From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: "Eric Schulte" <schulte.eric@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Formal description of Org files
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:29:02 -0600
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	<sdfwpj38bt.fsf@wjh.hardakers.net>
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To: Wes Hardaker <wjhns209@hardakers.net>
Cc: emacs-orgmode mailing list <emacs-orgmode@gnu.org>, Carsten Dominik <carsten.dominik@gmail.com>

If one goal of such a formal description of Org-mode would be to parse
text Org-mode files into an abstract syntax tree (which is reminiscent
of [1] and [2]) then perhaps we should look at parsers which have
already been applied to other document languages (e.g. tex, html etc...)
or at least support xml output.  If such parsers exist and have been
widely applied, then maybe they could support the exportation of
Org-mode files, or even automate the writing of code for such exporters?

Best -- Eric

Wes Hardaker <wjhns209@hardakers.net> writes:

>>>>>> On Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:58:09 +0200, Carsten Dominik
> <carsten.dominik@gmail.com> said:
>
> CD> Unfortunately I did not catch the name of the format description
> CD> language that could be used for something, not did I catch the name
> CD> of the person who talked to me.
>
> Another option, besides those mentioned, is probably ABNF.


Footnotes: 
[1]  the effort to unify exporting behind a single parser of Org-mode
     files into an abstract elisp tree

[2]  http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/, which as I recall has an
     Org-mode backend

-- 
Eric Schulte
http://cs.unm.edu/~eschulte/