G2 Records

G2 records are name-value trees in the form of a tab-indented outline. The simplest form is just a name followed by a value:

   usr     bob

Example 1

Here, the record name, usr, appears at the left margin and is separated from the value, bob, by a tab character. A newline terminates the record. In the streams sense, ``left margin'' refers to the position just before the first character of the stream or just after any subsequent newline. Accordingly, ``indentation'' refers to the apparent indentation when a stream is presented on a printer or display terminal.

A slightly more complex record involves a set of fields:

   usr
   log     bob
   id      1000
   gid     1
   name    Bob Dobbs

Example 2

In this case usr is a group field whose members are indented under it by one extra tab. As in the previous example, the elementary names are separated from their values by a tab and the values terminated by a newline.

An even more complicated record is

   usr
   log     bob
   id
   	usr     1000
   	grp     1
   name    Bob Dobbs
   proj
   	0       148020
   	1       148030
   	2       100022

Example 3

Here, usr is a group that in turn contains another group, id and an array, proj. Of course, arrays could contain other groups and arrays and so on.