About this Document

  • Version: 1.2

  • Release Date: 2026-07-28

  • see Changelog

Syntax Elements

Spaces don’t matter. Any number of whitespace characters before and after the double dot is allowed — that means Tab and every Unicode space separator, so a NBSP pasted in from Word or a PDF works exactly like a plain space (why). There must be exactly two dots for a typed link. An untyped link is written either as exactly four dots (…​.) or as two dot-pairs separated by whitespace (.. ..) — the same operator, two spellings. A run of three or five dots is ordinary text, not an operator.

  • 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.

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

Several inline metadata pairs are separated with a double semicolon (;;):

John Doe ..leads.. Project Eagle ,, ..since.. 2025 ;; ..until.. 2027

(Inside a multi-line ,, block a ;; is ordinary text, because there each metadata value runs to the end of its line.)

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

By default a ddot reader scans every file it is given. ddot.it is meant to augment any text you already have, so requiring a marker would mean missing most of it: triples are found and reported wherever they occur.

The ddot.it marker and the ddot.it/on command therefore do not switch parsing on. They are hints for humans and agents, and they only select files when a reader is explicitly run in the optional "exclude non-marked files" mode.

Within a file, ddot.it/off and ddot.it/on always apply — see Include/Exclude Regions.

Include Command

  • Syntax: ddot.it/on (or !!on)

  • Effect: Resume ddot.it processing from this line on.

Exclude Command

  • Syntax: ddot.it/off (or !!off)

  • Effect: Stop ddot.it processing from this line on.Nothing between an off and the next on is parsed — not even commands.

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

For common relation names, see Common Relation Names.