Syntax is the set of rules and principles that govern the structure of characters used to form code. The key components of document coding syntax are

1. Curly Brackets aka moustache tags

The purpose of {curly brackets} is to enclose variables, functions, and logic operations. The system will treat the content inside of these tags as specific instructions that it will follow.

2. Variables

Variables specify the type of data that will be generated from the database.

Writing Variables

In Athennian, variable names are written without spaces in between the words and using what is called camel case (also called camel cap). In camel case, the first letter of the first word in a variable name is lowercase while the first letters of any following words are capitalized. The following are a few examples of variables in Athennian:

• {incorporationDate}
• {waivedAuditor}
• {fiscalYearEnd}

Variables are case sensitive; if you do not follow the proper syntax, your code will not work. For example: if you type {Incorporationdate} instead of {incorporationDate}, the software will not recognize {Incorporationdate} as a variable and the document will generate a blank space where the wrong variable name is inserted. 

To clarify, all variables for coding already exist, and do not need to be named. To view the variables that you may code with, based on each document generation path (where you will be generating the document), follow the instructions outlined in the article Accessing Athennian Variables Using Developer Tools.

The two types of variables are Single (or flat) Variables and Collection (or plural) Variables. For more information on the types of variables, check out Collection Variables: Introduction and Loops.

3. Logic Operations

Logic operations are symbols that instruct the computer to perform a specific function with the data. The article Conditions: IF statements goes over Logic Operations in more detail.