TOMLlike

TOMLlike is a data serialization format designed for configuration and data interchange. It borrows its general structure from TOML but is presented as a lightweight, human-friendly dialect that emphasizes straightforward editing and predictable parsing across platforms.

The syntax of TOMLlike follows common TOML conventions while remaining approachable for simple configurations. Primitive data types typically include strings, integers, floats, booleans, and date/time values. Comments begin with a hash symbol. Key-value pairs are written as key = value. Tables are declared with square-bracket headers such as [database] or [server.config], and nested structures can be expressed with dotted headers like [server.database]. Inline tables use curly braces, for example: owner = { name = "Alice", dob = 1990-01-01 }. Arrays are enclosed lists, such as ports = [8000, 8001, 8002], and arrays of tables are supported for multi-record configurations.

Differences from TOML: TOMLlike often permits trailing commas in arrays and inline tables to ease editing, and may relax some quoting rules for simple identifiers. It aims to preserve primary compatibility with TOML tooling, allowing documents to be parsed by TOML-like parsers with minor extensions, while other tools may require stricter conformance. It is not a single universal standard but a family of closely related dialects maintained by various projects.

Usage and tooling: TOMLlike is used for configuration files, data dumps, and lightweight data exchange in environments where readability by humans is valued. Numerous open-source parsers and libraries exist in multiple languages, with reference implementations and community-supported variants. Developers choose a TOMLlike variant based on desired features and compatibility needs.

Example:

title = "TOMLlike Configuration"

[database]

server = "db.example.org"

ports = [5432, 5433]

owner = { name = "Admin", dob = 1985-04-12 }