3.3. Lists

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3.3.1. Overview

SDF supports 3 types of lists:

• unordered - items are bulleted
• plain - items are not bulleted
• ordered - items are labelled with numbers or letters.

As lists are so common, they are supported by a special syntax:

   special_tag text

where special_tag is a sequence of 1 to 6 special characters. Spaces or tabs between the tag and text are ignored.

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3.3.2. Unordered Lists

To define an unordered list, use the '*' character. For example:

* peach
* banana
* mango.

The result is:

• peach
• banana
• mango.

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3.3.3. Plain Lists

To define a plain list, use the '.' character. For example:

. peach
. banana
. mango.

The result is:

peach
banana
mango.

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3.3.4. Ordered Lists

To define an ordered list, use the '^' character for the first item and the '+' character for remaining items. For example:

^ peach
+ banana
+ mango.

The result is:

1. peach
2. banana
3. mango.

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3.3.5. List Paragraphs

To nest a normal paragraph inside a list, use the '.' tag. For example:

* peach
. This is one of my favorites.

The result is:

• peach
  This is one of my favorites.

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3.3.6. Nested Lists

Lists can be nested up to 6 levels. The nesting level is taken from the number of special characters in the tag. For example:

** a bulleted list at level 2
^^^ an ordered list at level 3

To nest normal paragraphs inside these lists, use plain list items. For example:

** a bulleted list at level 2
.. A normal paragraph at level 2.

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3.3.7. The '-' Special Tag

As a convenience, the '-' character can be used to specify a bulleted list at level 2. For example:

* inputs:
  - programmers
  - pizza
* outputs:
  - software
  - empty pizza boxes.

The result is:

• inputs:
  • programmers
  • pizza
• outputs:
  • software
  • empty pizza boxes.

Likewise, the tags '--' to '-----' are equivalent to the tags '***' to '******'.