rakudoc_draft_3.rakudoc

=begin rakudoc :kind("Language") :subkind("Language") :category("reference")
=TITLE RakuDoc
=SUBTITLE A Raku slang for documenting Raku software to aid development and use.
=VERSION 2.10.3

RakuDoc is a markup language with simple instructions for simple tasks and more
complex structures to suit larger projects. There is a clear distinction between
documenting intended to help maintain and develop the software, and the visually
presentations needed by a newcomer to understand how to use software.

=begin AUTHORS :hidden
=item Damian Conway (@thoughtstream)
=item Richard Hainsworth (@finanalyst)
=item Elizabeth Mattijen (@lizmat)
=item Aliaksandr Zahatski (@zag)
=end AUTHORS

=head1 SYNOPSIS
=comment should be a semantic block C<=SYNOPSIS>

Consider the two ways in which documentation is used.

=head2 Case 1: You are writing internal documentation to aid software design
=begin code :allow<B> :lang<raku>
    unit class Beginners;

    B<#| a variable to hold number of people>
    has $.participants;

    B<#| data that is initially provided by default, but will be overwritten>
    has $.new-participant = $=finish;

    ... # code

    B<=finish>
    default data string for a new participant
=end code

A RakuDoc compliant editor or Integrated Design Environment will pick up the text following C<#|>
and put it into a pop-up menu whenever you select (e.g. by hovering over) a use of C<$.participants>.

The C<=finish> statement is the last piece of code. Everything after it is treated as a string and placed
in the C<$=finish> variable.

There are other possibilities described below.

=head2 Case2: You are writing external documentation to accompany some software

Consider the following short description:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin rakudoc
    =TITLE Tutorial about Flavorizing
    =SUBTITLE
    A short tutorial on Flavorizing your quarks

    =head1 Starting out

    In the section you will learn about how to add flavors to quarks produced
    by the I<Imagiton>.
    It goes without saying that these techniques should B<NOT> be carried out
    without a precocious child nearby; they will strain the imagination of
    an ossified adult.

    =head2 What is a flavour

    It is well-known (see the L<Wikipedia article|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavour_(particle_physics)>
    that quarks N<a quark is a constituent of a hadron> come in six flavors, for example:
    =item Up
    =item Bottom
    =item Charm

    Z< Lots more text >
    =end rakudoc
=end code

To indicate that all of the markup above is not Raku code, it is enclosed in a block labelled I<rakudoc>.
This is an example of the B<delimited> form of the B<rakudoc> block (so named because it is
specified between C<=begin> and C<=end> directives).

The C<=TITLE>, C<=SUBTITLE>, and C<=SYNOPSIS> are I<semantic blocks> containing standard information that can be searched
by other tools. For all other purposes, they can be considered to the same as C<=head1> I<blocks>.

A C<=head1> block begins a top-level heading. The C<=head2> is a second level heading.
These are examples of the B<abbreviated> form of RakuDoc blocks. Any non-empty text lines
following a heading specifier are collectively treated as the text of the heading.

The C<=item> components are abbreviated blocks with text entries for a list.
There is no need to start or stop a list explicitly; the renderer will place each consecutive
C<=item> in a list. The first non-C<=item> paragraph or block will end the list.

Within the text there are several examples of inline markup instructions, which have the form R<Upper Unicode character> B<< < >> B<< > >>.
In the example above, we used: C<I B N L Z>. These are for Important, Basis, Note (a footnote), Link, and Zero (a comment) markup.

=head1 Introduction

RakuDoc has a variety of B<components> that allow for rich structured documents,
provide markup hints to renderers without assuming an output format, extract
information from compiled programs, provide information to programs, and enable
custom developer extensions.

This document describes a revision of RakuDoc modifying the
original speculation L<S26|https://design.raku.org/S26.html> that was implemented as Raku was developed.
RakuDoc is intended to be backwards compatible with the POD6 markup language based on S26.

RakuDoc is extensible and renderers are free to provide extra functionality beyond the minimum
set of instructions described here.

The markup language is called B<RakuDoc> with the I<CamelCase> spelling in order to highlight
both the I<Raku> and I<Doc> parts for a newcomer. Some authors may prefer B<Rakudoc> with
I<Titlecase> spelling, which is considered a possible but non-canonical variant.

The file extension for a file containing RakuDoc source is B<.rakudoc>.

=begin nested
As it will become apparent, whitespace and indentation plays an important role in RakuDoc.
There are L<quite a few horizontal whitespace characters|https://unicode-explorer.com/articles/space-characters>;
no equivalence is made between them by Rakudo. For example, tabs and spaces are treated as two
separate horizontal whitespace characters, with no assumption that a tab is equivalents, say to
four (or 2, 8, etc as per style manual) spaces.

Consequently, mixing spaces and tabs may B<appear> to create the same visual margin in some
editor, but they may be B<treated> as different margins when parsing RakuDoc.

It is recommended that RakuDoc authors choose a single whitespace character (eg, tab or space)
for margin alignment.
=end nested

=head1 Two use cases for RakuDoc

RakuDoc can be thought of as having components that are closely connected to a program or module
that is being documented (D<code-oriented RakuDoc>), and components that can be used for text-oriented documents, such as the source
for a webpage or a book (D<text-oriented RakuDoc>).

Code-oriented RakuDoc is expected to be "consumed" by users in an editor or Integrated Design Environment (IDE),
while text-oriented RakuDoc is consumed in some rendered version,
such as an HTML web page, a command-line manpage, or a chapter in an e-book.

When RakuDoc components are viewed in an editor or IDE to provide information
about variables, methods, roles, classes and the like, the information could be made available in a pop-up
whenever a documented term is selected in some way (e.g. hovering a mouse over it).
In the editor context, RakuDoc blocks and markup should then be treated as a comment to the code. Editors are
not expected to render the RakuDoc other than to show the RakuDoc components verbatim, but may do
so if it seems expedient.

When RakuDoc components are viewed in a rendered version (for example, as HTML), components related to a running
program should be ignored.

Within the body of a program there may be
several sections of code, which is called the D<ambient context>, interleaved between sections of RakuDoc.

Sections of code that are intended to be examples within the documentation
(i.e. code that is not actual interleaved executable code) can be specified in C<=code> blocks,
which are treated as integral parts of the RakuDoc, not as source code in ambient context.

Consider a source file containing the definition of a class. When the file is edited in an
IDE (e.g. the class is being developed or maintained) the code-oriented RakuDoc is useful
to help the developer understand the internal structure and function of specific elements
within the code.

Furthermore, when the class is imported into another Raku program
the IDE will be able to access the information in declarator blocks attached to specific terms, without
needing the source code to be available.

However, by including text-oriented RakuDoc in the same file, end-user documentation can be
provided for the class within the same source file. By passing the source through a renderer, a
documentation file (e.g. a README.md file for a github repo) can be generated.

This document describes the minimum version of RakuDoc that a renderer or editor must recognise along with
some expected rendering behaviors for text-oriented renderers. I<"Expected behaviors"> means that a renderer
should approximate the behavior as far as possible given the limitations of the output format, and that the
approximation should be a reasonable interpretation of the standard described here.

The RakuDoc design assumes certain types of customisability, such
as the ability to define new blocks or markup instructions. In order to access blocks or functionality not described in this document,
the file containing such RakuDoc instructions should contain a C<use> statement that loads a module that provides
the information needed to render the extensions. The information provided by this module may be renderer-specific.

=head1 Components

RakuDoc has four main types of components, which are distinguished by their scope and by effect they have on other components.

=defn Directives
Directives define how blocks work. Directives have a similar syntax to regular blocks, but they actually operate on other blocks.
New directives cannot be defined. Directives specify B<behaviours> rather than content.

=defn Blocks
Blocks define complete text components, such as a new paragraph or a code sample or a table. New kinds of blocks can be defined.
Blocks contain B<actual content> which is to be directly rendered in some way.

=defn Markup instructions
Markup instructions typically define inline items embedded within a block. Some markup instructions only affect
the visual rendering of their contents.
Others may have side-effects (such as including items into an index or glossary). New markup instructions can be defined.

=defn Metadata options
Options provide information to a block. They may produce side-effects or alter the way a block should be rendered.
A document writer can associate any metadata option with any block or directive. A renderer is only
required to comply with those listed in this document.

=head2 Directive syntax

These are the syntax forms for each directive.
The C<=> of each directive must be the first non-whitespace character on a given line.

=item B<=begin> specifies the start of a delimited block
=item B<=end> specifies the end of a delimited block
=item B<=for> specifies the start of an extended block
=item B<=finish> ends ambient code and is followed by text
=begin item
B<=alias> specifies a text substitution available in subsequent C<A<...>> markup instructions.
The general syntax for an alias directive is:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =alias ALIAS_NAME Text for substitution
    =                 Optional extra text
=end code
=end item
=begin item
B<=config> specifies default options to be applied to specific types of blocks or markup instructions
within the remainder of the current block-scope. These default options apply from immediately after
the C<=config> directive up to the end of the innermost surrounding block.
The general syntax for configuration directives is:
=begin code  :allow< R > :lang<RakuDoc>
    =config R<BLOCK_TYPE>  R<CONFIG OPTIONS>
    =                   R<OPTIONAL EXTRA CONFIG OPTIONS>
=end code
If the block-type is single uppercase character R<X>,
the C<=config> directive applies the specified configuration options to the R<X> markup instruction.
For example:
=for code :allow<B V> :lang<RakuDoc>
V<=>config B<C> :allow<B I>

This configures the C<C<>> markup instruction to recognize nested C<B<>> and C<I<>> markup instructions
(both of which would otherwise be treated as verbatim within a C<C<>> instruction).

To avoid ambiguities L<Naming rules|#Naming rules> are applied to blocks and markup instructions.
=end item
=begin item
B<=place> specifies a source of information that is to be placed in the current block. The general
syntax of B<=place> is
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<R>
    =place R<URL> R<OPTIONS>
    =          R<MORE OPTIONS IF NECESSARY>
=end code
=end item
=head2 Block syntax

Even though visually similar in some contexts, a block is not a directive...nor vice versa.

Blocks may be specified in three ways:
=begin item
B<Delimited form>

A D<delimited block> starts with the directive C<=begin> as the first non-whitespace on a line,
followed by a valid Raku identifier indicating the name of the block, followed optionally by metadata (see "Metadata" below),
followed by content lines. A delimited block is only terminated
by an C<=end> directive followed by the same block name. A delimited block that is not terminated by
an C<=end same-block-name> instruction throws an error.

For example, to specify a C<para> block in delimited form:
    =begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
        =begin para :meta<data>
        This text is the content of the block.

        The preceding blank line is also a part of the block,
        as are these two non-blank lines.
        =end para
    =end code
The general syntax is:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<R>
     =begin R<BLOCK_TYPE>  R<OPTIONAL CONFIG INFO>
     =                  R<OPTIONAL EXTRA CONFIG INFO>
     R<BLOCK CONTENTS>
     =end R<BLOCK_TYPE>
=end code
=end item
=begin item
B<Extended form>

An D<extended block> begins with the directive C<=for> as the first non-whitespace on a line, followed by the name of the block,
followed by optional metadata. The next non-blank lines after the metadata
specify the content of the block, which is terminated either by the first entirely blank line after the
content or by the first line that begins with a RakuDoc directive. For example, to specify a C<para> block in extended format:
    =begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
        =for para :meta<data>
        This text is the content of the block.

        This text is NOT content of the block.
        After a blank line, a new block is started.
    =end code

The general syntax is:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<R>
     =for R<BLOCK_TYPE>  R<OPTIONAL CONFIG INFO>
     =                R<OPTIONAL EXTRA CONFIG INFO>
     R<BLOCK DATA>
=end code
=end item
=begin item
B<Abbreviated form>

In an D<abbreviated block>, the name of the block immediately follows an C<=> sign, which must be the first non-whitespace character
on the line. Everything after the block name (up to the first blank line or directive line) is considered the content of the block. For example,
to specify a C<para> block in abbreviated form:
    =begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
        =para This text is the content of the block.

        This text is NOT content of the block.
        After a blank line, a new block is started.
    =end code

Note that abbreviated blocks cannot be specified with metadata.
Any apparent metadata elements placed after an abbreviated block name
are instead considered to be part of the block contents.

Where an extended or abbreviated block uses a blank line as the block terminator,
the blank line is not included as part of the content of the block.
All subsequent whitespace, whether horizontal or vertical (spaces, tabs, new lines),
is ignored. Note that horizontal and vertical whitespace can be included inside a delimited block,
and may be significant (eg, Verbatim blocks).

=end item

=head2 Markup instruction syntax

The general syntax of a markup instruction is
=for code :lang<RakuDoc>
<Instruction><opening marker><content>|<meta list><closing marker>

=begin item
B«<Instruction>»

This is a single uppercase letter, or a unicode entity with the UPPER property
=end item
=begin item
B«<opening marker>»

This is either one-or-more C«<» characters or a single C<«> character (i.e. The Unicode entity C«E<0x00AB>»)
=end item
=begin item
B«<content>»

This is a string that does not contain the C<|> character (i.e. Unicode entity C«E<0x007C>»), unless that
character is inside a nested markup instruction.
=end item
=begin item
B«<meta list>»

Is a list of strings separated by C<,> or C<;>, depending on the semantics imposed by the <Instruction>
=end item
=begin item
B«<closing marker>»

Is one-or-more C«>» or a single C<»> (i.e. Unicode entity C«E<0x00BB>»).
The closing marker must be symmetrical with the markup instruction's opening marker.
That is, it must consist of the same number of C«>» or C<»> as there were C«<» or C<«>
in the opening marker.
=end item

For example:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
This is B<U<unusual>> text, and this is B<I<important>>.
And this is a B<L<link to the Raku Programming Language|https://raku.org>>.
=end code

Which would be rendered as:

=begin nested
For example: This is U<unusual> text, and this is I<important>.
And this is a L<link to the Raku Programming Language|https://raku.org>.
=end nested

=head2 Metadata syntax

Metadata is specified using a Raku option pair, where the value portion
is always parsed using Raku semantics.
The following table contains some typical examples.

=begin table :!toc :caption('')
Value is...       Specify with...
===============   ===================
True              :key
False             :!key
Literal           :key<answer>
List              :key("foo", 42)
Hash              :key{ :note('Rosebud, they said'), :emphasize }
=end table

Numerical values can be specified in any Raku-compatible format
(42, 42.0, 42e0, 0x2a, 0d42, 0o52, 0b101010).  Strings can either be specified
using single or double quotes, or angle brackets (C<'foo'>, C<"bar">, C< <baz> >).
Note that if a string with whitespace is specified in angle brackets, it
is in fact a list of strings: C<< <foo bar baz> >> is the same as C< ('foo','bar','baz') >.

Within the context of the parser of the Raku Programming Language,
it is also possible to refer to any compile-time value inside the meta-data.

Requiring Raku semantics for the value component of a metadata option means
that for compliance to this specification, RakuDoc markup is prohibited
within a metadata option.
For example, C< :bullet( E<BALLOT BOX WITH X> ) > is prohibited. However,
Raku has a syntax for Unicode characters, so C< :bullet«\c[BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK]» >
is possible. Note the C< «...» > syntax which stringifies the contents with
interpolation.

A renderer may provide a mechanism for allowing RakuDoc within a metadata option
but the value part must still conform to Raku semantics, for example,

    :caption('This is a heading with I<important markup> in it')

The outer single quotes ensures that the parser passes a plain string to the
renderer, which may then post-process the string.

The metadata of an extended block or abbreviated block may extend beyond the first line declaring the
block. Each subsequent line must start
with an C<=> in the first virtual column, meaning that it must vertically
align with the C<=> of the RakuDoc block declaration,
and it must be followed
by at least one horizontal whitespace character.

