2.3. Phrases
2.3.1. Introduction
A phrase is a section of text within a paragraph enclosed in the symbols {{ and }}. Like paragraphs, phrases are optionally tagged with a style. Some examples are given below.
| SDF | Typical result |
| {{Hello world}} | Hello world |
| {{1:Hello world}} | Hello world |
| {{2:Hello world}} | Hello world |
| {{B:Hello world}} | Hello world |
| {{I:Hello world}} | Hello world |
| {{SECT:Tables}} | Tables |
| {{FILE:autoexec.bat}} | autoexec.bat |
2.3.2. Commonly used styles
Some commonly used phrase styles are given below.
| Tag | Description | Sample Output |
| Emphasis: | ||
| 1 | 1st level emphasis (default) | emphasis 1 |
| 2 | 2nd level emphasis | emphasis 2 |
| 3 | 3rd level emphasis | emphasis 3 |
| ST | strong emphasis | strong emphasis |
| Formatting: | ||
| N | normal | some normal text |
| I | italic | some italic text |
| B | bold | some bold text |
| U | underline | some underline text |
| EX | example | some example text |
| Types: | ||
| email address | ianc@mincom.com | |
| FILE | Filename | myfile.sdf |
| SECT | Section | Paragraphs |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator | http://www.mincom.com |
| Classes: | ||
| DOC | document title | SDF User Guide |
| REF | reference (document code) | MTR-SDF-0002 |
| ORG | organisation | Mincom |
| PRD | product | MIMS |
Note: When emphasising text, it is generally better to use an emphasis style rather than a formatting style as the best way of doing so depends on the output format.
2.3.3. Type vs class styles
A type (e.g. EMAIL) simply marks a phrase as a logical entity. Rules may be defined for processing (e.g. generating hypertext) for these types.
A class (e.g. DOC) is a special kind of type where the entity must be a member of a predefined set. Rules can also be defined for processing classes, although hypertext jumps are often defined for each entity in the tables which define the known entities. Refer to Object Management, later.