file: SPEC

Specification of Parrot
=======================

By Philip Hunt, last altered 12-Feb-2000.

.par file format
----------------

Generic attributes.

These are attributes that potentially apply to more than one component.
There are three types, listed by their syntax:

(1) sub.attr=val

All subcomponents of the current component default to having attribute
(attr) of value (val).

(2) csub.attr=val

As with sub, but the current component also gets attr=val.

(3) for.typ.attr=val

All subcomponents of the current component of type (typ) default to having
attribute (attr) with value (val).


Names of components / attributes
--------------------------------

Names for components and attributes in Parrot follow these guidelines:

1. make the name similar to what is used in HTML.
(rationale: HTML is familiar to lots of people)

2. make the name similar to what is used in Tk.
(rationale: so is Tk)

3. where you have a piar of attributes, one for a value in the 
x-direction, the other for a value in the y-direction, the attribute
names will be of the form: xattr, yattr.
(rationale: consistency)

;e