For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
     =for head1 :a-first-line-key<firstvalue> :another-first-line-key<xyz>
     =          :a-second-line-key(42)
     = :a-third-line-key<third>
     Content for the header block
=end code

=head1 Directives

Directives are similar in form to I<block> instructions, but they do not
have the extended or delimited forms. If a directive name is preceded by
a C<=begin>, C<=for> or C<=end>, then an error will be thrown.

=head2 Aliases

The C<=alias> directive provides a way to define block-scoped
synonyms for longer RakuDoc sequences, (meta)object declarators from the
code, or even entire chunks of ambient source. These synonyms can then
be inserted into subsequent RakuDoc using the
L<C<A<> formatting code>|#Alias placements>.

An C<=alias> is scoped from immediately after its declaration
up to the end of the innermost surrounding RakuDoc block.

The alias directive takes two arguments. The first is an
identifier (which is usually specified in uppercase, though this is
not mandatory). The second argument consists of one or more
lines of replacement text.

Each C<=alias> directive creates a block-scoped RakuDoc macro that can be invoked during
document generation by placing the identifier (i.e. the first argument
of the alias) in an C<A<>> formatting code. This formatting code is then
replaced by the text returned by the new macro.

The replacement text returned by the alias macro begins at the first
non-whitespace character after the alias's identifier, and continues to
the end of the line. You can extend the replacement text over multiple
lines by starting the following line(s) with an C<=> (at the same level
of indentation as the C<=alias> directive itself) followed by at least
one whitespace. Each additional line of replacement text uses the original
line's (virtual) left margin, as specified by the indentation of the
replacement text on the C<=alias> line.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=alias PROGNAME    Earl Irradiatem Evermore
=alias VENDOR      4D Kingdoms
=alias TERMS_URLS  =item L<http://www.4dk.com/eie>
=                  =item L<http://www.4dk.co.uk/eie.io/>
=                  =item L<http://www.fordecay.ch/canttouchthis>

The use of A<PROGNAME> is subject to the terms and conditions
laid out by A<VENDOR>, as specified at:

A<TERMS_URLS>
=end code

This would produce:

=begin nested
=alias PROGNAME    Earl Irradiatem Evermore
=alias VENDOR      4D Kingdoms
=alias TERMS_URLS  =item L<http://www.4dk.com/eie>
=                  =item L<http://www.4dk.co.uk/eie.io/>
=                  =item L<http://www.fordecay.ch/canttouchthis>

The use of A<PROGNAME> is subject to the terms and conditions
laid out by A<VENDOR>, as specified at:

A<TERMS_URLS>
=end nested

The advantage of using aliases is, obviously, that the same alias can be
reused in multiple places in the documentation. Then, if the replacement
text ever has to be changed, it need only be modified in a single place:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =alias PROGNAME    Count Krunchem Constantly
    =alias VENDOR      Last Chance Receivers Intl
    =alias TERMS_URLS  L<http://www.c11.com/generic_conditions>
=end code

Alias placement codes may also specify a default display text, before the
alias name and separated from it by a C<|>. When a display is specified,
it will be used if the requested alias cannot be found (and an I<"unknown alias">
warning will be issued in that case):

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
    The use of A<B<this program |> SOFTWARE> is subject to the terms and conditions
    laid out by A<B<our company |> COMPANY>, as specified at:

        A<B<(Please visit our website) |> OURTERMS>
=end code
produces ...
=begin nested
The use of A<this program | SOFTWARE> is subject to the terms and conditions
laid out by A<our company | COMPANY>, as specified at:
A<(Please visit our website) | OURTERMS>
=end nested
Furthermore, since none of the aliases were specified in this document, error messages will be produced
by the renderer (perhaps at the end of the rendered page).

=head2 Block specifiers

The C<=begin>, C<=end>, and C<=for> directives all specify types of blocks.
They have already been illustrated in multiple examples and will not be described further here.

=head2 Config

All block forms can be associated with metadata options. Typically the
metadata are specified for a block using the B<extended> or B<delimited>
forms.

If the same option needs to be added to multiple blocks, this can be done using a C<config>
directive, and then the B<abbreviated> block form can be used in the L<same block scope|#Block scope>.

For example, suppose we want all C<=code> blocks to be labeled with a `:delta` within some section of a document
(L<More information on developer notes|#Developer or delta notes>).
Rather than add a C<:delta> modifier to every individual C<=code>, we could configure every
V<=code> block to be automatically given the same developer note, like so:

=begin code :allow< B V > :lang<RakuDoc>
    B<<V<=>config code :delta(v2.3.2+, 'oFun enhancements') >>
    =code method droll { say 'what a cool operator' }
    =code method drool { say 'what a slob' }
    =code method drill { say 'keep up' }
=end code

Within the same block scope, eg., between C<=begin section> and C<=end section> instructions,
one or more C<=config> directives can be specified to define the default behaviour of specific block types.
Successive C<=config> directives within the same scope are cumulative in effect.
Because C<=config> directives specify I<default> behaviours, whenever a particular kind of metadata
is explicitly specified for an instance of that block type, that option overrides the defaults set by any active C<=config> blocks.
For example:
=begin code :allow<B>
    B<=config item1 :bullet« \c[Earth Globe Europe-Africa] » >
    B<=config item2 :bullet« \c[Hand with Index and Middle Fingers Crossed] » >
    =comment  In the following list, =item1 and =item2 will now have non-standard bullets

    The major sources of sustainable energy are:
        =item1 geothermal
        =item1 fusion
        =item2 (eventually)

    =begin section
        B<=config item1 :toc :headerlevel(2)>
        =comment  The following items still have non-standard bullets but now they will
                  also be added to the table of contents as if they were =head2 blocks

        Important items are:
            =item1 small scale fusion
            =item1 room temperature superconductors

    =end section

    =comment  The following list items will NOT be added to the Table of Contents
              because the section containing that particular =config has now ended.
              They will still have the non-standard Earth bullets though,
              because those two =config directives are still in scope.

        =item1 matter-antimatter annihilation
        =item1 zero-point energy
=end code

When an option needs to be associated with all blocks, the config statement may take a
whatever C<*> instead of a specific block name, like so:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =config * :!error
=end code

This particular example signals to the renderer that no warning messages should be issued
if errors are encountered by I<any> block type in the current block scope.

The general principle is that more block-specific configurations of metadata take precedence over
more generic configurations. For example, suppose in the same block scope, we have:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=config *    :!error
=config item  :error

=for item :!error
    Item 1

=for item
    Item 2

=for numitem
    Item 3
=end code

Then the configuration would applied in the following order:
=numitem V<=>for item V<:!error>  (specific metadata applied to a specific block)
=numitem V<=config item :error>   (default metadata applied to a specific kind of block)
=numitem V<=config * :!error>     (default metadata applied to any kind of block)

Which means that I<Item 1> would never generate a warning (because its C<item> block
is specifically configured not to do so), while I<Item 2> could generate warnings
(because C<item> blocks are generically configured to do so), and I<Item 3> would never
never generate a warning (because generic blocks are generically configured not to do so).

There is more discussion of C<=config> in the context of L<Formatting codes|#Formatting codes>.

=head2 Document termination

The C<=finish> directive indicates the end of all ambient contexts within
the document. This means that the parser will treat all the remaining
text in the file as a string.

Any text after the C<=finish> block can be accessed as a string within the program
(i.e. the ambient code) via the C<$=finish> variable.
This can be used to provide data to a program, such as a test.
=begin code :allow< V B > :lang<raku>
    use JSON::Fast;
    my %h = from-json( B<$=finish> );
    say %h.raku;
    # more lines of code

    B<V<=>finish
    { "key1": "a string value", "key2": "another value" }>
=end code
This will generate the following output:
=begin code :lang<text>
    {:key1("a string value"), :key2("another value")}
=end code

=head2 Table constructors

The C<=row> and C<=column> instructions are directives, not blocks, and they are
described in more detail in the section on the L<procedural C<=table> block|#Procedural description of tables>.

=head2 Placement from external sources

The C<=place> instruction is a directive that tells the renderer to obtain text, information, or an object
from another source.

The rendered version of the data placed in the text is considered to form its own block scope.

An in-line version of C<=place> is C<P<...>>, which is described in more detail in the section on
markup codes.

The schema of the URL specified in a C<=place> directive specifies where to look for the external content:
=begin table :!toc :caption('')
| Schema      | Where to look for the resource                  |
|=============|=================================================|
| C<http(s):> | Look on the web                                 |
| C<file:>    | Look on the local filesystem                    |
| C<rakudoc:> | Look in the usual places for Raku documentation |
| C<man:>     | Look via a local man(1)                         |
| C<defn:>    | Look in the current document                    |
=end table

Meanwhile, the kind of content being placed is inferred from the
final extension of the URL. For example:
=begin table :!toc :caption('')
| Extension   | How to treat the contents        |
|=============|==================================|
| C<.txt>     | Render the contents as plaintext |
| C<.rakudoc> | Render the contents as RakuDoc   |
| C<.html>    | Render the contents as XHTML     |
| C<.md>      | Render the contents as Markdown  |
| C<.json>    | Render the contents as JSON      |
| C<.jpg>     | Render the contents as an image  |
| C<.mp4>     | Render the contents as a video   |
=end table

Renderers are not required to render anything other than plaintext and RakuDoc,
but may also support other formats if they wish.

In the case where a URL does not end in a recognized extension:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =place https://example.org/landingpage

    =place rakudoc:App::Rak

    =place file:/usr/share/legal/std_disclaimer
=end code

...then the type of content (and hence rendering) may be inferred from the schema:

=begin table :!toc :caption('')
| Schema      | Inferred content type if no final extension |
|=============|=============================================|
| C<http(s):> | XHTML                                       |
| C<file:>    | plaintext                                   |
| C<rakudoc:> | RakuDoc                                     |
=end table

A B<=place> directive may be accompanied by metadata options to ensure that
a reference can be made in the Table of Contents, or to provide an ALT text. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
  =place https://raku.org/camelia-logo.png  :caption<Raku's mascot>  :alt<A multicoloured butterfly>
=end code
will produce ...

=place https://raku.org/camelia-logo.png  :caption<Raku's mascot>  :alt<A multicoloured butterfly>

=head1 Code-oriented RakuDoc

The following RakuDoc components are primarily intended for use when editing within an editor.
Standalone renderers may ignore them.

X<|Syntax,#|>X<|Syntax,#=>
=head2 Declarator blocks

Declarator blocks differ from other blocks in that they do not have a specific type.
Instead, they are attached to a particular element of the ambient source code.

Declarator blocks are introduced by a special comment: either C<#|> or C<#=>,
which must be immediately followed by either a space or an opening bracket character,
such as a curly brace C<{>, C<(> or C<«>.
If followed by a space, the block is terminated by the end of line;
if followed by one or more opening bracket character, the block may extend over multiple lines and is terminated by
the matching sequence of closing bracket characters.

RakuDoc markup instructions may be used inside declarator blocks.

Blocks starting with C<#|> are attached to the code after them,
and blocks starting with C<#=> are attached to the code before them.

Since declarator blocks are attached to source code, they can be used to
document classes, roles, subroutines and in general any statement or block.

The C<WHY> method can be used on these classes, roles, subroutines, etc. to
return the attached RakuDoc value.

For example:

=begin code :lang<raku>
#| Base class for magicians
class Magician {
  has Int $.level;
  has Str @.spells;
}


#| Fight mechanics
sub duel(  #= Magicians only, no mortals.
  Magician $a,  #= first magician
  Magician $b,  #= second magician
) {
}

say Magician.WHY; # OUTPUT: «Base class for magicians␤»
say &duel.WHY.leading; # OUTPUT: «Fight mechanics␤»
say &duel.WHY.trailing; # OUTPUT: «Magicians only, no mortals.␤»
say &duel.signature.params[0].WHY;  # OUTPUT: «first magician␤»
say &duel.signature.params[1].WHY;  # OUTPUT: «second magician␤»
=end code

These declarations can extend to several lines. For example:

=begin code :lang<raku>
#|( This is an example of stringification:
    * Numbers turn into strings
    * Regexes operate on said strings
    * C<with> topicalizes and places result into $_
)
sub search-in-seq
#=« Uses
    * topic
    * decont operator
»
  ( Int $end, Int $number ) {
    with (^$end).grep( /^$number/ ) {
        .say for $_<>;
    }
}
=end code

A useful idiom is to place trailing declarator blocks on the parameters of the MAIN sub.
These comments will be picked up automatically by USAGE.

=begin code :lang<raku>
    sub MAIN(
        Str $first,    #= the first CLI parameter
        Int :$verbose, #= an integer to indicate output, 0 = no output
    )
=end code

=head2 Data blocks

C<=data> blocks are used to specify named and/or ordered chunks of data for the ambient code.
They may appear anywhere within a source file, and as
many times as required.

The corresponding variable, C<$=data> holds an object that does both the Associative
and Positional roles.

Each C<=data> block can be given a C<:key> option, to name it. The contents
of any C<=data> block with a key are accessible (as a single string) via
the Associative aspect of C<$=data> object. For example:

=begin code

    =begin data :key<Virtues>
    Laziness
    Impatience
    Hubris
    =end data

    say 'The three virtues are:';
    say $=data<Virtues>;

=end code

The contents of any C<=data> block that does not have a C<:key> are
accessible (as a single string) via the Positional aspect of
C<$=data>. Unkeyed C<=data> blocks are stored in the same order
they appear in the file. For example:

=begin code :lang<raku>

    say 'The second anti-virtue is: ', $=data[1];

    =data Industry
    =data Patience
    =data Humility

=end code

Note that, as the preceding example illustrates, because RakuDoc is a
compile-time phenomenon, it is possible to specify C<=data> blocks
I<after> the point in the source where their contents will be used
(provided they're not being used in a C<BEGIN>, of course).

When C<$=data> itself is stringified, it returns the concatenation of all
the unkeyed C<=data> blocks the parser has seen.

C<=data> blocks are never rendered by the text-oriented RakuDoc renderers.

=head1 Text-oriented RakuDoc

The RakuDoc instructions in this section are primarily intended for text-oriented rendering.
However, text-oriented and code-oriented RakuDoc can be freely intermixed with Raku
code in a single file; this may help to create code that is well-documented.

When a Raku compiler parses a file, line contents are expected to be Raku code (ambient text).
When a RakuDoc block is finished, the next line is assumed to revert to ambient text.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    #start of file
    my $text; # ambient code

    =head this is some text
    this line continues the header

    #this line is now ambient code and so must be specified as a comment
=end code

A C<rakudoc> block reverses this assumption.
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    #start of file
    my $text; # ambient code
    =begin rakudoc

    =head this is some text
    this line continues the header

    this line is not ambient code and so
    it will be treated as an ordinary paragraph
    =end rakudoc
    # this line is now ambient code
=end code

Files that are intended to contain text-oriented documentation alone should be entirely
enclosed in a C<rakudoc> block.

However, files whose filename ends in a C<.rakudoc> extension are always presumed
to contain only text-oriented documentation, and any renderer must always treat
the file's contents as being enclosed in an implicit C<=begin rakudoc>...C<=end rakudoc>,
unless those contents are already explicitly enclosed in a C<rakudoc> block.

Historically the name C<pod> was used for this functionality.
For compatibility it will still be possible to use the name C<pod>
instead of C<rakudoc> in the foreseeable future.  Note however
that the Raku Programming Language may assign slightly different
semantics to C<rakudoc> at some time in the future.

