sdml

Structured (or Softly typed) data markup language

Basic structure:

binding ::= <name> [":" <tag> ] <value>

<name> is alphanumeric, basicly any character except :={[< and newline

<tag> is the same as <name>

<value> is:

"=" - an "atom", a sequence of characters until endline "(" - a "list", a sequence of atoms, ending with single-line ")" "{" - a "record" - a list of <binding> separated by newline and endin by "}" "[" - an "array" - a list of (<tag> <value>) "<" - a "table" - a list of "record"s, separated by single-line "-", ending by ">"

The document can be eiather a record or an array

The example (configuration file):

localhost : static {
  listen = 127.0.0.1
  port = 8080
}

dev : dynamic {
  registry = 1.2.3.4
  service_name = http
  default_ports = (
    8080
    8096
  )
}

tags are helpers, not restrictors

E.g. Ocaml data type:

type connection
  = Static of addr * port
  | Dinamyc of addr * string * port list

There is no difference between number and string and date/time/datetime in atoms:

foo = 123.4

the app should decide how to interprete it: as a number, as a float, as a string No need to wrap 123.4 with double quotes if you want ot pass an exact value

All structure kinds example (with array as a root, see "location" and "place" at the root are tags, not names):

location {
  name   = St Pete
  coords = 12.34 56.78
}

place {
  name   = St Pete
  
  coords = {
    lat = 12.34
    lon = 56.78
  }
  
  places-of-interest <
    name   = foo
    coords = 1.2
  -
    name   = bar
    coords = 3.4
  -
    name   = gee
    coords = 5.6
  >
  
  subareas [
    unknown = 12.34
    known {
      name   = Some cool place
      coords = 56.78
    }
    by-user {
      desc = Best place
      coords = 90.01
    }
  ]
}