Overview

DSON - Ducky's Simple Object Notation: This file format is designed to represent hierarchical data using key-value pairs. It allows storing both simple values and nested groups, making it suitable for structured configuration, metadata, or serialization needs.

Basic Concepts

• Key-Value Pairs
  • Each data entry consists of a key followed by an equals sign (=) and a value.
  • Values can be single values (wrapped in [ ]) or nested groups (wrapped in { }).
  • Multiple key-value pairs can appear on the same line
• Groups (Nested Structures)
  • A key followed by = and { starts a new nested group.
  • Groups can contain other key-value pairs or even nested groups.
  • A closing } marks the end of a group.

Syntax Rules

• File Structure
  • Token based Structure. Each token separated by space ' '
  • A token can be either:
    • Equal Sing '='
    • Open / Close squarebBrackets '[', ']'
    • Open / Close curly braces '{', '}'
    • Literal: any sequence of character (without space - except a single character listed above)
• Key-Value Definition
  • Each key is a single Literal.
  • A key must be followed by = sign
  • A value can either be a Literal warpped in square brackets ([ ]) or a group wrapped with curly braces ({ })
  • A single line can hold multiple key-value pairs but each pair has to be finished within the line (except for groups)
  • Groups can be nested indefinitely.
• Comments
  • Comments needs to be marked with '# ' (the space after the '#' is important to make it a standalone character)
  • Comment can be from the start of the line or mid-line
• White Spaces
  • White spaces generally ignored except around tokens. Each token has to be a stand alone character.
  • Space cannot directly be in a value as that would make it multiple tokens. If space is required in token value then ' ' can be used insted.
    • 'AddStringValue' function will automatically replace ' ' with ' '
    • 'GetValueString' and 'Print' will automatically replace ' ' with ' '

Why Tho?

Quack. Quack. Quack.