=head2 Headings

Headings can be defined using C<=headN>,
where R<N> is greater than zero (e.g. C<=head1>, C<=head2>, etc.).
C<=head> is an alias for C<=head1>.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=head1 A top level heading

=head2 A second level heading

=head3 A third level heading
=end code

=head3 Numbered headings

You can specify that a heading is numbered using the C<=numhead> block. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =numhead1 The Problem

    =numhead1 The Solution

        =numhead2 Analysis

            =head3 Overview

            =head3 Details

        =numhead2 Design

    =numhead1 The Implementation
=end code

which would produce:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
1. The Problem

2. The Solution

    2.1. Analysis

        Overview

        Details

    2.2. Design

3. The Implementation
=end code

A document has an I<inherent numbering> for every heading, but only the C<=numheadN> block
makes the numeration visible in the heading and in the Table of Contents.

Note that, even though renderers are not required to distinctly render more than the
first four levels of heading, they are required to correctly honour arbitrarily
nested numberings. That is:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =numhead6 The Rescue of the Kobayashi Maru
=end code

should produce something like:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
2.3.8.6.1.9. The Rescue of the Kobayashi Maru
=end code

=head2 Block scope

A block scope is important for the C<=config> and C<=alias> directives. In addition,
some renderers may generate secondary pages from primary source files, for example,
gathering together the same method names in multiple classes. It is desirable for all the
relevant blocks to be gathered together.

=head3 Sections

The C<section> block will typically only be used in the delimited form so that
the document writer can define an explicit block scope. The C<=begin section>
declaration starts a new block scope, and the C<=end section> returns the scope to the
previous one. Unlike an C<=end rakudoc>, an C<=end section> does not always change the scope back to ambient code.
It only does so when its corresponding C<=begin section> changed the scope I<from> ambient code.
In contrast, an C<=end rakudoc> always reverts to ambient code.

Sections may be embedded within other sections.

When a C<=begin section> is not present, a renderer may apply the following heuristic to determine
the block scope (assuming X, Y, and Z are digits such that C«0 < X < Y < Z »):
=item A C<=headY> declaration starts a new block scope.
=item The next C<=headY> declaration ends the block scope of the previous C<=headY>
=item A C<=headZ> declaration following a C<=headY> is within the block scope
of the preceding C<=headY> declaration, and does not end it.

=item A C<=headX> declaration ends the scope of any preceding C<=headY> and C<=headZ> declarations.

Note that a C<=begin section> declaration overrides the heuristic, meaning that multiple
C<=headX> declarations can be placed within the same block scope.

A renderer is not expected to render blocks differently when they are embedded in a C<section> block.

Providing metadata to a C<=begin section> block definition is B<not> the same as declaring metadata using a
C<=config> directive. Metadata in a config is provided to all matching blocks in the current block scope. Metadata
in the C<=begin section> declaration is only applied to the section itself, not to the blocks it
contains.

For example, suppose the following RakuDoc text was included in a source file
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin section :delta(v2.3.2-, 'removed due to conflict with chancellors')
    =head2 role fool

    This role is especially important in authoritarian kingdoms to remind kings of their humanity.

    =end section
=end code
which might render as:
=begin nested
    =begin section :delta(v2.3.2-, 'removed due to conflict with chancellors')
    =for head2 :!toc
    role fool

    This role is especially important in authoritarian kingdoms to remind kings of their humanity.

    =end section
=end nested

If a user indicates to a renderer that they wish to view documentation valid today, which
corresponds (for example) to C<v3.1.1> then, because C<v3.1.1> is after C<v2.3.2>, the section above – including the nested C<=head2> block and the following plain paragraph – would not be rendered.

If however, a user indicates they wish to view documentation for C<v2>, the renderer would render the section above,
including an indication the section will be removed in C<v2.3.2>.

=head3 Document scope

A C<=begin rakudoc> declaration (or equivalently a C<=begin pod>) also defines a new scope,
and also has the effect that code following it is not considered Raku code.

An C<=end rakudoc> will return scope to the ambient code.
This also means that C<rakudoc> blocks cannot be nested, while C<section> blocks
may be nested.

The first C<=begin rakudoc> declaration in a document starts the RakuDoc scope of the document.
Metadata following the first such declaration are made available to all blocks in the document.

=head2 Ordinary paragraphs

An ordinary paragraph consists of text that is to be formatted into a document
at the current level of nesting, with whitespace squeezed, lines filled, and any
special inline mark-up applied.

Ordinary paragraphs consist of one or more consecutive lines of text,
each of which starts with a non-whitespace character.
The paragraph is terminated by the first blank line or directive.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=head1 This is a heading block

This is an ordinary paragraph.
Its text  will   be     squeezed     and
short lines filled. It is terminated by
the first blank line.

This is another ordinary paragraph.
Its     text    will  also be squeezed and
short lines filled. It is terminated by
the trailing directive on the next line.

    =head2 This is another heading block

    This is yet another ordinary paragraph,
    at the first virtual column set by the
    previous directive
=end code

Ordinary paragraphs do not require an explicit marker or delimiters (within a
C<rakudoc> block).

Alternatively, there is also an explicit C<=para> marker that can be used
to explicitly mark a paragraph, which would be necessary outside a
C<rakudoc> block.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=para
This is an ordinary paragraph.
Its text  will   be     squeezed     and
short lines filled.
=end code

This is rendered as:

=para
This is an ordinary paragraph.
Its text  will   be     squeezed     and
short lines filled.

In addition, the longer C<=begin para> and C<=end para> form can be used.
For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>

=begin para
This is an ordinary paragraph.
Its text  will   be     squeezed     and
short lines filled.

This is still part of the same paragraph,
which continues until an...
=end para
=end code

As demonstrated by the previous example, within a delimited C<=begin para> and
C<=end para> block, any blank lines are preserved.

=head2 Nesting or indenting a block

RakuDoc provides a C<=nested> block that marks all its contents as being nested:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin nested
    We are all of us in the gutter,

    but some of us are looking at the stars!
        =begin nested
        -- Oscar Wilde
        =end nested
    =end nested
=end code

...which would produce:

=begin nested
We are all of us in the gutter,

but some of us are looking at the stars!
    =begin nested
    -- Oscar Wilde
    =end nested
=end nested

Nesting blocks can contain any other kind of block, including implicit paragraph and code blocks.
Note that the relative physical indentation of the nested blocks plays no role in determining
their ultimate indentation in the final rendering. The preceding example could equally have been specified:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin nested
    We are all of us in the gutter,

    but some of us are looking at the stars!
    =begin nested
    -- Oscar Wilde
    =end nested
    =end nested
=end code

=head2 Verbatim blocks

Normally a writer does not want to consider the way text flows on a page. They want the end of
each line to be treated the same as a space, and for extra spaces to be eliminated.
However, the exact placing of whitespace sometimes I<is> important, especially for code.

=head3 Code blocks

Code blocks are used to specify pre-formatted text (typically source code), which should be rendered without rejustification,
without whitespace squeezing, and by default B<without> recognizing any inline markup instructions. Code blocks also have an
implicit nesting associated with them. Typically these blocks are used to show examples of code, mark-up, data formats, or
other textual specifications. They are usually rendered using a fixed-width font.

A code block may be implicitly specified as one or more lines of text, each of which starts with a
whitespace character at the block's virtual left margin. The implicit code block is then terminated by a blank line or an explicit directive.
For example:
=begin code :lang<text>
    This ordinary paragraph introduces a code block:

        $this = 1 * code('block');
        $which.is_specified(:by<indenting>);
=end code

Implicit code blocks may be used L<elsewhere with some caveats|#Implied code and indentation>.

There is also an explicit C<=code> block (which can be specified within any block type,
not just C<=rakudoc>, C<=item>, etc.):
=begin code :lang<text>
     The C<loud_update()> subroutine adds feedback:

        =begin code

        sub loud_update ($who, $status) {
            say "$who -> $status";

            silent_update($who, $status);
        }

        =end code
=end code
As the previous example demonstrates, within an explicit C<=code> block the code does not have to be indented; it can start at the (virtual) left margin.
Furthermore, lines that start with whitespace characters after that margin have subsequent whitespace preserved exactly
(in addition to the implicit nesting of the code). Explicit C<=code> blocks may also contain empty lines.

=head5 Preprocessing and postprocessing of code

The code in a document is almost always related to a specific programming language, by default Raku.
But examples of Ruby, C, RakuDoc, or other languages may also appear in the Raku documentation sources.

A renderer may apply language specific syntax highlighting to the contents of a code block according to the following
rules:
=item C<=code> blocks with no explicit or preconfigured C<:lang> option default to C<:lang<raku>>.
=item C<=code> blocks can be marked as not being in any specific language by using C<:!lang>.
=item Renderers must not syntax-highlight any code block whose C<:lang> value is C<False>, that is C<:!lang>.
=item Renderers must not syntax-highlight any code block whose C<:syntax-highlighting> value is C<False>;
by default C<:syntax-highlighting>  is True.

=item Renderers may syntax-highlight any other code block (including C<:lang<text>>), but are not required to do so.

By default, a renderer will not change the contents of a code block, but see the caveat
when L<C<:allow> is used|#Markup within verbatim blocks>.

=head3 I/O blocks

RakuDoc provides blocks for specifying the input and output of programs. These are
similar to C<code> blocks in that they preserve whitespace and are rendered distinctly
from regular text paragraphs.

The C<=input> block is used to specify pre-formatted keyboard input,
which should be rendered without re-justification or squeezing of whitespace.

The C<=output> block is used to specify pre-formatted terminal or file output,
which should also be rendered without re-justification or whitespace-squeezing.

Although they are rendered with verbatim whitespace, like a code block, input and output
blocks differ from code blocks in that they do recognize any inline mark-up instructions within
their text.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>

    =begin output
            Name:    Baracus, B.A.
            Rank:    Sgt
            Serial:  1PTDF007

            Do you want additional personnel details? K<y>

            Height:  180cm/5'11"
            Weight:  104kg/230lb
            Age:     49

            Print? K<n>
        =end output

=end code

In this example, the two embedded C<K<...>> sequences would be recognized as
inline mark-up and rendered appropriately (i.e. as keyboard input).

=head3 Markup within verbatim blocks

Although C<=code> blocks automatically disregard all markup instructions, occasionally you may still
need to specify some markup within a code block. For example, you may wish to
emphasize a particular keyword in an example (using a C<B<>> code). Or you may want to indicate that
part of the example is metasyntactic (using the C<R<>> code). Or you might need to insert a non-ASCII
character (using the C<E<>> code).

You can specify a list of L<display only|#Display only codes> markup instructions (B C H I J K N O R S T U V)
that should still be recognized within a code block using
the C<:allow> option. The value of the C<:allow> option must be a list of the (single-letter)
names of one or more markup instructions. Those codes will then remain active inside the code block.
For example:
=begin code :allow< B V > :lang<raku>
    =begin code B<:allow< B R >> :lang<RakuDoc>
    sub demo {
        V<B><say> 'Hello R<name>';
        I<note> 'The I format is not recognised';
    }
    =end code
=end code

This would be rendered:

=begin code :allow< B R > :lang<raku>
sub demo {
    B<say> 'Hello R<name>';
    I<note> 'The I format is not recognised';
}
=end code

It should be noted that both C<:allow> and C<:lang> (if C<:syntax-highlighting> is True)
will affect the rendering of the content of the block. This is likely to cause conflicts
in some cases. The renderer is free to choose how to resolve such conflicts, e.g. by
disregarding the C<:allow> metadata.

=head2 Lists

Lists in RakuDoc are specified as a series of contiguous C<=item> blocks.
No special "container" directives or other list delimiters are required to enclose the entire list.

Note that C<=item> is just an abbreviation for C<=item1>.

=head3 Unordered lists

Lists in RakuDoc are by default unordered. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
The three suspects are:

=item  Happy
=item  Sleepy
=item  Grumpy
=end code

This produces:

=begin nested
The three suspects are:

=item  Happy
=item  Sleepy
=item  Grumpy
=end nested

By default, a compliant renderer will provide a bullet for each item. RakuDoc also allows
for custom bullets as L<discussed below|#Bullets and bullet strategy>.

=head3 Multi-level lists

Lists may be multi-level, with items at each level specified using the
C<=item1>, C<=item2>, C<=item3>, etc. blocks.
(The indentation depends on the rendering engine and does not need to be included
in the RakuDoc markup.) Up to four levels are normally differentiated.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=item1  Animal
=item2     Vertebrate
=item3     Mammals
=item4     Primates
=item2     Invertebrate

=item1  Phase
=item2     Solid
=item3        Crystalline
=item3        Amorphous
=item2     Liquid
=item2     Gas
=end code

This would produce:

=item1  Animal
=item2     Vertebrate
=item3     Mammals
=item4     Primates
=item2     Invertebrate

=item1  Phase
=item2     Solid
=item3        Crystalline
=item3        Amorphous
=item2     Liquid
=item2     Gas

Note, however, that C<item> blocks within the same list are not I<physically> nested.
That is, lower-level items should not be specified inside higher-level items:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =comment THE WRONG WAY...
    =begin item1          ───────────────┐
    The choices are:                     |
    =item2 Liberty          ─── Level 2  ├─── Level 1
    =item2 Death            ─── Level 2  |
    =item2 Beer             ─── Level 2  |
    =end item1            ───────────────┘

    =comment THE CORRECT WAY...
    =begin item1          ───────────────┐
    The choices are:                     ├─── Level 1
    =end item1            ───────────────┘
    =item2 Liberty        ─────────────────── Level 2
    =item2 Death          ─────────────────── Level 2
    =item2 Beer           ─────────────────── Level 2
=end code

=head3 Multi-paragraph lists

Using the delimited form of the C<=item> block (C<=begin item> and C<=end item>),
we can specify items that contain multiple paragraphs.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
Let's consider two common proverbs:

=begin item
I<The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.>

This is a common myth and an unconscionable slur on the Spanish people,
the majority of whom are extremely attractive.
=end item

=begin item
I<The early bird gets the worm.>

In deciding whether to become an early riser, it is worth considering
whether you would actually enjoy annelids for breakfast.
=end item

As you can see, folk wisdom is often of dubious value.
=end code
This renders as:
=begin nested
Let's consider two common proverbs:

=begin item
I<The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.>

This is a common myth and an unconscionable slur on the Spanish people,
the majority of whom are extremely attractive.
=end item

=begin item
I<The early bird gets the worm.>

In deciding whether to become an early riser, it is worth considering
whether you would actually enjoy annelids for breakfast.
=end item

As you can see, folk wisdom is often of dubious value.
=end nested

=head3 Bullets and bullet strategy

When rendered, each C<=item>R<N> will be preceded by a bullet and each level
may have a different bullet. A compliant renderer will define a I<default> bullet for at least the first four
levels within a nested list, with the bulleting strategy for other levels being up to the renderer.

