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# type

The data type stored in the material property’s value.

```
var type: MDLMaterialPropertyType { get set }
```

## Discussion

Each [`semantic`](/documentation/ModelIO/MDLMaterialProperty/semantic) value has one or more data types that are appropriate for its value. For example, the [`MDLMaterialSemantic.baseColor`](/documentation/ModelIO/MDLMaterialSemantic/baseColor) semantic provides per-pixel colors for a rendered surface, so appropriate values for that semantic include scalars (interpreted as a grayscale color), colors, texture images, or URLs that refer to texture images. The [`MDLMaterialSemantic.ambientOcclusionScale`](/documentation/ModelIO/MDLMaterialSemantic/ambientOcclusionScale) semantic provides a scale factor for the effect of ambient occlusion shading, so an appropriate value is a scalar or a grayscale image that varies that scalar value across the surface of the material.

---

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