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<a name="Command-Syntax"></a>
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<p>
Next: <a href="Command-Contexts.html#Command-Contexts" accesskey="n" rel="next">Command Contexts</a>, Up: <a href="Command-List.html#Command-List" accesskey="u" rel="up">Command List</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html#Command-and-Variable-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<hr>
<a name="g_t_0040_002dCommand-Syntax"></a>
<h3 class="section">A.1 @-Command Syntax</h3>
<a name="index-_0040_002dcommand-syntax"></a>
<a name="index-Syntax_002c-of-_0040_002dcommands"></a>
<a name="index-Command-syntax"></a>

<p>The character &lsquo;<samp>@</samp>&rsquo; is used to start all Texinfo commands.  (It
has the same meaning that &lsquo;<samp>\</samp>&rsquo; has in plain TeX.)  Texinfo has
four types of @-command:
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt>1. Non-alphabetic commands.</dt>
<dd><p>These commands consist of an @ followed by a punctuation mark or
other character that is not part of the Latin alphabet.  Non-alphabetic
commands are almost always part of the text within a paragraph.  The
non-alphabetic commands include <code>@@</code>, <code>@{</code>, <code>@}</code>,
<code>@.</code>, <code>@<kbd>SPACE</kbd></code>, most of the accent commands, and
many more.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>2. Alphabetic commands that do not require arguments.</dt>
<dd><p>These commands start with @ followed by a word followed by a
left and right- brace.  These commands insert special symbols in
the document; they do not take arguments.  Some examples:
<code>@dots{}</code> &rArr; &lsquo;<samp>&hellip;</samp>&rsquo;, <code>@equiv{}</code>
&rArr; &lsquo;<samp>&equiv;</samp>&rsquo;, <code>@TeX{}</code> &rArr; &lsquo;TeX&rsquo;, and
<code>@bullet{}</code> &rArr; &lsquo;<samp>&bull;</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>3. Alphabetic commands that require arguments within braces.</dt>
<dd><p>These commands start with @ followed by a letter or a word, followed by an
argument within braces.  For example, the command <code>@dfn</code> indicates
the introductory or defining use of a term; it is used as follows: &lsquo;<samp>In
Texinfo, @@-commands are @dfn{mark-up} commands.</samp>&rsquo;
</p>
</dd>
<dt>4. Alphabetic commands that occupy an entire line.</dt>
<dd><p>These commands occupy an entire line.  The line starts with @,
followed by the name of the command (a word); for example, <code>@center</code>
or <code>@cindex</code>.  If no argument is needed, the word is followed by
the end of the line.  If there is an argument, it is separated from
the command name by a space.  Braces are not used.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>Whitespace following an @-command name are optional and (usually)
ignored if present.  The exceptions are contexts whee whitespace is
significant, e.g., an <code>@example</code> environment.
</p>
<a name="index-Braces-and-argument-syntax"></a>
<p>Thus, the alphabetic commands fall into classes that have
different argument syntaxes.  You cannot tell to which class a command
belongs by the appearance of its name, but you can tell by the
command&rsquo;s meaning: if the command stands for a glyph, it is in
class 2 and does not require an argument; if it makes sense to use the
command among other text as part of a paragraph, the command
is in class 3 and must be followed by an argument in braces;
otherwise, it is in class 4 and uses the rest of the line as its
argument.
</p>
<p>The purpose of having a different syntax for commands of classes 3
and&nbsp;4 is to make Texinfo files easier to read, and also to help
the GNU Emacs paragraph and filling commands work properly.  There is
only one exception to this rule: the command <code>@refill</code>, which is
always used at the end of a paragraph immediately following the final
period or other punctuation character.  <code>@refill</code> takes no
argument and does <em>not</em> require braces.  <code>@refill</code> never
confuses the Emacs paragraph commands because it cannot appear at the
beginning of a line.  It is also no longer needed, since all
formatters now refill paragraphs automatically.
</p>

<hr>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Command-Contexts.html#Command-Contexts" accesskey="n" rel="next">Command Contexts</a>, Up: <a href="Command-List.html#Command-List" accesskey="u" rel="up">Command List</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html#Command-and-Variable-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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