Language Guide

Complete guide to the .chalk language.

Table of Contents

Documents

A .chalk document consists of a series of elements that define structured content. These elements come in various types, each serving a specific purpose.

Basic Document Structure

*(
    title: My Document
    author: John Doe
    date: 2024-01-01
)

# Introduction

This is a paragraph of content.

## Section Header

More content here.

article{
    # Article content goes here

    This is the main content of the article.
}(
    published: true
    tags: news, featured
)

image(
    src: sunset.jpg
    alt: Sunset landscape
    caption: Taken at dusk
)

Elements

Elements are the building blocks of .chalk documents. They can be containers (holding other elements) or leaf elements (holding text or media).

See more in the Elements Reference.

Attributes

Element can be given attributes that configure its behaviour and additonal data.

See more in the Attributes Guide.

Libraries

Libraries define the elements, attributes, and types available in .chalk documents. Every document requires a library to specify how its elements should be interpreted and compiled.

Libraries provide the rules and definitions that make .chalk documents meaningful and compilable.

See more in the API Documentation.

Additional Features

Comments

Line comments start with // and continue to the end of the line. Comments can only appear at the beginning of lines (after whitespace), not inline within other content:

// This is a comment
# Title

Comments are ignored during compilation and are meant for adding notes and explanations within the source code.

File Types

.chalk supports two file extensions for different use cases:

.chalk Files

Full .chalk documents that can be compiled independently:

*(
    author: Test Author
    description: Test Document
)

@const(x: 3; name: Test Scenario)

section{
    # This is a test scenario {{name}}

    Laborum sint incididunt esse aliquip voluptate enim. Minim amet id commodo. Incididunt qui irure mollit.

    @include(src: component.part.chalk)
}

.part.chalk Files

.chalk Element files containing single reusable components:

code{
    Hello, World!
}(
    language: typescript
    interactive: true
)

See more in the Meta-Elements section.