notationwithout

Notationwithout is a conceptual framework and lightweight encoding standard for representing formal notations in plain text without specialized notation software. It aims to maintain readability for humans while enabling reliable parsing by machines, supporting domains such as mathematics, music, linguistics, and programming.

The syntax is token-based with typed labels and nested content. Each construct uses a type label followed by a colon and its payload, with nesting expressed through parentheses or brackets. For example: math:add(mul(2, x), 5) encodes the expression 2*x + 5; music:note(C4, quarter) encodes a C4 quarter note. The goal is to be extensible, handle Unicode, and work across platforms and programming languages.

Notationwithout emerged in the early 2020s from a loose network of researchers and practitioners seeking a universal plain-text representation that avoids vendor-specific notation formats. A community-led consortium published draft specifications and reference implementations, emphasizing interoperability and open governance.

Usage and reception: It is used in educational materials, digital libraries, and software documentation to bridge notation across domains. Advocates cite simplicity, ease of version control, and machine readability; skeptics note potential loss of expressive nuance and the overhead of mapping existing notations to the plain-text scheme.

See also plain-text markup, data serialization, markup languages, notation.