The default bullet can be overridden with a custom bullet for any C<=item>R<N>, for example
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
The project originally consisted of five phases, of which
two are already complete and two have been abandoned:

=for item B<:bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK] »>
Investigate existing solutions

=for item B<:bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK] »>
Define a minimal initial feature set

=for item B<:bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX] »>
Implement this minimal set of features

=for item B<:bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH X] »>
Secure 100 million in venture capital

=for item B<:bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH X] »>
Abscond to the Bahamas with the cash
=end code
... would produce something like a list with checkboxes, thus:
=begin nested
The project originally consisted of five phases, of which
two are already complete and two have been abandoned:

=for item :bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK] »
Investigate existing solutions

=for item :bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK] »
Define a minimal initial feature set

=for item :bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX] »
Implement this minimal set of features

=for item :bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH X] »
Secure 100 million in venture capital

=for item :bullet« \c[BALLOT BOX WITH X] »
Abscond to the Bahamas with the cash
=end nested

However, more interesting bullets are possible, including multiple characters. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
=for item B<:bullet« \c[Heavy Check Mark] »>
Investigate existing solutions

=for item B<:bullet« \c[Heavy Check Mark] »>
Define a minimal initial feature set

=for item B<:bullet« \c[Anticlockwise Downwards And Upwards Open Circle Arrows] »>
Implement this minimal set of features

=for item B<:bullet« \c[no entry sign] »>
Secure 100 million in venture capital

=for item B<:bullet« \c[no entry sign, palm tree] »>
Abscond to the Bahamas with the cash
=end code
... to produce
=begin nested
=for item :bullet« \c[Heavy Check Mark] »
Investigate existing solutions

=for item :bullet« \c[Heavy Check Mark] »
Define a minimal initial feature set

=for item :bullet« \c[Anticlockwise Downwards And Upwards Open Circle Arrows] »
Implement this minimal set of features

=for item :bullet« \c[prohibited sign] »
Secure 100 million in venture capital

=for item :bullet« \c[prohibited sign, palm tree] »
Abscond to the Bahamas with the cash
=end nested

By using the C<=config> directive, it is also possible to change the default bullets for
the duration of a section. For example,
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
    =begin section
    B<=config item1 :bullet« \c[Earth Globe Europe-Africa] » >
    B<=config item2 :bullet« \c[Hand with Index and Middle Fingers Crossed] » >

    The major sources of sustainable energy are:
        =item1 wind
        =item1 hydroelectric
        =item1 solar
        =item1 geothermal
        =item1 fusion
        =item2 (eventually)
    =end section
=end code
...which would produce:
=begin nested
=begin section
=config item1 :bullet« \c[Earth Globe Europe-Africa] »
=config item2 :bullet« \c[Hand with Index and Middle Fingers Crossed] »

The major sources of sustainable energy are:
=item1 wind
=item1 hydroelectric
=item1 solar
=item1 geothermal
=item1 fusion
=item2 (eventually)
=end section

=end nested

In the event that a custom bullet cannot be rendered (e.g. a specified Unicode glyph is unrecognised or unrenderable in the target format),
a compliant renderer will fall back to its default bullet and generate an error message.

=head3 Ordered lists

A C<=numitemN> expresses the I<inherent numeration> of a list:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
     =numitem1 Visito
     =numitem2 Veni
     =numitem2 Vidi
     =numitem2 Vici
=end code
This would produce something like:
=begin nested
1. Visito

1.1. Veni

1.2. Vidi

1.3. Vici
=end nested

The numbering scheme is at the discretion of the renderer. A renderer might, for example,
provide a scheme similar to the examples here, and also provide an enhancement, such as
C<:html-ordered> that leverages the C«<ul type="A">» markup.

The numbering of successive C<=numitem1> list items increments automatically,
but is reset to 1 whenever any other kind of non-ambient RakuDoc block appears
between two C<=numitem1> blocks. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    The options are:

    =numitem1 Liberty
    =numitem1 Death
    =numitem1 Beer

    The tools are:

    =numitem1 Revolution
    =numitem1 Deep-fried peanut butter sandwich
    =numitem1 Keg
=end code
This would produce:
=begin nested
The options are:

1. Liberty

2. Death

3. Beer

The tools are:

1. Revolution

2. Deep-fried peanut butter sandwich

3. Keg
=end nested
The numbering of nested items (C<=numitem2>, C<=numitem3>, etc.) only resets to 1 when
a higher-level item's numbering either resets or increments.

To prevent a C<=numitemN> from resetting after a non-item block,
you can specify the C<:continued> option:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
     =numitem1 Retreat to remote Himalayan monastery

     =numitem1 Learn the hidden mysteries of space and time

     I<????>

     =for numitem1 :continued
     Prophet!
=end code
This produces:
=begin nested
1. Retreat to remote Himalayan monastery

2. Learn the hidden mysteries of space and time

????

3. Prophet!

=end nested

Normally, if two C<=numitemN> blocks are separated by some other kind of block
(for example, a C<=para>, C<=code>, or C<=table> block), then the numbering of
the second C<=numitemN> block resets to 1.

However, if the second C<=numitemN> block is specified with a C<:continued> option
the numbering of that second block does not reset, but increments instead
(i.e. as if there had been no intervening non-numbered block).

The C<:continued> option has no effect on any higher- or lower-numbered C<=numitem> blocks
that are currently active in the same scope. That is:
a C<=for numitemN :continued> causes
the numbering of every active C<=numitemZ> block (where I<Z> > I<N>) to reset to 1,
and the numbering of every active C<=numitemA> block (where I<A> < I<N>) stays the same.

A C<=numitem> is the same as a C<=numitem1>, by analogy with C<=item> and C<=head>.

The underlying paradigm is that every sequence of list instructions
(that is: C<=itemN> and/or C<=numitemN> instructions)
has an I<inherent numeration>. The C<=numitemN> instructions
express the numeration when rendered, while the C<=itemN> instructions do not.

When a sequence of list instructions is terminated by another sort of block
then by default a new list is created with its own inherent numeration.
By specifying C<:continued> on the B<next> list instruction, the previous
I<inherent numeration> is preserved and continued.

=head3 Definition lists

Lists that define terms or commands can be specified using the C<=defn> block, which is equivalent to HTML C<DL> lists
in HTML.

A definition contains two parts: a term and a defining text. The term is the contents of
the first line of the C<defn> block (i.e. the text immediately after an abbreviated C<=defn>, or
the first line after a C<=for defn> or C<=begin defn>).
The defining text is the remaining lines within the scope of the C<defn> block.
A renderer is expected to distinguish between the term and the defining text. For this reason,
the term part is rendered verbatim, including any attempted markup codes.

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=defn Happy
When you're not blue.

=defn Blue
When you're not happy.
=end code

...will be rendered as:

=defn Happy
When you're not blue.

=defn Blue
When you're not happy.

A renderer is expected to retain the information generated by a definition list, and the defining text
may be targeted by a L<link markup instruction|#Links>.

=head4 Numbered definitions

Definitions can be numbered in the same way as C<=item> lists. That is a C<=numdefn> instruction
will express the I<inherent numeration> of the definition list when it is rendered.

As with ordinary lists, if a C<=numdefn> instruction is associated with a C<:continued> metadata option,
then the preceding definition list's inherent numeration is preserved and continued.

For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =numdefn AAA
    first letters

    =numdefn BBB
    second letters

    A normal para

    =numdefn XXX
    ending letters

    =numdefn YYY
    finals
=end code

will yield something like:
=numdefn AAA
first letters

=numdefn BBB
second letters

A normal para

=numdefn XXX
ending letters

=numdefn YYY
finals

In order to continue a list, an explicit C<:continued> is needed, such as:
=begin code :allow< B > :lang<RakuDoc>
    =numdefn AAA
    first letters

    =numdefn BBB
    second letters

    A normal para

    =for numdefn B<:continued>
    XXX
    ending letters

    =numdefn YYY
    finals
=end code

will yield something like

=numdefn AAA
first letters

=numdefn BBB
second letters

A normal para

=for numdefn :continued
XXX
ending letters

=numdefn YYY
finals

Suppose a writer needs every numbered definition to form a single monotonic sequence
within some block scope (e.g. for every definition within a document section,
or every definition throughout the entire document). This would require every C<=numdefn>
to be specified with a C<:continued> option. Or the writer could simply pre-configure
every C<=numdefn> within the scope, as follows:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =config numdefn :continued
=end code

=head2 Tables

Tables can be specified in RakuDoc using a C<=table> block using
either a I<visual> definition, or a I<procedural> definition.
The I<visual> semantics allow for a simple table to be quickly specified,
but the simplicity imposes a number of constraints.
The I<procedural> semantics overcome those constraints by describing the contents
of rows, columns, and cells.

A table may be given an associated description or title using the
C<:caption> option and included in the L<Table of Contents|#Table of Contents and Index>.

A I<procedural> table may only be specified in the I<delimited> form.
As will become clear below, I<procedural semantics> are assumed if the next RakuDoc instruction
after a C<=begin table> is one of C<=row>, C<=column>, or C<=cell>.

=head3 Visual description of simple tables

In a visual table specification, columns are separated by two or more consecutive whitespace characters
(e.g. double-space or twin-tabs),
or by a vertical line (C<|>) or a border intersection (C<+>), either of
which must be separated from any content by at least one whitespace
character.  Note that only one column separator type is allowed in a single line,
but different lines are allowed to use different visible column separator types
(though that style is not recommended).  Using a mixture of visible and non-visible
column separator types in a table is an error.

Rows can be specified in one of two ways: either one row per line, with
no separators; or multiple lines per row with explicit horizontal
separators (whitespace, intersections (C<+>), or horizontal lines: C<->,
C<=>, C<_>) between I<every> row. Either style can also have an
explicitly separated header row at the top. If rows are using the
two-whitespace-character separator, the row cells should be carefully
aligned to ensure the table is interpreted as the user intended.

Each individual table cell is separately formatted, as if it were a
nested C<=para>. Note that table rows are expected to all have the same number
of cells.

This means you can create tables compactly, line-by-line:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =table
        The Shoveller   Eddie Stevens     King Arthur's singing shovel
        Blue Raja       Geoffrey Smith    Master of cutlery
        Mr Furious      Roy Orson         Ticking time bomb of fury
        The Bowler      Carol Pinnsler    Haunted bowling ball
=end code

or line-by-line with multi-line headers:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =table
        Superhero     | Secret          |
                      | Identity        | Superpower
        ==============|=================|================================
        The Shoveller | Eddie Stevens   | King Arthur's singing shovel
        Blue Raja     | Geoffrey Smith  | Master of cutlery
        Mr Furious    | Roy Orson       | Ticking time bomb of fury
        The Bowler    | Carol Pinnsler  | Haunted bowling ball
=end code

or with multi-line headers I<and> multi-line data:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin table :caption('The Other Guys')

                        Secret
        Superhero       Identity          Superpower
        =============   ===============   ===================
        The Shoveller   Eddie Stevens     King Arthur's
                                          singing shovel

        Blue Raja       Geoffrey Smith    Master of cutlery

        Mr Furious      Roy Orson         Ticking time bomb
                                          of fury

        The Bowler      Carol Pinnsler    Haunted bowling ball

    =end table
=end code

Visual-style tables can only have a single header row (namely: everything
before the first C<=====> line). That single header may, however, span one or
more initial lines of the visual table specification, as some of the
preceding examples illustrate. However, regardless of how many lines a
visual-style header spans, it is always treated as a single header row.
Individual renderers are free to choose how they represent visual header
contents that have line breaks in them: they may treat them as a single
string to be reflowed and wrapped, or they may elect to preserve the
original line breaks within each header cell. The only requirement is
that the entire header of a visual-style table must be rendered as a single
row of cells. If two or more header rows are required, use a
I<procedural table> instead.

=head4 Valid tables

Following are examples of valid tables.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin table
        The Shoveller   Eddie Stevens     King Arthur's singing shovel
        Blue Raja       Geoffrey Smith    Master of cutlery
        Mr Furious      Roy Orson         Ticking time bomb of fury
        The Bowler      Carol Pinnsler    Haunted bowling ball
=end table
=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=table
    Constants           1
    Variables           10
    Subroutines         33
    Everything else     57

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=for table
    mouse    | mice
    horse    | horses
    elephant | elephants

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=table
    Animal | Legs |    Eats
    =======================
    Zebra  +   4  + Cookies
    Human  +   2  +   Pizza
    Shark  +   0  +    Fish

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=table
        Superhero     | Secret          |
                      | Identity        | Superpower
        ==============|=================|================================
        The Shoveller | Eddie Stevens   | King Arthur's singing shovel

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin table

                        Secret
        Superhero       Identity          Superpower
        =============   ===============   ===================
        The Shoveller   Eddie Stevens     King Arthur's
                                          singing shovel

        Blue Raja       Geoffrey Smith    Master of cutlery

        Mr Furious      Roy Orson         Ticking time bomb
                                          of fury

        The Bowler      Carol Pinnsler    Haunted bowling ball

=end table
=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=table
    X | O |
   ---+---+---
      | X | O
   ---+---+---
      |   | X

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=table
    X   O
   ===========
        X   O
   ===========
            X

=end code

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin table

foo
bar

=end table
=end code

=head4 Invalid tables

Following are examples of invalid tables, and they should
trigger an unhandled exception during parsing.

=item Mixed column separator types in the same row are not allowed:

=begin code :lang<text>
=begin table
r0c0 +  r0c1 | r0c3
=end table
=end code

=item  Mixed visual and whitespace column separator types in the same table
are not allowed:

=begin code :lang<text>
=begin table
r0c0 +  r0c1 | r0c3
r1c0    r0c1   r0c3
=end table
=end code

=item Two consecutive interior row separators are not allowed:

=begin code :lang<text>
=begin table
r0c0 |  r0c1
============
============
r1c0 |  r1c1
=end table
=end code

=head4 Unexpected tables

Following are examples of valid tables that are probably intended to
be two columns. However, the columns in these examples are not aligned well, so each
will parse as a single-column table.

=begin item
Unaligned columns with WS column separators:

Notice the second row has the two words separated by only B<one> WS
character, while it takes at least B<two> adjacent WS characters to define
a column separation. B<This is a valid table but will be parsed as a
single-column table>.

    =begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
        =begin table
        r0c0    r0c1
         r1c0 r0c1
        =end table
    =end code

=end item

=begin item
Unaligned columns with visual column separators:

Notice the second row has the two words separated by a visible
character (V<'|'>) but the character is not recognized as a column
separator because it doesn't have an adjacent WS character on both
sides of it.  Although this is a legal table, the result will not
be what the user intended because the first row has two
columns while the second row has only one column, and it will thus have
an empty second column.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin table
r0c0  |  r0c1
 r1c0 |r0c1
=end table
=end code
=end item

=head3 Procedural description of tables

A visual table is useful for most purposes, but a I<procedural> description is needed if
one or more of the following are required:
=item row labels,
=item vertical or horizontal alignments of individual cells, of complete rows or columns, or of the entire table,
=item cells spanning multiple rows and/or columns,
=item cells that include other RakuDoc blocks, such as a nested sub-table or a code block.

Table semantics are I<procedural> if the C<=table> declarator is immediately followed by C<=cell>, C<=row>, or C<=column>,
otherwise I<visual> semantics are assumed.

Only C<=cell>, C<=row>, C<=column>, or C<=comment> declarations are permitted within the immediate block scope of a procedural table.
Note that both C<=cell> and C<=comment> introduce their own block scopes, so other RakuDoc blocks (including nested
tables) may be included within their block scopes.

The fundamental idea is that a procedural C<=table> sets up a semi-infinite 2D grid of cells,
all of which are initially empty. The grid also tracks the fill position (I<$POS>: the next empty cell to be filled),
and the fill direction (I<$DIR>: the direction to move I<$POS> after filling; either I<across> or I<down>).

Subsequent C<=cell> blocks start filling that grid in, with any intervening C<=row> and C<=column>
directives adjusting I<$POS> and I<$DIR>.

C<=cell> blocks can be specified as spanning multiple rows and/or columns,
using the C<:row-span(WIDTH)>, C<:col-span(HEIGHT)>, or C<:span(WIDTH, HEIGHT)>
annotations, in which case the block fills more than one grid cell
(and merges them into a single logical cell), with the top-left corner
of the fill starting at I<$POS>.

