MAML

MAML is a minimalist interpreted configuration and data file format

The format is inspired by yaml and json, yet aims to provide both well structured data representation as seen in json, and the readability that is provided by yaml.

Variables

There are four variable types: Booleans, Strings, Numbers, and Tables.

The first three types, Booleans, Strings, and Numbers are definitive values. Each of these variables must render to a value of that type. I.E. null, nil, etc. are not supported.

Booleans

Booleans are types that are useful in binary configuration purposes. I.E. should X event happen?

They can be one of two values:

BinaryValue	Representation
0x00	false
0x01	true

Booleans cannot be used as keys in a Table.

Strings

Strings are types that contain an ordered collection of characters.

They can be represented in three different formats:

FormatName	Representation
Character	'S'
String	"String"
Multi-line String	`Multi-line string`

Numbers

Numbers are types that represent a set of bits. They have no minimum or maximum value in the file format. However, the language that parses the format may have a limit.

They can be represented in a variety of formats:

FormatName	Representation
Decimal	23
Hexadecimal	0x17
Binary	0b10111

Numbers can be used as keys in Tables

Tables

Tables are where MAML gets it's dynamic nature from.

They are represented with the following syntax:

TableName {
    Key = Value
}

Table values may be indexed like so:

Settings {
    Port = 80
    HttpPort = 443
}

ServerPort = Settings.Port

Tables may also be represented with this syntax (Called the array syntax):

NumberStrings {
    "zero"
    "one"
}

NumberOneString = NumberStrings.1

This syntax automatically assigns Numbers as keys starting at 0 to each value

Dynamic Strings

Strings/Numbers/Booleans are embeddable in other strings' definitions

When an index to a String/Number/Boolean is included in a string with the <Pointer> syntax, it is rendered in its definition.

Lets look at some examples:

This file:

Config {
  Version = "4.2.3"
  ApplicationName = "App"
}

VersioningMessage = `Hey there,

Welcome to <Config.ApplicationName> version <Config.Version>!

We hope you enjoy your usage.`

Renders the VersioningMessage variable to be:

Hey there,

Welcome to App version 4.2.3!

We hope you enjoy this application.

You may also nest embedded strings into other embedded strings like so:

Config {
  1 = "Apple"
  2 = "Banana"
  Version = 2
}
VersioningMessage = `Hey there,

Welcome to the big <Config.<Version>>!

We hope you enjoy your usage.`

This code snippet will render the VersioningMessage variable to be:

Hey there,

Welcome to the big Banana!

We hope you enjoy this application.

Special Characters

The special characters in maml can all be escaped with the \ character, which is also defined as a special character.

KrystilizeNevaDies/MAML