Json Schema Polymorphism Validate with anyOf - json

Question

I've got a Pet object that could be either a dog or a cat
Depending on what noise they make I'd like to then be able to validate other fields.
schema:
{
"$id": "http://example.com",
"definitions": {
"pet": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"noise": {
"enum": [
"bark",
"meow"
]
}
}
},
"dog": {
"$ref": "#/definitions/pet",
"properties": {
"noise": {
"const": "bark"
},
"tail": {
"enum": [
"short",
"long"
]
}
}
},
"cat": {
"$ref": "#/definitions/pet",
"properties": {
"noise": {
"const": "meow"
},
"tail": {
"enum": [
"wavy",
"slinky"
]
}
}
}
},
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"pets": {
"type": "array",
"items": {
"anyOf": [
{
"$ref": "#/definitions/dog",
"$ref": "#/definitions/cat"
}
]
}
}
}
}
This works when running the following json through:
{"pets":[{"noise":"meow","tail":"wavy"}]}
but not when running:
{"pets":[{"noise":"bark","tail":"long"}]}
[$.pets[0].tail: does not have a value in the enumeration [wavy, slinky], $.pets[0].noise: must be a constant value meow]
or
{"pets":[{"noise":"bark","tail":"long"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"wavy"}]}
[$.pets[0].tail: does not have a value in the enumeration [wavy, slinky], $.pets[0].noise: must be a constant value meow]
I can get this working by using if/else in the json schema, but requires another type to avoid a circular dependency:
"petWithConstraints": {
"$ref":"#/definitions/pet",
"allOf": [
{
"if": {
"properties": {
"noise": {
"const": "bark"
}
}
},
"then": {
"$ref": "#/definitions/dog"
}
},
{
"if": {
"properties": {
"noise": {
"const": "meow"
}
}
},
"then": {
"$ref": "#/definitions/cat"
}
}
]
}
}
This means for every new definition it also requires another if statement.
Is there a better method of doing this? (without the extra definition/if statement)

Answer 1

For those that come across this, this was a syntactical error.
Each ref should have been in it's own code block.
The corrected part of the schema looks like the following:
"properties": {
"pets": {
"type": "array",
"items": {
"anyOf": [
{ // Notice each $ref is encapsulated in it's own block
"$ref": "#/definitions/cat"
},
{
"$ref": "#/definitions/dog"
}
]
}
}
}
Running the following json through gave expected results
{"pets":[{"noise":"bark","tail":"long"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"wavy"}]}
[]
{"pets":[{"noise":"bark","tail":"long"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"wavy"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"slinky"},{"noise":"bark","tail":"short"}]}
[]
{"pets":[{"noise":"bark","tail":"long"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"wavy"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"slinky"},{"noise":"bark","tail":"short"},{"noise":"meow","tail":"short"}]}
[$.pets[4]: should be valid to one and only one of the schemas ]