MBF

MBF, the Makrell Base Format, is the structural core of the Makrell family.

It provides:

  • bracketed forms

  • regular nodes and operator expressions

  • a syntax that can preserve source-sensitive structure when needed

  • a base that can host programming languages, data formats, and markup formats

Why it matters

MBF is what lets the Makrell family feel coherent. Without MBF, MakrellPy, MRON, MRML, and the other implementations would just be separate surface notations.

With MBF, they can share:

  • common parsing intuitions

  • a common AST vocabulary

  • quote/unquote and macro-oriented workflows

  • embedded sublanguages and miniformats

Representative shapes

MBF is easiest to recognise through a few simple structural forms:

[2 3 5]
{add 2 3}
2 + 3
{page
    {title Makrell}
    {p One structural family for code, data, and markup.}}

These examples show why MBF matters across the whole family:

  • lists

  • calls

  • operators

  • nested document-like trees

How to use this page

Use this conceptual MBF page when you want the family-level idea.

Use the dedicated MBF section when you want more practical detail:

See also MBF.