Description List

Extensions
25

I don’t know whether you collect Spec suggestions for extensions yet, but i would suggest the following:

For simplicity i would suggest the following.

  • Define the description list items just like the other list items.
  • put a “special case” after the “basic case” that allows multiple items on the same line.
  • (Restricting the sequence of items to multiple “names” ~ name 1 ~ name 2 ~ name 3 ~ name 4 followed by only “values” : value 1 : value 2 : value 3 : value 4 would create more problems than it would solve: Would ~ name 1 : value 1 ~ name 2 : value 2 lead to value 1 literally containing the string value 1 ~ name 2?!)
  • Restrict the definition list to only begin with “names” → there might be another syntax that needs the colon as a marker. (There are already candidates.)

5.2 List items

A list marker is a [bullet list marker] or an [ordered list marker] or a [description list marker].

A [description list marker] is a ~ or : character. The ~ is the [description name marker] and the : is the [description value marker].

  1. Basic case: …
  2. *Special case for [description list items] on the same line:
    • A description list item may consist of multiple [description list items] that are on the same line.
    • Each description [description list item] is introduced with a [description list marker] surrounded by at least one space character.
    • *anything that follows modifies the last description list item. E.g. a paragraph that follows is appended to the last item.

5.3 Lists

Two list markers are of the same type if (a) they are bullet list markers using the same character (-, +, or *) or (b) they are ordered list numbers with the same delimiter (either . or )) or (c) they are description list markers with either character (~ or :).

A description list must begin with a [description name marker] (~). It cannot begin with a [description value marker] (:). // this frees the colon as a character for a different syntax!