Language Reference

This chapter provides a detailed reference for the Erbsland Configuration Language (ELCL), primarily intended for parser implementors, but can also be a good source for users to gain detailed insight in the details of a syntax.

• Documentation Conventions
  • The EBNF Notation
  • The Rules
  • The Configuration Examples
    • Visualization of Invisible Characters
  • Visualizations of Value Trees
  • Covered Features
• Characters
  • Encoding
  • Illegal UTF-8 Sequences
    • Implementation Examples
  • Illegal Control Codes
  • Named Characters in EBNF
  • Character Groups in EBNF
  • Features
  • Errors
• Line Break
  • Rules
  • Implementation Recommendations
  • Features
  • Errors
• Spacing
  • Rules
  • Strict Indentation Patterns Explained
    • Matching Patterns
    • Empty Lines
    • Spacing in the Content
    • Indentation in the First Line
  • Ignored Spacing in Multi-line Text
    • Spacing at the Beginning and End
    • Adding Empty Lines
    • Adding Trailing Spacing
  • Features
  • Errors
• Comments
  • Rules
  • Implementation Recommendations
  • Features
  • Errors
• Text
  • Basic Rules
  • Escape Sequence Rules
  • Features
  • Errors
• Names
  • Name Definition
  • Rules
  • Name Normalization
  • Name Comparison
  • Features
  • Errors
• Text Names
  • Text Name Rules
  • Text Name Normalization
  • Text Name Comparison
  • Features
  • Errors
• Name Paths
  • Visualizing the Value Tree
  • Name Paths with One Element
  • Name Paths with Multiple Elements
  • Addressing a Section List
    • Usage in Configuration Files
    • Usage in Parser APIs
  • Addressing Section List Values without an Index
    • Example: Single Section List
    • Why This Rule Exists
    • Example: Nested Section Lists
    • Clarifying Name Path Semantics
  • Addressing Values with an Index
    • Adding an Index to a Section or Value List
      • Example
    • Parser-Specific Behavior
  • Text Names in Name Paths
    • Example
  • Parser-Specific Usage of Text Names
    • Escaping Special Characters in Text Names
      • Parsing Text Names in Name Paths
      • Rendering Text Names in Name Paths
    • Short Form: Index-Based Access to Text Names
    • Implementation Guidance
• Name Conflicts
  • Using a Name
  • Straightforward Conflict Scenarios
    • Conflicts with Section Names
    • Conflicts with Value Names
  • Conflicts with Sections and Values Mixed
  • Why Section Lists Do Not Cause Conflicts
  • The Special Case of Intermediate Sections
    • Defining Intermediate Sections Later in the Configuration
    • Conflicts When Mixing Intermediate Sections with Values or Lists
  • Features
  • Errors
• Section Names
  • Section Name Rules
  • Relative Sections Explained
  • Intermediate Section Rules
  • Section List Rules for Name Paths
    • Implications of This Rule
    • Nested Section Lists
  • Features
  • Errors
• Sections
  • Rules for Regular Sections
  • Rules for Section Lists
  • Implementation
  • Features
  • Errors
• Named Values
  • Named Value Rules
    • Example
  • Features
  • Errors
• Single-Line Value Lists
  • Single-Line Value List Rules
    • Example
  • Features
  • Errors
• Multi-line Value Lists
  • Multi-line Value List Rules
    • Example
  • Features
  • Errors
• Text Values
  • Features
  • Errors
• Integer Values
  • Rules for All Integer Values
    • Digit Counts
  • Rules for Decimal Integers
  • Rules for the Byte Count Format
    • Byte Count Suffixes
  • Rules for Hexadecimal Integers
  • Rules for Binary Integers
  • Features
  • Errors
• Boolean Value
  • Rules
  • Features
• Floating-Point Value
  • Rules
  • Features
  • Errors
• Multi-line Text Values
  • Rules for Multi-line Text
  • Features
  • Errors
• Date, Time, and Date-Time Values
  • Date Rules
  • Time Rules
  • Date-Time Rules
  • Rules About Handling Times Without Offsets
  • About Time Offsets, UTC, Time Zones, and Local Time
  • Features
  • Errors
• Code Text Values
  • Rules for Single Line Code Text
  • Rules for Multi-line Code Text
  • Features
  • Errors
• Byte-Data Values
  • Rules for Single Line Byte-Data
  • Rules for Multi-line Byte-Data
  • Supported Byte-Data Formats
  • Rules for the Hexadecimal Format
  • Features
  • Errors
• Regular Expression Values
  • Rules for Regular Expression Values
  • Rules for Multi-line Regular Expression Values
  • Features
  • Errors
• Time-Delta Values
  • Rules for Time-Delta Values
  • Time Units
  • Features
  • Errors
• Meta Values and Commands
  • Basic Rules for Meta Values
  • The Meta Value “Version”
    • Rules
  • The Meta Value “Features”
    • Rules
  • Features
  • Errors
• Meta Command “Include”
  • Rules
  • Recommended Value Format
  • Features
  • Errors
• Meta Command “Signature”
  • Rules for the Meta Value
  • Rules for the Implementation
  • Recommended Signature Implementation
    • Value Format
    • Creating a Signature
    • Verifying the Signature
  • Important Considerations
  • Features
  • Errors
• Limits Summary
• Names for Value Types
  • Containers
  • Values
• Error Categories and Codes
  • Rules for Error Reporting
  • List of Error Codes
  • Available Data
• Error Category Details
  • Relaxed Handling of Specialized Syntax Errors
  • Error IO
  • Error Encoding
  • Error UnexpectedEnd
  • Error Character
  • Error Syntax
  • Error LimitExceeded
  • Error NameConflict
  • Error Indentation
  • Error Unsupported
  • Error Access
  • Error Validation
  • Error Signature
  • Error Internal
• Feature Identifiers
  • Feature Groups
  • Individual Language Features
  • Parser Features
  • Available Data