ClearSilverHierarchicalDataFormat

Last edit July 19, 2005
ClearSilver's HierarchicalDataFormat (HDF) -- one of the AlternativesToXml

See: http://www.clearsilver.net/docs/man_hdf.hdf

Examples:

"It supports two different syntax for representing the dataset hierarchy which can be intermixed arbitrarily. The first is a simple dotted path scheme: 

  Page.Name = My Index
  Page.URL = /myindex.html
  Page.Menu.0 = Home
  Page.Menu.1 = Preferences
  Page.Menu.2 = Help
  Page.Menu.3 = Support
"The second is a nested elements scheme: 
  Page {
    Name = My Index
    URL = /myindex.html
    Menu {
      0 = Home
      1 = Preferences
      2 = Help
      3 = Support
    }
  }
A few more small examples at http://www.clearsilver.net/docs/compare_w_xmlxslt.hdf

Compare to YamlAintMarkupLanguage.

Looks like Java '.properties' files -- morphed into something close to JavaScriptObjectNotation (JSON) or Python native data, to me. -- JeffGrigg

Questions from the AlternativesToXml page:
  • Is it really a significant product offering for WebProgramming?

  • I don't understand how clearsilver is an alternative to XML. It's certainly a way of working with XML, and I suppose it could displace some uses of XML, but it's in no way an XML equivalent.
    • The Clearsilver templating system library is primarily intended for support and manipulation of HTML and XML. Its "HDF" ("Hierarchical Data Format") is an alternative to XML.