A C<=cell> block has the following effects:
=item The specified contents are considered to fill in the cell(s) at I<$POS>
(even if the contents are actually null/empty)

=item I<$POS> is moved to the next unfilled cell in the direction specified by I<$DIR>
(I<i.e.> either across or down)

A C<=row> directive has the following effects:

=item I<$DIR> is set to I<across>

=item If the previous action was not a C<=cell> (I<i.e.> it was a C<=table> , C<=row>, or C<=column>)
then the C<=row> directive has no other effects (I<i.e.> the subsequent effect is skipped)

=item Otherwise, starting at the row specified by I<C<$POS>>,
find the uppermost row I<R> that is B<I<at-or-below>> the row specified by I<C<$POS>>,
and where row I<R> has at least one empty cell in a column strictly to the left of the column specified by I<C<$POS>>,
then move I<C<$POS>> left-and-down, to the B<I<left-most>> empty cell in row I<R>.

A C<=column> directive has the following effects:
=item I<$DIR> is set to I<down>
=item If the previous action was not a C<=cell> (I<i.e.> it was a C<=table> , C<=row>, or C<=column>)
then the C<=column> directive has no other effects (I<i.e.> the subsequent effect is skipped)

=item Otherwise, starting at the column specified by I<C<$POS>>,
find the left-most column I<C> that is B<I<at-or-to-the-right-of>> the column specified by I<C<$POS>>,
and where column I<C> has at least one empty cell in a row strictly above the row specified by I<C<$POS>>,
then move I<C<$POS>> up-and-right, to the B<I<upper-most>> empty cell in column I<C>

In other words, C<=row> searches the south-west quadrant from I<C<$POS>> to find the most north-westerly
empty cell ... and moves I<C<$POS>> to that cell. And C<=column> searches the north-east quadrant from I<C<$POS>>
to find the most north-westerly empty cell ... and moves I<C<$POS>> to that cell.

In addition, C<=table> and C<=cell> blocks and C<=row> and C<=column> directives can
be annotated with any of the following metadata, which subsequently act as
defaults for any C<=cell> in their scope:
=item C<:align< ALIGNMENTS >> : changes how contents are aligned in a cell
I<ALIGNMENTS> may be any one of:
C<left>, C<centre>, C<center>, C<right>, and/or any one of:  C<top>, C<middle>, C<bottom>.

=item C<:header> : specifies that the cell(s) should be considered column headers

=item C<:label> : specifies that the cell(s) should be considered row labels (I<i.e.> horizontal headers)

Let’s see how it works...

The following RakuDoc specification:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin table :caption<Experimental data>
        =row :header
            =for cell :row-span(2)
            Date
            =for cell :column-span(3)
            Samples
            =for cell :row-span(2)
            Mean
        =row :header
            =cell I<Sample 1>
            =cell I<Sample 2>
            =cell I<Sample 3>
        =row
        =column
            =cell 2023-03-08
            =cell 2023-04-14
            =cell 2023-06-23
        =column
            =cell 0.4
            =cell 0.8
            =cell 0.2
        =column
            =cell 0.1
            =cell 0.6
            =cell 0.9
        =column
            =cell 0.3
            =cell 0.5
            =cell 0.0
        =column
            =cell 0.26667
            =cell 0.63333
            =cell 0.36667
        =row
            =for cell :label
            Mean:
            =cell 0.46667
            =cell 0.53333
            =cell 0.26667
            =cell 0.42222
    =end table
=end code
... produces the following table:
=begin table :!toc :caption<Experimental data>
    =row :header
        =for cell :row-span(2)
        Date
        =for cell :column-span(3)
        Samples
        =for cell :row-span(2)
        Mean
    =row :header
        =cell I<Sample 1>
        =cell I<Sample 2>
        =cell I<Sample 3>
    =row
    =column
        =cell 2023-03-08
        =cell 2023-04-14
        =cell 2023-06-23
    =column
        =cell 0.4
        =cell 0.8
        =cell 0.2
    =column
        =cell 0.1
        =cell 0.6
        =cell 0.9
    =column
        =cell 0.3
        =cell 0.5
        =cell 0.0
    =column
        =cell 0.26667
        =cell 0.63333
        =cell 0.36667
    =row
        =for cell :label
        Mean:
        =cell 0.46667
        =cell 0.53333
        =cell 0.26667
        =cell 0.42222
=end table

Let’s examine how that specification creates that layout, step by step.
Note that, in the following diagram, the various symbols have these meanings:
=begin code :lang<text>
    ┌───┐
    │   │ : An empty table cell
    └───┘
    ┌───┐
    │ → │ : The empty cell at $POS; $DIR is currently "across"
    └───┘
    ┌───┐
    │ ↓ │ : The empty cell at $POS; $DIR is currently "down"
    └───┘
    ┌───┐
    │+++│ : The most recently filled cell
    └───┘
    ┌───┐
    │###│ : A previously filled cell
    └───┘
=end code

And now the step-by-step explanation:
=begin code :lang<text>
    =begin table                   ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │ → │   │   │   │   │   │
    (Create a new table grid       ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     Default $POS is [0,0]         │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     Default $DIR is across)       ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =row :header                   ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │ → │   │   │   │   │   │
    (Previous action was not =cell ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     So set $DIR to "across"       │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     and don't change $POS)        ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊



    =for cell :row-span(2)         ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬┈┈
    Date                           │+++│ → │   │   │   │   │
                                   │+++│───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    (Fill in 1x2 cells             │+++│   │   │   │   │   │
     starting from $POS            ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     Then move $POS to             │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     first empty cell              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊



    =for cell :column-span(3)      ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    Samples                        │###│+++++++++++│ → │   │
                                   │###├───┬───┬───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    (Fill in 3x1 cells             │###│   │   │   │   │   │
     starting from $POS            ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     Then move $POS to             │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     first empty cell              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =for cell :row-span(2)         ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    Mean                           │###│###########│+++│ → │
                                   │###├───┬───┬───┤+++│───┼┈┈
    (Fill in 1x2 cells             │###│   │   │   │+++│   │
     starting from $POS            ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     Then move $POS to             │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     first empty cell              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =row :header                   ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Find the next row at or       │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     below the current $POS        │###│ → │   │   │###│   │
     that has an empty cell        ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     to the left of $POS, then     │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     move $POS to the leftmost     ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     cell on that row, and set     │   │   │   │   │   │   │
     $DIR to "across")             ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =cell Sample 1                 ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Fill in 1x1 cell at $POS      │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     then move $POS to             │###│+++│ → │   │###│   │
     the first empty cell          ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =cell Sample 2                 ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Fill in 1x1 cell at $POS      │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     then move $POS to             │###│###│+++│ → │###│   │
     the first empty cell          ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =cell Sample 3                 ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Fill in 1x1 cell at $POS      │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     then move $POS to             │###│###│###│+++│###│ → │
     the first empty cell          ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in $DIR direction)            │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =row                           ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Move $POS down to the         │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     next row with an empty cell   │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     that's to the left of $POS    ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     and to left-most empty cell   │ → │   │   │   │   │   │
     on that row)                  ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =column                        ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Previous action was not a     │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     =cell so set $DIR to "down",  │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     with no other effect)         ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │ ↓ │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =cell 2023-03-08               ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    =cell 2023-04-14               │###│###########│###│   │
    =cell 2023-06-23               │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│   │
    (Each =cell block              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     fills in a 1x1 cell           │+++│   │   │   │   │   │
     at $POS, then moves           ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     $POS to the first empty       │+++│   │   │   │   │   │
     cell in $DIR direction)       ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │+++│   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │ ↓ │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊



    =column                        ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    (Previous action was           │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     a =cell, so move $POS         │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     to the uppermost empty        ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     cell in the first non-full    │###│ ↓ │   │   │   │   │
     column to the right,          ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     and set $DIR to "down")       │###│   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │###│   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =cell 0.4                      ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    =cell 0.8                      │###│###########│###│   │
    =cell 0.2                      │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│   │
    (Each =cell block              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     fills in a 1x1 cell           │###│+++│   │   │   │   │
     at $POS, then moves           ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     $POS to the first empty       │###│+++│   │   │   │   │
     cell in $DIR direction)       ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │###│+++│   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │   │ ↓ │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊



    =column                        ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    =cell 0.1                      │###│###########│###│   │
    =cell 0.6                      │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.9                      │###│###│###│###│###│   │
    =column                        ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.3                      │###│###│+++│+++│+++│   │
    =cell 0.5                      ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.0                      │###│###│+++│+++│+++│   │
    =column                        ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.26667                  │###│###│+++│+++│+++│   │
    =cell 0.63333                  ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.36667                  │   │   │   │   │ ↓ │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    (Rinse and repeat)             ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =row                           ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
                                   │###│###########│###│   │
    ($POS row is entirely empty    │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
     so it's the first row with    │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     an empty cell to the left     ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     of $POS, so stay on current   │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     row and move $POS to the      ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     left-most empty cell in row;  │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     change $DIR to "across")      ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │ → │   │   │   │   │   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =for cell :label               ┌───┬───────────┬───┬───┬┈┈
    Mean:                          │###│###########│###│   │
    =cell 0.46667                  │###├───┬───┬───┤###│───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.53333                  │###│###│###│###│###│   │
    =cell 0.26667                  ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    =cell 0.42222                  │###│###│###│###│###│   │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
    (Fill in 1x1 cells,            │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     moving $POS each time         ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
     in the direction              │###│###│###│###│###│   │
     specified by $DIR)            ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   │+++│+++│+++│+++│+++│ → │
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼┈┈
                                   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊   ┊


    =end table                     ┌───┬───────────┬───┐
                                   │###│###########│###│
    (Terminate grid-filling        │###├───┬───┬───┤###│
     then trim the table to        │###│###│###│###│###│
     the bounding box around       ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
     all filled cells)             │###│###│###│###│###│
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│
                                   ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
                                   │###│###│###│###│###│
                                   └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
=end code

=head2 Formulae

RakuDoc v.2 provides a built-in block C<=formula> and an inline markup code C«F<>» to
contain text that will be rendered as formulae.

There are several markup languages for expressing mathematical expressions, so the
RakuDoc v.2 specification I<recommends> the currently most widespread markup syntax
for C<=formula> and C«F<>», namely the
L<LaTeX mathematical notation|https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Mathematics>,
including the extensions specified in
the L<AMSMath package|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMS-LaTeX>

This does not preclude the development of custom blocks to support other mathematical
markup languages, eg., a C«=MathML» custom block to support another syntax.

Implementors of renderers are B<I<not>> required to render the contents of these instructions;
it is acceptable for a renderer to render the contents
of a C<=formula> or C«F<>» in some other way than as a fully realized mathematical equation.

For example, the following two formulae:
=begin code :lang<text>
We will use the identity: F<\sum \frac{1}{n^{2}} = \frac{\pi^{2}}{6}>

...where the value of pi can be inferred from Euler’s Identity:

=formula e^{i\pi}+1=0
=end code

...may either be rendered “accurately”:
=begin nested
We will use the identity: F<\sum \frac{1}{n^{2}} = \frac{\pi^{2}}{6}>

...where the value of pi can be inferred from Euler’s Identity:

=for formula :!toc :caption('')
e^{i\pi}+1=0
=end nested

... or may be converted to a suitable Unicode approximation:

=begin nested
We will use the identity: ∑ 1/n² = 𝜋²/6

...where the value of pi can be inferred from Euler’s Identity:

=for formula :!toc :caption('')
e^{i\pi}+1=0

=end nested

... or may even left as raw LaTeX (perhaps with some kind of visual marker indicating
that it is unprocessed):

=begin nested
We will use the identity: U<V<\sum \frac{1}{n^{2}} = \frac{\pi^{2}}{6}>>

... where the value of pi can be inferred from Euler’s Identity:

U<V<e^{i\pi}+1=0>>
=end nested

Both C<=formula> and C«F<>» may take explicit
ALT texts, so that the author can decide how their formula should be rendered
in cases where the renderer cannot handle the specification.

That is, the C<=formula> block accepts an C<:alt> metaoption,
and the syntax for the C«F<>» instruction is either
C«F< FORMULA >» or C«F< ALT | FORMULA >».


Using the ALT text options, the document author can supply a suitable explicit alternative rendering
to renderers that cannot handle the full formula syntax:

=begin code :lang<text>
We will use the identity: F<∑ 1/n² = 𝜋²/6 | \sum \frac{1}{n^{2}} = \frac{\pi^{2}}{6}>
                            ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑

...where the value of pi can be inferred from Euler’s Identity:

=for formula  :alt< eH<iπ> + 1 = 0 >
e^{i\pi}+1=0  ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑
=end code

An ALT text allows an author to rely on getting an “accurate” representation under
those renderers that fully support formulas, and to be able to fall back on
a range of reasonable alternatives under those renderers that don’t:

=begin table :caption<Fallback options> :!toc
=row :header
=cell Fall back on
=cell Example
=row
=cell Plaintext
=cell FV«<  Euler's Identity | e^{i\pi}+1=0 >»
=row
=cell RakuDoc
=cell FV«<  eH<iπ> + 1 = 0 | e^{i\pi}+1=0 >»
=row
=cell Unicode
=cell FV«<  eⁱᐢ + 1 = 0 | e^{i\pi}+1=0 >»
=row
=cell Image
=cell FV«<  P<file:EulerID.jpg> | e^{i\pi}+1=0 >»
=row
=cell Link
=cell FV«<  L<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_identity> | e^{i\pi}+1=0 >»
=end table

It is also possible to B<stack> the fallback options. For example, they could try for an “accurate” rendering of a formula,
but fall back on the placement of a pre-rendered image, or (failing to find that)
fall back again to a RakuDoc representation with an outgoing link:
=begin code :lang<text>
We will use: F<
                 P<
                     L< eH<iπ> + 1 = 0
                      | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_identity
                      >
                  | file:EulerID.jpg
                  >
              | e^{i\pi}+1=0
              >
=end code

Implementors are free to delay – or reject – implementing
LaTeX-based formulas, and implementations are considered compliant with the specification,
so long as the ALT texts are rendered.

=head2 RakuDoc comments

RakuDoc comments are components that both RakuDoc renderers and ambient-code compilers ignore.

Comments are useful for I<meta->documentation (documenting the documentation).
Single-line comments use the C<=comment> marker:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=comment Add more here about the algorithm
=end code

For multi-line comments, use a delimited C<comment> block:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin comment
This comment is
multi-line.
=end comment
=end code

=head2 Semantic blocks

All uppercase block typenames are reserved for specifying standard
documentation, publishing components, source constructs, or meta-information. The following
must be recognised:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=NAME
=AUTHOR
=VERSION
=TITLE
=SUBTITLE
=LICENSE
=LICENCE
=SYNOPSIS
=end code

The block name of a semantic block is to be rendered as if it were C<=head1 BLOCKNAME>, and the contents of the block are then
to be rendered as one or more regular paragraphs. Consequently, if a semantic block has multiple lines, then its contents must
be enclosed using the I<B<delimited>> form.

A semantic block may be defined, but omitted from the text in the place it is written. This is because sections
about Authors, or Licensing, are sometimes required at the end, or at the beginning, or in the meta section of an
HTML document.

A renderer is expected to gather the contents of a semantic block for it to be
accessible by an external program.

If the metadata option C<:hidden> is associated with a semantic block (by using a C<=config> directive, or as
a metadata option with the I<extended> or I<abbreviated> forms) then the renderer will not render the semantic
block at the position it is placed in the RakuDoc document. It will be placed in a data structure by the renderer
and the contents can be rendered at a place defined by a L<Placement instruction|#Placement links>.

The block name of a rendered semantic block will be placed in the L<I<Table of Contents>|#Table of Contents and Index>
table in the position that it is rendered,
unless the C<:toc>, C<:headlevel>, and or C<:caption> options are set. A C<:hidden> metadata option will also remove
the block's entry from the ToC. But if it is placed by a C<P<semantic:>> instruction, the block entry will be placed at
the appropriate point in the ToC.

