Glossary

All terminology used for eno, listed alphabetically and in its singular form.

Attribute

my_attribute = my value
my_attribute =

An Attribute can have a Value or be empty.

Attribute Operator

The = character when it appears after a Key, optionally followed by a Value.

Comment

> my comment

A Comment is indicated by the Comment Operator and followed by arbitrary text.

Comment Operator

The > character (U+003E), when it occurs as the first non-whitespace character on a line, thereby starting a Comment.

Document

The top level structure that contains everything in an .eno file.

Element

All nodes in a Document that can later be traversed by an application, that is an Attribute, Embed, Field, Flag or Item.

Escaped Key

`my_escaped_key`:

A Key contained between Escape Operators.

Escape Operator

Any number of connected ` characters (U+0060) when they appear as the first non-whitespace characters in a line, indicating an Escaped Key. It must be followed by exactly the same Escape Operator later in the same line, terminating the Escaped Key.

Field

my_key: my value

my_key:
my_attribute_a = my value
my_attribute_b = my value

my_key:
- my value
- my value

A Field has a Key. It can contain either a Value, Attributes, or Items.

Field Operator

The : character (U+003A) when it appears after a Key, optionally followed by a Value.

Flag

my_key

A Flag element is a distinct element type only containing a Key.

Item

- my value
-

An Item can have a Value or be empty.

Item Operator

A - character (U+002D), when it appears as the first non-whitespace character in a line, indicating an Item.

Embed

-- my_key
my multiline value ...
-- my_key

-- my_key
a
-- my_key

-- my_key
-- my_key

An Embed has a Key and a Value. The Key appears in the beginning and ending line. It's genuinely empty if there is no line between the beginning and ending line, whereas a single line with 0 characters between the beginning and ending line creates an empty string value.

Embed Operator

Two or more consecutive - characters (U+002D) when they appear as the first non-whitespace characters on a line and followed by a Key, indicating the begin or end of an Embed. The number of hyphens that make up the Embed Operator in the ending line of an Embed has to match the number in the beginning line, just as the Key needs to be repeated exactly, otherwise the whole line is treated as simple text inside the Embed.

Key

my_key:

The thing that is also referred to as property, identifier, variable name etc. in other languages is always designated as Key in eno. A Key can be given to an Attribute, Embed, Field or Flag. Note that conceptually the Key of an Item is the Key of the Field its in, as a Value with no association whatsoever makes little sense in a processable data context.

Operator

Any of >, :, =, -, --, ` when they appear outside of a Comment, Key or Value.

Value

my_key: my_value

A Value might appear in an Attribute, Embed, Field or Item. Values can only include newlines and leading or trailing whitespace when they come from an Embed.