A Brief Introduction to YAML

There are many features and functionalities of YAML. iVABS only use the most basic ones. More about YAML can be found from:

• https://yaml.org/spec/1.2.2/#chapter-2-language-overview

• https://www.tutorialspoint.com/yaml/yaml_basics.htm

Basic syntax

Collections and structures

Mappings use a colon and space (:) to mark each key/value pair:

key1: value1
key2: value2

Supported value types are number, string, and boolean. Numbers can be integers or real numbers. Strings should be put in double quotes ("abc"). Booleans can be true/false, yes/no, or on/off.

Sequences indicate each entry with a dash and space (-):

- value1
- value2

Sequences can also be indicated using square brackets and commas:

[value1, value2, ...]

Indentation of whitespace is used to denote structure.

key:
  subkey1:
    subsubkey: subsubvalue
  subkey2: subvalue

Mappings and sequences can be mixed.

key:
  - value1
  - value2
  - subkey: [subvalue1, subvalue2, ...]

Comments begin with a hash tag (#).

# A line of coment.

Scalars

Literal blocks are indicated by a vertical bar (|):

key: |
  Any characters can be placed here.
  Line breaks will be preserved.