=head2 User-defined blocks

When a block name contains both an upper case and a lower case character, as specified L<in the naming rules below|#Naming rules>,
it is interpreted as a developer-defined block. The naming rules are to ensure that built-in blocks, semantic blocks,
and custom blocks are never mixed up.

The way in which a renderer styles the contents of a custom block depends on the renderer, and each renderer
may specify a procedure for using user-supplied templates or code.

If a renderer does not recognize a custom block, then the renderer should replace that block with the contents of the
block's C< :alt<...> > option (if provided). If the document author did not include an C< :alt<...> > option, then the
renderer should treat the block name as the contents of a C<=head1> block, which can be overridden as described in 
L<Table of Contents|#Table of Contents and Index> and should render the contents of the unrecognized custom block verbatim,
like a C<=code> block. Any unrecognized custom block (with or without an C< :alt<...> > option) should generate a warning
message unless the custom block is passed the C< :!warn > option.

Multi-paragraph contents should be enclosed using the I<delimited> form of the block.

=head2 Naming rules

In order to avoid conflicts between built-in blocks, semantic blocks, custom blocks, and markup instructions,
the following rules must be followed:
=item Builtin blocks (e.g. C<head>, C<item>, C<table>)
=item2 names must be all lowercase and at least two characters long
=item2 renderers may choose how to render builtin blocks,
but must respect all the defined metadata options specified here,
and may respect additional metadata options

=item Semantic blocks (e.g. C<AUTHOR>, C<TITLE>)
=item2 names must be all uppercase and at least two characters long
=item2 renderers should treat these as if they are C<head1> with a caption consisting of the semantic block name
=item2 the contents of the block should be treated as a paragraph.

=item Custom blocks (e.g. C<MyNewBlock>)
=item2 names must contain at least one uppercase, and at least one lowercase character
=item2 renderers will define how users may specify metadata options and syntax
=item2 renderers will define how the contents of the block are interpreted and rendered

=item Custom markup codes (e.g. C<Æ>, C<Ø>, C<ß>)
=item2 names must consist of exactly one uppercase Unicode character (i.e. with the Upper property)
=item2 names may not be a character in the ASCII range (these are reserved for current and future
built-in markup codes)

=item2 the built-in markup instruction L<C<M<>>|#Markup extras> is also provided for custom markup

=head2 Implied code and indentation

An example of implied code was given in the L<section on Code blocks|#Code blocks>. Implied code can
be used in other blocks.

Each block creates a virtual margin (at the column before its leading C<=>)
and that virtual margin extends B<I<only>> to the end of the block (I<i.e.> B<not> to the start
of the next named block). Thus:
=begin code :lang<text>
┊=begin rakudoc
┊This is an implicit =para block
┊
┊   This is implicit =code block
┊
   ┊=begin nested
   ┊This is an implicit =para block
   ┊
   ┊   This is implicit =code block
   ┊
      ┊=begin nested
      ┊This is an implicit =para block
      ┊
      ┊   This is implicit =code block
      ┊
      ┊=end nested
   ┊
              ┊=for nested
              ┊This is an implicit =para block
              ┊over multiple lines
              ┊ending at this final non-blank line
   ┊
   ┊           This is implicit =code block (NOT a =para)
   ┊
   ┊=end nested
┊
┊This is an implicit =para block
┊
┊    This is implicit =code block
┊
┊=end rakudoc
=end code

Which means that:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=begin rakudoc
    =for Podcast
        this is not code

    this is code
=end rakudoc
=end code
...because the final line is indented from the virtual margin
of its containing C<=begin rakudoc>/C<=end rakudoc> block, so it must be code.

Whereas:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin rakudoc
    =for Podcast
        this is not code

    this is not code either
    =end rakudoc
=end code
...because the final content line starts at the virtual margin of its containing
C<=begin rakudoc>/C<=end rakudoc> block.

Care must be taken with I<abbreviated> and I<extended> blocks where the block ends at the
next blank line.

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin rakudoc
    This is an ordinary paragraph

        While this is not an ordinary paragraph;
        it is a code block.

        =head1 Mumble mumble

        Surprisingly, this is a code block
            (with fancy indentation too)

    This is just an ordinary paragraph.

    =end rakudoc
=end code

The I<Surprisingly ...> paragraph is a code block because a block only sets the virtual margin within that block,
and the C<=head1> block terminates at the blank line immediately after
the C<=head1> line, and before the apparent code block begins.
At which point, the virtual margin reverts to the previous virtual margin
set by the surrounding C<=begin rakudoc...=end rakudoc> block.

The current virtual margin terminates at the end of the block whose opener set it,
and not at the start of the next block that sets a virtual margin.
In other words, the virtual margin is a local feature of each individual block, not a collective feature
of the entire document, and therefore a block's virtual margin always ends at the end of the block itself
(and reverts at that point to the virtual margin of the surrounding block, if any).

Which means:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin rakudoc
    This is an ordinary paragraph

        While this is not
        This is a code block

        =head1 Mumble mumble

        This IS also a code block
           because the preceding =head's virtual margin ended
           at the end of the preceding =head block, which was
           at the preceding blank line. So the virtual margin for
           this implicit block is the virtual margin of the surrounding
           C<=begin rakudoc ... =end rakudoc> block. This block is indented
           relative to that C<=rakudoc block>'s virtual margin, so it's
           a code block.

    This is a para block
        (with fancy indentation too, because the indentation of first line alone
         determines whether an implicit block is a C<=para> or a C<=code> block,
         and all subsequent lines, regardless of their indentation, become part
         of that block ... until the end of the implicit block, which occurs at
         the next blank line or the next explicit RakuDoc block or directive.)

    =end rakudoc
=end code

And if, instead, you wanted the block straight after the C<=head> to be
an implicit paragraph block (i.e. not an implicit code block),
you'd write it:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =begin rakudoc
    This is an ordinary paragraph

        While this is not
        This is a code block

        =begin section

        =head1 Mumble mumble

        This is a para block, NOT a code block
           because the virtual margin for this implicit block
           is the virtual margin of the surrounding
           =begin section ... =end section block.
           The first line of this implicit block is NOT indented
           relative to that =section block's virtual margin,
           so it's a para block.

        =end section

    This is a para block too...because its first line is not indented
       relative to the virtual margin of the current =begin rakudoc ... =end rakudoc block.

    =end rakudoc
=end code

Indentation from the current virtual margin
only implies a para or code block in blocks that B<don’t> already explicitly
specify otherwise. Hence, all the following I<“container blocks”> should honour
the I<indented>=C<code> and I<on-margin>=C<para> shortcuts: C<=defn>, C<=item>, C<=itemN>,
C<=nested>, C<=rakudoc>, C<=section>, C<=pod>, C<=cell>.

B<I<None>> of the following blocks should infer C<para> or C<code> from indentation:
C<=para>, C<=code>, C<=input>, C<=output>, C<=comment>, C<=table>, C<=formula>,
C<=data>, C<=head>, C<=headN>, C<=SEMANTIC>.

That’s because each of them specifies explicitly what type of information their contents
are supposed to be, so there’s no need to infer anything. In particular, C<=para> and C<=code>
are specifically provided to I<circumvent> inference from indentation.

A C<=config code> directive will also apply to any implicit code block in the block scope.

Finally, user-defined custom blocks should always pass their contents verbatim
to whatever appropriate user-defined handler is in scope, and it’s up to
that handler to infer the meaning of any indentation.

=head1 Metadata

A powerful feature of RakuDoc is the ability to associate metadata with a block.
Metadata can be used to change the way a block is rendered, or to allow a renderer
to access data in the cloud, or receive data from a microservice.

Some metadata options are defined for certain blocks and a renderer must produce
the behaviour described in this section (or in the section for the relevant block),
to the extent possible for a given output format,

A renderer may ignore metadata options not specified in this document, or define
other metadata tabs that it will recognise.

=head2 Anchors

Whenever a C<=head> block such as:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=head Table of Contents and Index
=end code

...is rendered, it is also associated with an anchor, so that when
a link of the form C<L<link to an internal heading|#Table of Contents and Index>>
is rendered, the renderer will place a link to the correct heading in the output format.
The anchor will also be used in the Table of Contents.

Note that the text in the C<L<...>> before the C<|> is the display text, and the tag
after the C<|> is the content of the target C<=head> block.

In order for a link to work correctly, the anchor must be unique. The renderer is free to chose
the algorithm it uses for the internal anchor. This is because different outputs, such as
Markdown and HTML, have different formats for anchors.

An author may want to shorten an internal link to a title, and also to place an anchor on every
block.

The C<:id<name of a link>> metadata option can be attached to any block. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=for head :id<ToCaI>
Table of Contents and Index

...and later we can add: L<link to an internal heading|#ToCaI>
=end code

The renderer is
expected to create a link with that name to the start of the block. It is up to the author
of the document to ensure that all C<:id> links are unique.

A renderer may mangle the link name (e.g. the contents of a header) to create
an anchor ID internally because different output formats may
place restrictions on the characters that can be used in a link.
However, a document author may not rely on a renderer's ID generation algorithm.

Internal links (links to anchors within the same document)
must be specified by a leading C<#> followed by either:
=item the target block's explicit C<:id<LABEL>>, or
=item the exact contents of the corresponding C<=header> block, or
=item the exact contents of a block’s explicit C<:caption<TEXT>>.

Internal links cannot be specified by a C<#> followed by
=item a C<=header> block's implicit I<autogenerated-from-content> ID, or
=item a block’s implicit I<autogenerated-from-caption> ID.

That is, the in-document link target cannot be the mangled contents of a C<=header> block
or a C<:caption<...>> metatag; it can only be the original contents.

For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =for header :id<h123>
    A sample header

    =for table :id<t456> :caption<Example table>
    A  B  C
    1  2  3

    This is a L<valid link (to an explicit block ID) | #h123 >
    This is a L<valid link (to an explicit block ID) | #t456 >

    This is a L<valid link (to a heading) | #A sample header >
    This is a L<valid link (to a caption) | #Example table   >

    This is L<NOT a valid link | #A_sample_header >
    This is L<NOT a valid link | #Example_table   >
=end code

=head2 Table of Contents and Index

When a renderer parses a file containing RakuDoc, heading and C<X<>> markup information is collected. This
information can be rendered using L<a C<P<>> markup instruction|#Placement links>, or may be used in another way by the renderer
(e.g. to create a sidebar with the Table of Contents).

Named blocks are considered by default to be equivalent to C<=head> for the purposes of a
Table of Contents. The exceptions are C<para>, C<nested>, C<code>, C<input> and C<output> blocks.

This default can be changed with the C<:toc> and C<:headlevel> meta tabs.

Setting C<:toc> on a
block will include the contents of the block in the Table of Contents. Including the entire block
contents is usually not desirable,
so the C<:caption<...> > meta tab can be used to provide a text for the Table of Contents.

Setting C<:!toc> will prevent a block's information from being included in the Table of Contents.

Setting C<:headlevel(N)>, where N is an integer greater than 0, will cause the block information to
be treated in the same way as a C<headN> heading is treated. Setting N to less than 1 has the same
effect as C<:!toc>. If it is not explicitly set, C<:toc> will set the headlevel to 1.

=head2 Developer or delta notes

When a set of source files is related to a project with versions (such as the Raku language),
documentation may get out of date, or may only apply to features of a future release.

A delta note can be attached to a block using the C<:delta> metadata tab, or specified
inline with the C< Δ< ... > > markup instruction. Both the metadata tab and the markup instruction have two
arguments: the first is the version specification, and the second is an optional text note.

=nested B<Note:> This is an example of a built in markup code that uses a Unicode Upper character.
The mnemonic is I<Delta>, which is commonly used to indicate an incremental component.

The version specification is summarised as follows:
=for table :!toc :caption('')
Syntax                              | Meaning
------                              | ------
'*'                                 | Any version
v1.2.3                              | specific version
v1.2.3+                             | specific version or later
v1.2.3-                             | specific version or earlier
v1.2.3..v2.3.4                      | inclusive range of versions
v1.2.3^..^v2.3.4                    | exclusive range of versions
v1.2.3..^v2.3.4 and v1.2.3^..v2.3.4 | semi-inclusive range of versions

The version specification (e.g. v1.2.3) shown here follows the rules of L<semantic versioning|https://semver.org>, which is
the preferred form for Raku documentation, but is not mandatory. Note that the C<..> and C<^> characters create Raku ranges.

With no extra information about which version should be displayed, a renderer should have a way to include
both the string and the version specification.

Alternatively, if there is information about the version to be shown, a renderer should only show blocks that
correspond to the version information. A block that does not have a C<:delta> is treated as if it has
C<:delta<*>>.

An example is given in the description of the L<C<section> block |#Sections>

=head2 Error messages

If the metadata option C<:error> is false for a block, then no warning is generated.

=head2 Alternative rendering

If the metadata option C<:alt> associated with a block has a string value, and an error is encountered when
rendering a block, then the value of C<:alt> is rendered in place of the block.

=head1 Markup instructions

Markup instructions provide a way to add inline mark-up to a piece of text.

All RakuDoc markup instructions consist of a single capital letter followed immediately
by a set of single or double angle brackets; Unicode double angle brackets may
be used.

Markup instructions may nest other markup instructions.

Some markup instructions only affect their contents and do not have any metadata associated
with them. These are sometimes called D<formatting codes>. Other markup instructions have
side effects.

=head2 Formatting codes

RakuDoc characterises formatting codes semantically, allowing a renderer to choose any
appropriate visual representation. Thus C< B<> > is for the Basis of a sentence, although a visual
equivalent might involve a bold font.

The following should be made available in all renderers.
=for table :!toc :caption('')
    Inline markup   Instruction      Mnemonic              HTML equivalent        Markdown equivalent
    =============   ===========      ===================   ==================     ===================
    Basis           V«B<text>»       "B for Basis"         C«<b>text</b>»         **text**
    Important       V«I<text>»       "I for Important"     C«<i>text</i>»         *text*
    Unusual         V«U<text>»       "U for Unusual"       C«<u>text</u>»         __text__
    Strikethrough   V«O<text>»       "O for Overstrike"    C«<s>text</s>»         ~~text~~
    Superscript     V«H<text>»       "H for High text"     C«<sup>text</sup>»     ^text^
    Subscript       V«J<text>»       "J for Junior text"   C«<sub>text</sub>»     ~text~
    Code            V«C<text>»       "C for Code"          C«<code>text</code>»   `text`

The table contains suggested HTML and Markdown equivalents; a renderer may
choose other representations.

This syntax does not provide a mechanism to associate metadata options with formatting codes explicitly.
It is, however, possible to do this via a C<=config> directive. For example, C< C<> > markup by default does not allow for
embedded format codes to be rendered, but an author might want C< B<> > to be allowed. This can be
achieved with:
=begin code
     =config C :allow<B>
=end code
This mechanism is explained further in the L<syntax section|#Directive syntax>.

=head2 Instructions with side effects

Markup instructions, including all customisable instructions, will typically have associated metadata.

=head3 Links

To create a link, enclose it in C<L< >>. RakuDoc links are more general than the conventional HTML links.
=begin section
=config C :allow<R>
The general syntax is C< L< R<LABEL> | R<TARGET> > >
=end section

where the optional label is text that is rendered and the target may include a schema.
If the label is omitted, then the target is used as the label. Whitespace on either side
of the bar is not significant.

When the schema is missing, then the C<https://> schema is implied, which means that
if the website url is missing as well, the link is to the same host as the document.

The exact name of the resource to which a link is pointing must be used by the renderer. So
    C<L< For reference | README.md >> or C<L< text reference | README >>

must link to C<README.md> and to C<README>, with the renderer making no assumption about the
file format.

