Systems and methods for interfacing application programs with an item-based storage platform

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a storage platform comprising: a data store in which data stored therein is defined in terms of items, elements, and relationships, wherein an item is a unit of data storable in the data store and comprises one or more elements, an element is an instance of a type comprising one or more fields, and a relationship is a link between at least two items; a set of schemas that define different types of items, elements, and relationships; and an application programming interface comprising a class for each of the different items, elements, and relationships defined in the set of schemas. Data may also be stored in the data store in the form of an extension to an existing item type, and wherein the application programming interface comprises a class for each different item extension.