ do
+    it "records with maybe" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType TestStruct1)
+          out = structType [structField "ts1f1" intType, structField "ts1f2" (canNull intType)] in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` out
+
+    it "records with arrays" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType TestStruct2)
+          out = structType [structField "ts2f1" (arrayType' intType)] in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` out
+
+    it "records within records" $
+      let t = buildType :: (SQLType TestStruct4)
+          out0 = structType [structField "ts3f1" intType]
+          out = structType [structField "ts4f1" out0] in
+        columnType t `shouldBe` out
+
+  describe "Construction of frame types" $ do
+    prop "frameTypeFromCol should be invertible" $
+      \x ->
+        let dt = colTypeFromFrame x
+            y = frameTypeFromCol dt
+        in x == y
+    -- TODO this is not always working. Figure out the rules here.
+    -- prop "colTypeFromFrame should be invertible" $
+    --   \x -> (colTypeFromFrame . frameTypeFromCol) x == x
diff --git a/test/Spec.hs b/test/Spec.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spec.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+-- Not working???
+{-# OPTIONS_GHC -F -pgmF hspec-discover #-}