However, a collection of RakuDoc sources may be intended as the base for multiple formats, such
as C< .html >, C< .md >, or C< .pdf >, and so links within the collection may need to delegate
the selection of an appropriate file format (if one is needed) to the renderer. This is accomplished explicitly using the C< .* >
pseudo extension, for example:
=begin section
=config code :lang<RakuDoc>

    L< dealing with the filesystem | type/IO.Path.* >

or for a heading within another resource:

    L< getting a directory listing | type/IO.Path.*#routine_dir >
=end section
For example, if the output format is Markdown, these links would be rendered
with C<.md> extensions replacing the C<.*> pseudo-extensions:
=for code :lang<MarkDown>
    [dealing with the filesystem](type/IO.Path.md)
    [getting a directory listing](type/IO.Path.md#routine_dir)

Or, if the output format is HTML, these links would be rendered
with C<.html> extensions instead:
=for code :lang<HTML>
    <a href="type/IO.Path.html">             dealing with the filesystem </a>
    <a href="type/IO.Path.html#routine_dir"> getting a directory listing </a>

Several schemas are possible:
=item C<https://> or C<http://> The renderer may style the label and cause a jump in
a networked environment, as is normal for HTML documents.

=item C<rakudoc:> A reference to a RakuDoc source, which might be in a Raku module
or a RakuDoc file.

=item C<mailto:> An email address. Typically, activating this type of link invokes a mailer.

=item C<man:> A link to the system manpages.

=item C<isbn:> and C<issn:> The International Standard Book Number or International Standard Serial Number for a publication.

=item C<defn:> A link to a L<block-form definition|#Definition lists> or an L<inline definition|#Inline definitions> of the specified term within the current document.

To refer to a specific section within a webpage, manpage, or RakuDoc document, add the name of that section after
the main link, separated by a C<#>. To refer to a section of the current document, omit the external address.

A renderer is expected to render a link with a schema as follows:
=item At a minimum, a link like L<rakudoc:ModuleName> is simply rendered
as text, to something like: “the ModuleName documentation”,
and L<man:appname> to something like: “The appname manpage”.
And neither of them attempt to add any kind of actual operational link.

=item At the next level of sophistication, a renderer encountering
either link scheme may attempt to shell out a call to C<raku --doc ModuleName>
or C<man appname>, and present the results in a pop-up.

=item If the renderer is in a networked environment, the renderer is expected
to provide a set of user selectable options that provide links to such documentation,
for example, a set of HTML links in a pop-down box. A renderer might also allow users
to preconfigure their preferred website(s) for these schemes,
perhaps offering C<rakudoc:> links to C<https://raku.land/> or C<man:> links to
C<https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/> as defaults.

Renderers are not expected to handle all schemas beyond the minimum above. Renderers offering
more sophisticated styling or operational links should provide ways to configure schemas,
whilst offering reasonable defaults.

=head4 Examples
=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
    I<ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems>
    is a registered serial publication (L<B<issn:0164-0925>>)

    This module implements the standard Unix L<B<man:find(1)>> facilities.

    Please forward bug reports to L<B<mailto:abyss@example.org>>

    This module needs the L<LAME library|B<http://www.mp3dev.org/mp3/>>.

    You could also write the code L<in gibberish|B<RakuDoc:Acme::Anguish>>

    Also see: L<B<man:bash(1)#Compound Commands>>,

    =defn lexiphania
    An unfortunate proclivity for
    employing grandiloquisms (for example, words such as "proclivity", "grandiloquism", and indeed "lexiphania").

    =defn glossoligation
    Restraint of the tongue (voluntary or otherwise)

    To treat his chronic L<B<defn:lexiphania>> the doctor prescribed an immediate L<B<defn:glossoligation>>
    or, if that proved ineffective, a complete cephalectomy.

=end code

=head3 Placement links

A second kind of link E<mdash> the C<P<>> or B<placement link> E<mdash> works
in the opposite direction. Instead of directing focus out to another
document, it allows you to assimilate the contents of another document
into your own.

In other words, the C<P<>> markup instruction takes a URI and (where possible)
inserts the contents of the corresponding document inline in place of the
code itself.

A URI meets the regex pattern C<\w+:\S+>, where the word characters before C<:> are
called the I<schema>. There may not be any spaces in a URI.

C<P<>> markup is handy for breaking out standard elements of
your documentation set into reusable components that can then be
incorporated directly into multiple documents. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=COPYRIGHT
P<file:/shared/docs/std_copyright.rakudoc>

=DISCLAIMER
P<http://www.MegaGigaTeraPetaCorp.com/std/disclaimer.txt>
=end code

might produce:

=begin nested
B<Copyright>

=nested This document is copyright (c) MegaGigaTeraPetaCorp, 2006. All rights reserved.

B<Disclaimer>

=begin nested
ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY IS IMPLIED. NOT EVEN OF ANY KIND. WE HAVE SOLD
YOU THIS SOFTWARE WITH NO HINT OF A SUGGESTION THAT IT IS EITHER USEFUL
OR USABLE. AS FOR GUARANTEES OF CORRECTNESS...DON'T MAKE US LAUGH! AT
SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE WE MIGHT DEIGN TO SELL YOU UPGRADES THAT PURPORT
TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE APPLICATION'S MANY DEFICIENCIES, BUT NO PROMISES
THERE EITHER. WE HAVE MORE LAWYERS ON STAFF THAN YOU HAVE TOTAL
EMPLOYEES, SO DON'T EVEN *THINK* ABOUT SUING US. HAVE A NICE DAY.
=end nested
=end nested

The C<P<>> markup code can also be specified with an optional display text,
which will be rendered if the renderer cannot find or access the external
data source for the placement link. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
=COPYRIGHT
P<B<The document is copyright. |> file:/shared/docs/std_copyright.rakudoc>

=DISCLAIMER
P<B<NO WARRANTY. NONE. NIL. NADA. |> http://www.MegaGigaTeraPetaCorp.com/std/disclaimer.txt>
=end code

If the filesystem or internet is inaccessible, this might produce:

=begin nested
B<Copyright>

=nested This document is copyright.

B<Disclaimer>

=nested NO WARRANTY. NONE. NIL. NADA.
=end nested

If a renderer cannot find or access the external data source for a
placement link, and the placement link does not have an alternative display text,
it must issue a warning and render the URI directly in
some form, possibly as an outwards link. For example:

=begin nested
B<Copyright>

=nested See: C<file:/shared/docs/std_copyright.rakudoc>

B<Disclaimer>

=nested See: L<http://www.MegaGigaTeraPetaCorp.com/std/disclaimer.txt>
=end nested

You can use any of the following URI forms (see L<#Links>) in a
placement link:

=item C<http:> and C<https:>
=item C<file:>
=item C<toc:>
=item C<index:>
=item C<semantic:>

The C<toc:> form is a special pseudo-scheme that inserts a table of contents
in place of the C<P<>> code. After the colon, list the block types that you
wish to include in the table of contents. For example, to place a table of
contents listing only top- and second-level headings:
=begin section
=config code :lang<RakuDoc>

    P<toc:1,2 >

To place a table of contents that lists the top four levels of headings:

    P<toc:1..4 >

=end section
In order to include the whole table of contents, use C<toc:*>. The C<*> is needed to make
this term a valid URI.

A document may have as many C<P<toc:...>> placements as necessary.

The C<index:*> form is a special pseudo-scheme that inserts an index table
in place of the C<P<>> code.

=begin section
=config C :allow<R>
The C<semantic:R<NAME>> form places the R<NAME> semantic block at the position of the C<P<>> instruction.
=end section

=head3 Alias placement

A variation on the placement instruction is the C<A<>> instruction, which is replaced by the contents of the
named alias or object specified within its delimiters. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    =alias PROGNAME    Earl Irradiatem Eventually
    =alias VENDOR      4D Kingdoms
    =alias TERMS_URL   L<http://www.4dk.com/eie>

    The use of A<PROGNAME> is subject to the terms and conditions
    laid out by A<VENDOR>, as specified at A<TERMS_URL>.
=end code

Any Raku object after the Check Phase, such as an object that starts with a sigil, is
available within an
alias placement. Unless the object is already a string type, it is converted to a string during
document-generation by implicitly calling C<.raku> on it.

So, for example, a document can refer to its own filename (as C<A<$?FILE>>), or to the subroutine inside
which the specific RakuDoc is nested (as C<A<&?ROUTINE>>), or to the current class (as C<A<$?CLASS>>).
Similarly, the value of any program constants defined with sigils can be easily reproduced in documentation:

    =begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    # Actual code...
    constant Num $GROWTH_RATE = 1.6;
    =begin rakudoc
    =head4 Standard Growth Rate

    The standard growth rate is assumed to be A<$GROWTH_RATE>.
    =end rakudoc
    =end code

Non-mutating method calls on these objects are also allowed, so a document can reproduce the
surrounding subroutine's signature (C<A<&?ROUTINE.signature>>) or the type of a constant (C<A<$GROWTH_RATE.WHAT>>).

See L<Aliases|#Alias blocks> for further details of the aliasing macro mechanism.

=head3 Inline definitions

A C<D<>> formatting code marks a piece of text as being the I<“inline definition”> of a term.
That is: it’s like a C<=defn> block, but it’s not a list item; it’s just part of the
regular text. Well-written documentation often includes sentences/paragraphs that
introduce a new term, and define it. Typically we want to visually distinguish
those newly defined terms, and to be able to link back to the paragraph where
they’re defined.

For example:
=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
    There ensued a terrible moment of B<D<coyotus interruptus>>: a brief
    suspension of the effects of gravity, accompanied by a sudden
    to-the-camera realization of imminent downwards acceleration.
=end code

The contents of the C<D<>> represent the term being defined, the location of the C<D<>>
implies a link target location, and the paragraph containing the C<D<>> suggests a suitable
pop-up definition of the term (if a renderer supports such).

The definition term in a C<D<>> is rendered distinctly (typically in B<I<bold italics>>),
and the C<D<>> sets up a link target to that term, and possibly a pop-up for
the corresponding C<L<>> link to display the entire paragraph in which the C<D<>> appeared.
For this reason, the term is rendered verbatim, including any attempted markup codes.

In other words, when rendered to HTML, a C<D<term being defined>> would be translated
to something like:
=begin code :lang<html> :allow<B>
...a B«<dfn id="term being defined">term being defined</dfn>» would be...
=end code
And a C<L<defn:term being defined>> link would be translated to something like:
=begin code :lang<html> :allow<B>
...a B«<a href="#term being defined">term being defined</a>» link would be...
=end code

A definition may be given synonyms, which are specified after a vertical bar and
separated by semicolons:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
    A D<formatting code|B<formatting codes;formatters>> provides a way
    to add inline mark-up to a piece of text.
=end code

=head3 Space-preserving text

Any text enclosed in an S<> code is formatted normally, except that every whitespace character
in it — including any newline — is preserved. These characters are also treated as being
non-breaking (except for the newlines, of course). For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
The emergency signal is: S<
dot dot dot   dash dash dash   dot dot dot>.
=end code
would be formatted like so:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
The emergency signal is:
dot dot dot   dash dash dash    dot dot dot.
=end code
rather than:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
The emergency signal is: dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot.
=end code

=head3 Comments

A comment is text that is never rendered.

To create a comment enclose it in C<Z< >>:
=for code :lang<RakuDoc>
Raku is awesome Z<Of course it is!>

This would be rendered as:

=nested Raku is awesome Z<Of course it is!>

=head3 Notes

Notes are ancillary information that may be rendered as footnotes or sidenotes or pop-up notes,
depending on the renderer and environment.

To create a note enclose it in C<N< >>
=for code :lang<RakuDoc>
Raku is multi-paradigmatic N<Supporting Procedural, Object Oriented, and Functional programming>

Which produces:

=nested Raku is multi-paradigmatic N<Supporting Procedural, Object Oriented, and Functional programming>

=head3 Keyboard input

To flag text as keyboard input enclose it in C<K< >>

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=output Enter your name: K<John Doe>
=end code

Which is rendered like so:
=begin nested
=output Enter your name: K<John Doe>
=end nested

=head3 Replaceable

The C<R<>> markup instruction specifies that the contained text is a
B<replaceable item>, a placeholder, or a metasyntactic variable. It is
used to indicate a component of a syntax or specification that should
eventually be replaced by an actual value. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
The basic C<ln> command is: C<ln> R<source_file> R<target_file>
=end code

This is rendered like so:

=nested The basic C<ln> command is: C<ln> R<source_file> R<target_file>

=head3 Terminal output

To flag text as terminal output enclose it in C<T< >>

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=input T<Enter your name:> John Doe
=end code

Which would be rendered:

=begin nested
=input T<Enter your name:> John Doe
=end nested

=head3 Unicode and HTML references

Unicode codepoint names or numbers may be included in a RakuDoc document by
enclosing them in C<E< >>. When C<E< >> encloses a number, it is treated as the Unicode
value for the code point using binary, octal,
decimal, or hexadecimal numbers using the Raku notations for explicitly based
numbers. Numbers without an explicit base, as per Raku convention, are decimal.

For example, each of the following:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
Raku makes considerable use of the E<171> and E<187> characters.

Raku makes considerable use of the E<0b10101011> and E<0b10111011> characters.

Raku makes considerable use of the E<0o253> and E<0o273> characters.

Raku makes considerable use of the E<0d171> and E<0d187> characters.

Raku makes considerable use of the E<0xAB> and E<0xBB> characters.
=end code

will yield the same rendering:

=nested Raku makes considerable use of the « and » characters.

It is also possible to specify Unicode codepoint B<names>.
Multiple codepoints separated by C<,> will be considered as a single grapheme. So:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
E<LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK>
E<REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U, REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER A> Ukraine
E<RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK>
=end code

will be rendered as:
=begin nested
E<LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK>
E<REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U, REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER A> Ukraine
E<RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK>
=end nested

Since emojis are graphemes that can be described by Unicode, C<E< >> will
also generate emojis. For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
    E<WHITE SMILING FACE> Smiling face
=end code
will generate:

E<WHITE SMILING FACE> Smiling face

Alternatively, HTML5 character references may be used. For example:
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
Raku makes considerable use of the E<laquo> and E<raquo> characters.
=end code
also yields: Raku makes considerable use of the « and » characters.

The C<E<>> markup may be used for a list of characters separated by C<;>
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
Raku code often contains the E<0xff62;0xff63> bracketing characters to avoid using quotes.
=end code

This would yield: Raku code often contains the ｢｣ bracketing characters to avoid using quotes.

The C<E<>> code can also be specified with an alternate display text
(before the entity specification and separated from it by a C<|>).
When an alternate text is specified, it is used if the specified entity
cannot be represented by the renderer (e.g. if the renderer only supports ASCII).

For example:

=begin code :lang<RakuDoc> :allow<B>
Raku makes considerable use of the E<B<left- |>laquo> and E<B<right-double-angle |>raquo> characters.

Raku code often contains the E<B<left- and right-corner |>0xff62;0xff63> bracketing characters
to avoid using quotes.
=end code

An ASCII-only renderer would then render those like so:
=begin nested
Raku makes considerable use of the left- and right-double-angle characters.

Raku code often contains the left- and right-corner bracketing characters to avoid using quotes.
=end nested

=head3 Verbatim text

The C<V<>> markup instruction treats its entire contents as being B<verbatim>,
disregarding every apparent markup instruction within it. For example:

=for code :lang<RakuDoc>
The B<V< V<> >> markup instruction disarms other codes
such as V< I<>, C<>, B<>, and M<> >.

