data notation for the conveyance of values

na is a simple yet flexible data notation format.

Its value types represent a minimal set of common data types.

Notation matters.

The syntax should be simple, ergonomic, flexible, reliable and secure.

It should be a solid foundation for a wide range of use cases.

• #truth – Boolean truth values
• #number – arbitrary precision numbers
• #text – a sequence of Unicode scalar values
• #block – a sequence of linear/associative values

na meets UAX31-R1-2 by using a profile of UAX31-R1-1, adding the optional start character _ (low line) and the optional medial character - (hyphen-minus). In the syntax of UAX31-D1:

<Identifier> := <Start> <Continue>* (<Medial> <Continue> )*

<Start> := XID_Start   U 005F
<Continue> := XID_Continue
<Medial> := U 002D

That is, a name must conform with UAX31-R1-2 and:

• may start with, contain and end with _ (low line)
• may contain but cannot start or end with - (hyphen-minus)

Names are case insensitive, meeting UAX31-R4 with normalization form KC and UAX31-R5 with full case folding. Implementations should ignore default ignorable code points in comparison.

When compiling to a target language that does not support kebab-case, names may be transliterated to a compatible case style that maintains the separation of words within a name.

-- this is a comment

Boolean truth values, represented with Unicode symbols ⊤ and ⊥.

For the convenience of end users, implementations should allow the words true and false as aliases.

Arbitrary precision signed numbers.

42         -- integer
6.28       -- decimal fraction
1/3        -- rational fraction (ratio)
1.6e-35    -- scientific/exponential notation

1_771_561  -- digit grouping
007        -- leading zeros
48fps      -- suffix
99%        -- percentage (ratio to 100)

Bases with radix from 2 to 36 is supported, using 0…9 A…Z/a…z as numerals.

2\101010   -- binary
8\755      -- octal
16\decaf   -- hexadecimal

A sequence of zero or more Unicode scalar values in UTF-8 encoding.

Single-quoted text is verbatim.

'"verbatim" text'

Double-quoted text supports escape sequences.

"\"escaped\" text"

The following escape sequences are supported:

• \" – quotation mark U 0022
• \\ – reverse solidus U 005C
• \␤ - line continuation
• \xxxxxx – Unicode code point (6 hexadecimal numerals padded with leading zeros)

Multiline texts follow the same rules as Julia's triple-quoted string literals.

'''
this is a "verbatim" text
that's multiline
'''

"""
this is an "escaped" text
that's multiline \01F632
"""

A versatile data structure able to represent both linear and associative collections.

Blocks are enclosed by square brackets []. Inline items are separated by comma ,.

Keys are optional and can be either non-negative integers or names.

Associative items are explicitly defined with colon :.

Linear items are implicitly given 0-indexed integer keys.

[]                      -- empty
[ 1, 2, 3 ]             -- implicit integer keys (list/array/sequence/stack/queue)
[ 7: true, 42: true ]   -- explicit integer keys (sparse array)
[ foo: 42, bar: true ]  -- explicit names (record/object/map/structure/dictionary/hash)

Similar to Lua tables, JavaScript objects and Dart records, a block may contain both linear and associative values.

[ 1, 2, 3, length: 3 ]  -- a mix of implicitly indexed and explicitly named values

More specific data types may be enforced with extensions.

linear: [
    [1, 2, 3]               -- inline items separated by comma
    [4, 5, 6]               -- multiline items separated by newline
    [7, 8, 9]
]
associative: [
    foo: [                  -- multiline block
        bar: [ baz: true ]  -- inline block
    ]
]

Brackets and commas are required for inline blocks and optional for multiline blocks.

Indentation is significant for multiline blocks.

Multiline items may be prefixed with bullet point • for readability.

person:
    name: 'Alan'
    age: 38
    friends:
        • 'Ada'
        • 'Charles'

Either UTF-8 or a compatible binary format, for example CBOR or a derivative of Nota.

• Lightweight
• Human-friendly
• Line-oriented (newline is significant)
• Indentation-based (indentation is significant)
• Extensible

na is the kesh word for river.