File revival/doc/atk-datastream-format.md from the latest check-in

ATK Datastream Format

The ATK datastream format (used in .ez files) is a text-based compound document format. Related to AUIS Project Overview.

Structure

\begindata{text,UNIQUEID}
\textdsversion{12}
\template{templatename}
\define{stylename
  menu:[MenuPath~Priority,Label~MenuId]
  attr:[AttrName AttrId Type Value]}
[content with inline formatting]
\enddata{text,UNIQUEID}

Inline Formatting Commands

\bold{}, \italic{}, \typewriter{}, \bigger{}, \smaller{}, \majorheading{}, \chapter{}, \heading{}, \section{}, \subsection{}, \paragraph{}, \center{}, \indent{}, \leftindent{}, \flushright{}, \flushleft{}, \formatnote{}

Nesting supported: \bold{\italic{text}}

Style Definition Attributes

FontFace (Bold, Italic, FixedFace), FontSize, FontFamily (Andy, AndyType), LeftMargin, RightMargin (Inch/Cm), Justification, Flags (Underline, PassThru, NoFill, KeepPriorNL, OverBar, ChangeBar, DottedBox), Script (super/subscript).

Embedded Objects

\begindata{objecttype,UNIQUEID}
[object-specific data]
\enddata{objecttype,UNIQUEID}
\view{viewclass,UNIQUEID,priority,param,param}

Object types encountered: text (recursive), bp (bullet point), fnote (footnote), raster (bitmap — run-length encoded), table, eq, figure, image, link, org, ness, fad.

Raster data is run-length encoded bitmap lines between bits ID W H and \enddata.

Key Details

Unique IDs are numeric, must match between begindata/enddata/view triplets
IDs change on every write by ez
\textdsversion{12} is the common version
Templates reference installed style sheets
The \ before \n at end of line appears to be a line continuation mark in some contexts

Existing Converters in Source

atk/toez/ — converters to ATK format atk/ezprint/ — print ATK documents File format converters: ATK to/from RTF, ASCII, PostScript, troff, ppm, Scribe

Why: This is the format we need to parse for the Markdown converter.

How to apply: The converter must handle: header/metadata lines, style definitions (skip initially), inline formatting commands (map to Markdown), and recursive begindata/enddata blocks for embedded insets (start with placeholders, evolve per type).

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