Note, however that the C<V<>> code only changes the way its
contents are parsed, I<not> the way they are rendered. That is, the
contents are still wrapped and formatted like plain text, and the
effects of any markup instructions surrounding the C<V<>> code
are still applied to its contents. For example the previous example
is rendered as:

=nested
The B<V< V<> >> markup instruction disarms other codes
such as V< I<>, C<>, B<>, and M<> >.

Note that C<C<>> also by default keeps its contents verbatim, the difference between
C<C<>> and C<V<>> is that C<C<>> 'colors' the contents
to show that it is code, whilst C<V<>> uses the default text presentation.

The default behaviors of both C<V<>> and C<C<>> can be changed using a C<=config>
directive, e.g.,
=begin code :lang<RakuDoc>
=config C :allow< B I U >
=config V :allow< N L X >
=end code

=head3 Indexing terms

Anything enclosed in an C<X<>> code is an B<index entry>. The contents
of the code are both formatted into the document and used as the
(case-insensitive) index entry:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
An B<X<array>> is an ordered list of scalars indexed by number,
starting with 0. A B<X<hash>> is an unordered collection of scalar
values indexed by their associated string key.
=end code

You can specify an index entry in which the indexed text and the index
entry are different, by separating the two with a vertical bar:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
An B<X<array|arrays>> is an ordered list of scalars indexed by number,
starting with 0. A B<X<hash|hashes>> is an unordered collection of
scalar values indexed by their associated string key.
=end code

In the two-part form, the index entry comes after the bar and is
case-sensitive.

You can specify hierarchical index entries by separating indexing levels
with commas:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
An X<array|B<arrays, definition of>> is an ordered list of scalars
indexed by number, starting with 0. A X<hash|B<hashes, definition of>>
is an unordered collection of scalar values indexed by their
associated string key.
=end code

You can specify two or more entries for a single indexed text, by separating
the entries with semicolons:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
A X<hash|B<hashes, definition of; associative arrays>>
is an unordered collection of scalar values indexed by their
associated string key.
=end code

The indexed text can be empty, creating a "zero-width" index entry:

=begin code :allow<B> :lang<RakuDoc>
B<X<|puns, deliberate>>This is called the "Orcish Maneuver"
because you "OR" the "cache".
=end code

=head3 Markup extras

In order to allow for renderers to add customisable markup code, whilst at the same time abiding
by the L<naming rules|#Naming rules>, the markup instruction C<M< visible text | list-of-strings >>
is defined as a I<built-in> markup instruction.

The R<visible text> is shown in the text, and may be blank.

The R<list-of-strings> is specified in the same way as the C<X<>> markup instruction for L<indexing|#Indexing entries>.
The semantics of the string is defined by the renderer. If a renderer does not recognise the list of strings, it is
expected that the visible text will be rendered and marked in some way (such as with a border or highlight color), and at least
the first string will be made available in the same way as the C<D<>> markup instruction. It is also recommended that the first string
is used by the renderer to identify the functionality being provided.

For example, suppose a RakuDoc document is used to create part of a website in which a button is to be styled
that accesses the API of a payment service (e.g. 'PayMe'). A developer can then create some functionality according
to the rules of a RakuDoc renderer, and present it to the service point. In an HTML document, this might be coded
as a C« <button class="PayMeApp" data-token="vendor-id" data-price="$0.99"> » with a specific class and structure.
The RakuDoc instruction might then be:
=begin code :lang<Raku> :allow<B>
    To sample this marvelous libation B<M<order now by PayMeApp|PayMeApp; vendor-id; $0.99>>
=end code

An HTML renderer would the convert this to, for example,
=begin code :lang<HTML>
    <p>To sample this marvelous libation
        <button class="PayMeApp" data-token="vendor-id" data-price="$0.99">
        order now by PayMeApp
        </button>
    </p>
=end code

=head3 Display and metadata

In the descriptions above, it will be seen that markup codes may only contain display text or
a mix of display and meta information. This section clarifies these groups.

If a markup code may contain both display text and meta information, the character C<|> is used
to delimit the two components. In order to use C<|> inside a display text, it must be escaped (C<\|>) or
specified as an entity (C«E<VERTICAL LINE>»).

=head4 Display only codes

The following codes may I<only> contain display text:
=begin nested
=begin code :allow<B I V> :lang<RakuDoc>
BV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
CV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
HV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
IV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
JV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
KV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
NV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
OV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
RV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
SV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
TV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
UV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
VV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT> V« >»
=end code
=end nested

=head4 Metadata and (optional) display text

The following codes may (and, in some cases, must) contain both a display text
and some kind of metadata.

=begin nested
=begin code :allow<B I V> :lang<RakuDoc>
AV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<ALIAS-NAME>V«            >»
DV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<SYNONYMS>V«              >»
ΔV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<VERSION-ETC>V«           >»
EV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<HTML/UNICODE-ENTITIES>V« >»
FV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<LATEX-FORM>V«            >»
LV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<TARGET-URI>V«            >»
MV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<WHATEVER>V«              >»
PV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<REPLACEMENT-URI>V«       >»
XV«< » I<DISPLAY-TEXT > V« | » METADATA=B<INDEX-ENTRY>V«           >»
=end code
=end nested

The markup codes C<A>, C<E>, C<F>, C<L>, and C<P> may be specified B<without> a display text,
in which case, the renderer (as elsewhere provided in this specification) may
provide an automatic rendering if the metadata component fails to produce a renderable result.
If an explicit display text is provided (i.e. to the left of a C<|>),
that text overrides the default alternate rendering.

=head4 Metadata only

=begin nested
ZV«< » METADATA=B<COMMENT>V« >»
=end nested

The comment code C<Z<> > is intended not to have a display text so the contents of a comment
can be considered as pure metadata.

=head1 Implementor considerations

RakuDoc is intended to be a markup language for text oriented documentation, which will be rendered
into output formats such as I<HTML> or I<epub>. It is expected that there may be several modules
that will render RakuDoc.

In order for a renderer to be compliant with the specification, it must:
=item render in some way all the built-in RakuDoc blocks and markup codes
=item2 where fallbacks have been specified, only the minimum fallback need be rendered
=item recognise and apply all the directives
=item provide some mechanism for a user to add custom blocks and markup codes
=item signal rendering errors in some way, unless such warnings have been explicitly silenced
=item2 rendering errors include unknown block/code types, as well as
the use of unimplemented built-ins
=item2 the following signalling mechanisms are acceptable approaches to fulfil this requirement:
=item3 writing error messages to STDERR
=item3 writing error messages to a log file
=item3 appending error messages to the end of the rendered output in a distinctive style that indicates they are errors
=item3 rendering unhandled blocks or codes inline (in a distinctive style) and providing the associated error message
in a pop-up that activates on hover or mouse-click

=place semantic:AUTHORS

=head1 Summary

=begin table :caption<Directives> :headlevel(2)
    =row :header
        =cell Directive
        =cell Specifies
    =row
        =cell V<=alias>
        =cell Define a RakuDoc macro
    =row
        =cell V<=begin>
        =cell Start of an explicitly terminated block
    =row
        =cell V<=column>
        =cell Start a new column in a procedural table
    =row
        =cell V<=config>
        =cell Block scope modifications to a block or markup instruction
    =row
        =cell V<=end>
        =cell Explicit termination of a begin block
    =row
        =cell V<=finish>
        =cell No ambient blocks after this point
    =row
        =cell V<=for>
        =cell Start of an implicitly (blank-line) terminated block
    =row
        =cell V<=row>
        =cell Start a new row in a procedural table
    =row
=end table

=begin table  :caption<Blocks> :headlevel(2)
    =row :header
        =cell Block typename
        =cell Specifies
    =row
        =cell V<=cell>
        =cell Contents of a table cell, only valid in a procedural table context
    =row
        =cell V<=code>
        =cell Verbatim pre-formatted sample source code
    =row
        =cell V<=input>
        =cell Pre-formatted sample input
    =row
        =cell V<=output>
        =cell Pre-formatted sample output
    =row
        =cell V<=comment>
        =cell Content to be ignored by all renderers
    =row
        =cell V<=head>
        =cell First-level heading
    =row
        =cell V<=headN>
        =cell Nth-level heading
    =row
        =cell V<=numhead>
        =cell First-level numbered heading
    =row
        =cell V<=numheadN>
        =cell Nth-level numbered heading
    =row
        =cell V<=defn>
        =cell Definition of a term
    =row
        =cell V<=item>
        =cell First-level list item
    =row
        =cell V<=itemN>
        =cell Nth-level list item
    =row
        =cell V<=numitem>
        =cell First-level numbered list item
    =row
        =cell V<=numitemN>
        =cell Nth-level numbered list item
    =row
        =cell V<=nested>
        =cell Nest block contents within the current context
    =row
        =cell V<=para>
        =cell Ordinary paragraph
    =row
        =cell V<=rakudoc>
        =cell No "ambient" blocks inside
    =row
        =cell V<=section>
        =cell Defines a section
    =row
        =cell V<=pod>
        =cell Legacy version of RakuDoc
    =row
        =cell V<=table>
        =cell Visual or procedural table
    =row
        =cell V<=formula>
        =cell Render content as LaTex formula
    =row
        =cell V<=data>
        =cell Raku data section
    =row
        =cell RESERVED
        =cell Semantic blocks (SYNOPSIS, TITLE, etc.)
    =row
        =cell CustomName
        =cell User-defined block
=end table

=begin table :caption<Metadata options> :headlevel(2)
    =row :header
        =cell Metadata option
        =cell Blocks applied to
        =cell Description
    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4) :align<middle>
            C<:allow>

        =column
            =cell C<=code>
            =cell C<=input>
            =cell C<=output>
            =cell C<=table>
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4) :align<middle>
            Change default of verbatim blocks

    =row
        =cell C<:id>
        =cell all blocks
        =cell Specify the anchor for a block

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(2)
            C<:continued>
        =column
            =cell C<=item>
            =cell C<=numitem>
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(2)
            Continue numbering from the previous numbered list

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(8)
            C<:toc>

        =column
            =cell C<=para>
            =cell C<=nested>
            =cell C<=code>
            =cell C<=input>
            =cell C<=output>
            =cell C<=table>
            =cell C<=formula>
            =cell C<=place>

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(8)
            Include content or caption in Table of contents

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            C<:!toc>

        =column
            =cell SEMANTIC block
            =cell Custom block
            =cell C<=headN>
            =cell C<=numheadN>

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            Do not include content or caption in Table of contents

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(10)
            C<:headlevel>

        =column
            =cell SEMANTIC block
            =cell Custom block
            =cell C<=para>
            =cell C<=nested>
            =cell C<=code>
            =cell C<=input>
            =cell C<=output>
            =cell C<=table>
            =cell C<=formula>
            =cell C<=place>

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(10)
            Define the head level at which the caption is included in the Table of contents

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(9)
            C<:caption>

        =column
            =cell Semantic block
            =cell Custom block
            =cell C<=nested>
            =cell C<=code>
            =cell C<=input>
            =cell C<=output>
            =cell C<=table>
            =cell C<=formula>
            =cell C<=place>

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(9)
            Caption to be associated with a block in the Table of Contents
    =row
        =cell C<:hidden>
        =cell Semantic block
        =cell Remove block from rendered text and ToC (use C<P<semantic: ...>> to inject elsewhere)

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            C<:header>

        =column
            =cell C<=table> (procedural semantics only)
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell C<=row> directive
            =cell C<=column> directive

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            Specify rows, columns, or cells to be rendered as headers

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            C<:label>

        =column
            =cell C<=table> (procedural semantics only)
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell C<=row> directive
            =cell C<=column> directive

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            Specify rows, columns, or cells to be rendered as labels

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            C<:align<ALIGNMENTS>>

        =column
            =cell C<=table> (procedural semantics only)
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell C<=row> directive
            =cell C<=column> directive

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(4)
            Specify how cell contents are to be vertically and/or horizontally aligned

    =row
            =cell C<:row-span(HEIGHT)>
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell Specify how many rows a single cell should span in a procedural table

    =row
            =cell C<:column-span(WIDTH)>
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell Specify how many columns a single cell should span in a procedural table

    =row
            =cell C<:span(WIDTH, HEIGHT)>
            =cell C<=cell>
            =cell A shortcut for C<:column-span(WIDTH) :row-span(HEIGHT)>

    =row
        =column
            =for cell :row-span(10) :align<top>
            C<:delta>

        =column
            =cell C<=table>
            =cell C<=formula>
            =cell C<=nested>
            =cell C<=code>
            =cell C<=input>
            =cell C<=output>
            =cell C<=headN>
            =cell C<=numheadN>
            =cell Semantic block
            =cell Custom block

        =column
            =for cell :row-span(10) :align<top>
            Developer information associated with a block
    =row
            =cell C<:bullet<CHAR>>
            =cell C<=itemN>
            =cell Replace the default bullet with one or more characters, or entities specified with C<E< >>

=end table

=begin table :caption<Markup instructions> :headlevel(2)

    =row :header
        =cell Markup instruction
        =cell Specifies
    =row
        =cell V<A<...|...>>
        =cell Alias to be replaced by contents of specified V<=alias> directive
    =row
        =cell V<B<...>>
        =cell Basis/focus of sentence (typically rendered bold)
    =row
        =cell V<C<...>>
        =cell Code (typically rendered fixed-width)
    =row
        =cell V<D<...>>
        =cell Definition inline (V<D<term being defined|synonym1; synonym2>>)
    =row
        =cell V<Δ<...|...;...>>
        =cell Delta note (V<Δ<visible text|version; Notification text>>)
    =row
        =cell V« E»<...|...;...>
        =cell Entity (HTML or Unicode) description (V« E»<entity1;entity2; multi,glyph;...>)
    =row
        =cell V<F<...|...>>
        =cell Inline content for a formula (V<F<ALT|LaTex notation>>)
    =row
        =cell V<G<...>>
        =cell (This markup code is not yet defined, but is reserved for future use)
    =row
        =cell V<H<...>>
        =cell High text (typically rendered superscript)
    =row
        =cell V<I<...>>
        =cell Important (typically rendered in italics)
    =row
        =cell V<J<...>>
        =cell Junior text (typically rendered subscript)
    =row
        =cell V<K<...>>
        =cell Keyboard input (typically rendered fixed-width)
    =row
        =cell V<L<...|...>>
        =cell Link (V<L<display text|destination URI>>)
    =row
        =cell V<M<...|..,..;...>>
        =cell Markup extra (V<M<display text|functionality;param,sub-type;...>>)
    =row
        =cell V<N<...>>
        =cell Note (not rendered inline, but visible in some way: footnote, sidenote, pop-up, etc.))
    =row
        =cell V<O<...>>
        =cell Overstrike or strikethrough
    =row
        =cell V<P<...|...>>
        =cell Placement link
    =row
        =cell V<Q<...>>
        =cell (This markup code is not yet defined, but is reserved for future use)
    =row
        =cell V<R<...>>
        =cell Replaceable component or metasyntax
    =row
        =cell V<S<...>>
        =cell Space characters to be preserved
    =row
        =cell V<T<...>>
        =cell Terminal output (typically rendered fixed-width)
    =row
        =cell V<U<...>>
        =cell Unusual (typically rendered with underlining)
    =row
        =cell V<V<...>>
        =cell Verbatim (internal markup instructions ignored)
    =row
        =cell V<W<...>>
        =cell (This markup code is not yet defined, but is reserved for future use)
    =row
        =cell V<X<...|..,..;...>>
        =cell Index entry (V<X<display text|entry,subentry;...>>)
    =row
        =cell V<Y<...>>
        =cell (This markup code is not yet defined, but is reserved for future use)
    =row
        =cell V<Z<...>>
        =cell Zero-width comment (contents never rendered)
    =row
=end table

=LICENSE Artistic-2.0
=end rakudoc