This page is the compact reminder for grammar authors, reviewers, and implementers. Use it when you already know the model and need the exact rules quickly.
Fast rule of thumb: exact phrases, exact delimiters, exact macro names, and only one repetition operator.
Core symbols
UPPERCASE WORDS — exact keyword phrases.parameterName — value capture.[ ... ] — optional group.{ ... } — required group.| — alternatives inside the current group.... — repetition suffix on the immediately preceding node.${macroName} — canonical macro reference.<macroName> — legacy macro reference when preserved for compatibility.., ;, ,, : and similar punctuation — literal delimiters.
Runtime rules
- Keywords match user input case-insensitively.
- Macro names match the registry case-sensitively.
- Parameters consume one
WORD or STRING token unless repetition or macro expansion says otherwise.
- Quoted values bind their normalized semantic value without outer quotes.
- Repeated matching must preserve the rest of the grammar. It cannot swallow later clauses.
- Full-input matching is required for success.
- The first fully matching registered command wins.
Binding rules
- Captures are ordered as
(name, context, value).
- Exact keyword phrases matter for clause detection and
after-style context filters.
- Repeated field binding ends with the last matching value.
- Repeated method binding is invoked once per capture, in encounter order.
- Clause fields are
false when absent and true when present.
Invalid definition checklist
- No empty groups.
- No empty alternatives.
- No empty macro names.
- No unmatched brackets or braces.
- No repetition operator without a preceding node.
- No binding metadata that points to a parameter or phrase not present in the grammar.
Authoring checklist
- Use uppercase only for real literal keywords.
- Quote values that contain spaces or significant punctuation.
- Prefer readable multi-word clause phrases such as
WITH AGE or DRY RUN.
- Order alternatives intentionally.
- Use macros only for dynamic vocabularies.
- Write negative tests for incomplete input, wrong delimiters, unclosed strings, and bad macro values.
Canonical examples
PING ;
CREATE USER username [ PASSWORD password ] ;
PROCESS { FILE file_path | DIRECTORY dir_path } ;
GRANT ACCESS TO target_user ... ;
EXECUTE ${available_tasks} ON target_name ;
SET DATE day . month . year ;
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