⚇ ddot.it – User Guide

⚇ ddot.it – User Guide

Syntax Elements

Double dot (..) → typed links
Quad dot (....) → untyped links
Newline → additional properties
Double comma (,,) → metadata
URLs starting with ddot.it → commands
Double exclamation mark (!!) → commands

NOTE: Spaces don’t matter. Any number of spaces (or NBSPs) before and after the double dot is allowed. There must be exactly two dots for typed links and exactly four dots for untyped links.

Typed Link

Syntax: aaa .. bbb .. ccc
Effect: “aaa” links to “ccc” with link type “bbb”

Typed Link with Meta Data:

Syntax: aaa .. bbb .. ccc ,, ddd
Effect: “aaa” links to “ccc” with link type “bbb” and the whole link has meta-data “ddd” attached.

Untyped Link

Just leave out the type.

Syntax: aaa .... ccc
Effect: “aaa” links to “ccc” with default link type “links to”

Untyped Link with Meta Data

Syntax: aaa .... ccc ,, ddd
Effect: “aaa” links to “ccc” and the whole link has meta-data “ddd” attached.

Additional Properties

To state more properties on the same subject (aaa) add more lines leaving out the subject.

Syntax:

Dirk Hagemann .. works at .. SAP
.. knows .. Claudia Stern
.. is part of .. NEPOMUK
.. phone.. 123-456-789

Metadata

It is possible to use triple syntax in the metadata part. The triple is the subject of the following triples. To add a lot of metadata, just use ,, behind a triple or on a new line, followed by a newline, then as many meta lines as you need, terminated with a single ,, line.

The metadata itself can be

a single string (we need to check with Mr. Smith)
annotating the preceding triple (typed: ..since.. 2010; simple: .... Project Eagle)

Short Metadata:

Dirk Hagemann .. works at .. SAP ,, ..year..2010

Longer Metadata:

Dirk Hagemann .. works at .. SAP ,,
..year..2010
..fictive.. yes
..project.. NEPOMUK
,,

Commands

Commands allow fine-tuning ddot.it behavior.

ddot.it/ can be abbreviated with !! (double exclamation mark), but the longer form is self-documenting (URL explains more)

File Type Indicator

Syntax: ddot.it
Effect: Marks a document as double-dotted. Helps human readers and agents to find the documentation.

Include and Exclude

A ddot reader can process

All marked documents (all with ddot.it or ddot.it/on, but excluding ddot.it/off ) – This is the default
Only included documents (Only those with ddot.it/on)
All documents (Overriding document commands for include/exclude)

Include Command

Syntax: ddot.it/on
Effect: Include document in double-dot-processing.

Exclude Command

Syntax: ddot.it/off
Effect: Exclude this document from double-dot-processing

Include/Exclude Regions

A document may use multiple on (include) and off (exclude) commands, indicating regions for double dot processing. The command goes from start of document until the end of the doc or a counter-command.

This Command

Syntax: ddot.it/this
Effect: Use this command the the subject (first part( of a triple to annotate the current document.

Relation Types

Some relations are so commonly used, we suggest some standard names here:

Name	Aliases	Semantics (A .. relation .. B)
`related`	`rel`, `is related`	Undirected link connecting A and B.
`same as`	`is same as`	A and B are referring to the same concept.
`is alias of`		Like `same as`, but with a clear main concept. This is like a sym-link.
`links to`	`link`, `see also`	Directed, untyped link from A to B. Default link type when four dots (`....`) are used.
`has tag`	`tag`	A has the tag B. Tags are not transitive.
`has type`	`type`, `is a`	A has the type B. Like rdf:type. Types are inherited via `has subtype`.
`has subtype`	`subtype`	The type A has a more specialised type B. Transitive relation. If it forms a cycle, all participants of the cycle are considered to be the same entity (`same as`).