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KAML ain't markup language

This is the repository of the KAML specifications.

Abstract

KAML aims to be a minimal configuration file format that is easy to read by programs and humans alike. KAML is the formal specification of Korn shell compound variables (renamed here dictionaries) which have been around since the mid 1980s -- we have, with ksh93, a reference implementation and linter, and with libast a reference C implementation. With this heritage, KAML could be said to be POSIX compliant -- though obviously this is an Open Group prerogative.

KAML stands for KAML ain't markup language... it's Korn shell (with GNU lineage). Pronounced camel (/ˈkæməl/), the acronym was chosen to sound like YAML, for which KAML is intended to be a more flexible and extensible alternative. Like YAML, KAML is a superset of JSON offering many extended features that are practical for configuration files, and less important to data exchange. KAML is a superset of YAML too; providing much of the functionality of ASN-1 or XSLT transformations in the robust and simple syntax of POSIX shells.