A thin annotation layer for any text format — with Unicode identifiers.
Traf das Design-Team heute ..besprechung ::arbeit::alpha
Заметки в --журнал_42, отчёт в ;;отчёт.pdf
??!envoyer@2026-07-10 résumé à l'équipeThe same eight constructs as Jot Syntax — identifiers in any script.
Iota Syntaxis is the Unicode variant of Jot Syntax: a lightweight annotation syntax orthogonal to most text formats (Markdown, HTML, LaTeX, plain text). It is not a markup language — it defines no headings, emphasis, or document structure. Instead, it layers a thin metadata-annotation system on top of whatever format your file already uses, without altering the file’s validity. A .md file with Iota Syntaxis is still valid Markdown; a .tex file remains compilable LaTeX.
The two variants differ in exactly one dimension. Jot Syntax keeps identifier characters ASCII-only, for portability; Iota Syntaxis widens them to Unicode XID_Start / XID_Continue, so tags, categories, references, and filenames can be written in any script — ..besprechung, ::работа, --zápisky_42. The sigils themselves stay ASCII: doubled punctuation available on every keyboard.
A text is any document, file, or string carrying Iota Syntaxis constructs — the variant’s generic stand-in term, where Jot Syntax says “jot.”
Iota Syntaxis comprises eight core constructs, each introduced by a doubled ASCII punctuation character:
| Sigil | Name | Mnemonic | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
.. | Tag | doubled period (ellipsis start) | ..projekt |
:: | Category | doubled colon (scope operator) | ::работа::проекти |
-- | ID Reference | doubled dash (en-dash) | --zápisky_42, --work--42 |
// | File Reference | doubled slash (path) | //notizen.md, ///work/notes.md |
;; | Resource | doubled semicolon (attachment) | ;;bericht.pdf |
?? | Todo | doubled question mark (action needed) | ??revoir la proposition |
== | URL | doubled equals (link) | ==https://example.com |
!! | Bookmark | doubled exclamation (attention) | !!úvod |
Each sigil is immediately followed by its payload — no space between the sigil and the value. Constructs compose exactly as in Jot Syntax: annotated references with edge labels (--42..nästa), inter-text resources (--42;;отчёт.pdf), line fragments (--42:10-20), and bookmark ranges (--42##úvod,завршетак).
Everything below the identifier layer is shared verbatim between the two variants, so tooling interoperates:
tags, references, todos;JOTS_* environment variables and the .jot.toml configuration file;Jots/… diagnostic code namespace.For the ASCII-first, portability-focused sibling — and for published parser implementations — see jotsyntax.org.