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<a name="Command-Syntax"></a>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Command-List.html#Command-List" accesskey="n" rel="next">Command List</a>, Up: <a href="_0040_002dCommand-Details.html#g_t_0040_002dCommand-Details" accesskey="u" rel="up">@-Command Details</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>
</div>
<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>Texinfo has the following types of @-command:
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt>1. Brace commands</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>2. Line commands</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>
<dt>3. Block commands</dt>
<dd><p>These commands are written at the start of a line, with general text on
following lines, terminated by a matching <code>@end</code> command on a
line of its own.  For example, <code>@example</code>, then the lines of a
coding example, then <code>@end example</code>.  Some of these block commands
take arguments as line commands do; for example, <code>@enumerate A</code>
opening an environment terminated by <code>@end enumerate</code>.  Here
&lsquo;<samp>A</samp>&rsquo; is the argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>4. Symbol insertion commands with no 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>5. Non-alphabetic commands</dt>
<dd><p>The names of commands in all of the above categories consist of
alphabetic characters, almost entirely in lower-case.  Unlike those, the
non-alphabetic commands 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 text
within a paragraph.  The non-alphabetic commands include <code>@@</code>,
<code>@{</code>, <code>@}</code>, <code>@.</code>, <code>@<kbd>SPACE</kbd></code>, and most of
the accent commands.
</p>
</dd>
<dt>6. Miscellaneous commands</dt>
<dd><p>There are a handful of commands that don&rsquo;t fit into any of the above
categories; for example, the obsolete 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 not require braces.  Likewise, <code>@tab</code> used in a
<code>@multitable</code> block does not take arguments, and is not followed 
by braces.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<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 4 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 1 and must be followed by an argument in braces.  The
non-alphabetic commands, such as <code>@:</code>, are exceptions to the
rule; they do not need braces.
</p>
<p>The purpose of having different syntax for commands is to make Texinfo
files easier to read, and also to help the GNU Emacs paragraph and
filling commands work properly.
</p>

<hr>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Command-List.html#Command-List" accesskey="n" rel="next">Command List</a>, Up: <a href="_0040_002dCommand-Details.html#g_t_0040_002dCommand-Details" accesskey="u" rel="up">@-Command Details</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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