Textual Term Format¶
This page describes the textual term format used to write terms to files when exchanging terms between applications.
File Structure¶
Term files have the extension .aterm and are written using UTF-8 encoding. They start with the root term. Each term is written such that each subterm is recursively nested within.
The format is described using regular expressions.
Whitespace¶
Whitespace is allowed between some tokens. Whitespace is defined as:
WS = [ \t\r\n]
Currently, comments are not supported.
Integer¶
An integer literal is represented by a sequence of digits.
Term.Int = [0-9]+ Annos?
Currently, negative integer values are not supported.
Examples:
0
42
8388608
Real¶
A real literal is represented by a (possibly empty) sequence of digits, a decimal dot ., and another sequence of digits, ending with an optional exponent.
Term.Real = [0-9]* '.' [0-9]+ ( [eE] [0-9]+ )? Annos?
Currently, negative real values or negative exponents are not supported.
Examples:
0.1
13.37
42.0e3
.5
.3333E2
String¶
A string literal is represented by a sequence of characters between double quotes. The character may not include double quotes, backslashes, carriage returns, or new lines. Instead, those characters need to be escaped. Other characters may be escaped.
Term.String = '"' ( [^"\\\r\n] | $escape$ )* '"' Annos?
Where $escape$ is one of:
\b: Backspace (BS, 8).\t: Horizontal tab (HT, 9).\n: New line (LF, 10).\f: Form-feed (FF, 12).\r: Carriage return (CR, 13).\": Literal double quote (", 34).\': Literal single quote (', 39).\\: Literal backslash (\, 92).
Unsupported escapes
The following escape codes are not currently supported:
\0: Null character (NUL, 0).\a: Bell (BEL, 7).\v: Vertical tab (VT, 11).\e: Escape (ESC, 27).\nnn: Unicode code point given by octal number nnn (3 octal digits).\xhh..: Unicode code point given by hexadecimal number hh (2 or more hexadecimal digits).\uhhhh: Unicode code point given by hexadecimal number hhhh (4 hexadecimal digits).\Uhhhhhhhh: Unicode code point given by hexadecimal number hhhhhhhh (8 hexadecimal digits).
Using other escape sequences than those specified here is an error.
Examples:
"foobar"
"\"I have a dream.\" - Martin Luther King Jr."
">>\n[-]\n<<\n[\n -\n >>\n +\n <<\n]"
Constructor Application¶
A constructor application is represented by the constructor name, followed the argument list. The argument list is represented by a comma-separated (possibly empty) sequence of terms, surrounded by parentheses (( )).
Term.Appl = CName WS* '(' WS* (Term WS* (',' WS* Term)*)? WS* ')' Annos?
CName = [a-z\_\-\+\*\$]*
Empty constructor name is allowed
An empty constructor name is allowed. This represents a tuple.
Unsupported constructor names
Currently, constructor names cannot contain a dot . or some other special characters. Additionally, constructor names cannot be strings.
Currently, trailing comma in the argument list is not supported.
Parentheses are required even when the constructor has no arguments.
Examples:
Id()
Plus(Int("1"), Int("1"))
_internal(3)
("foobar", 42)
()
List¶
A list is represented by a comma-separated (possibly empty) sequence of terms, surrounded by square brackets ([ ]).
Term.List = '[' WS* (Term WS* (',' WS* Term)*)? WS* ']' Annos?
Currently, trailing comma in the argument list is not supported.
Examples:
[]
[1, 2, 3]
["a", ["b", ["c"]]]
Annotation¶
Term annotations are represented by a comma-separated (possibly empty) sequence of terms, surrounded by curly brackets ({ }).
Annos = '{' WS* (Term WS* (',' WS* Term)*)? WS* '}'
Currently, trailing comma in the argument list is not supported.
When the annotations list is empty, the curly brackets may be omitted.
Examples of terms with annotations:
0{MyAnno()}
42.0e3{}
"foobar"{IsConstant()}
(){}
Plus(Int("1"), Int("1")){Type("Int"), FreeVars([])}
[1, 2, 3]{1, 2, 3}
Created: April 19, 2024