SEP 44: Short Reference Syntax

Since ✅ SEP 12: Reference documents by their URN/UUID was implemented I have been making much more extensive use of interlinking between documents, safe in the knowledge that changes in those documents (such as to the title or url) will be automatically reflected in the documents that reference them.

The use of a concise and consistent syntax has been a great boon for readability too, as has the ability to include a relevant note as a title but allow it to be overwritten (if desired) in the transformation of the build.

I want to extend this consistency to certain external references too, such as Wikipedia.

If the supported syntax(es) is/are going to expand, I think now is the time to think about standardising the referencing so that it continues to be reasonable and supportable into the future.

I propose the following:

• ! be retired for interlinking by UUID and replaced with slug::
• A second internal link handler in:: for transclusion (see SEP 45: Transclusion of documents)
• A Wikipedia specific handler (wiki::) be added
• All future extensions to the referencing handlers match this syntax. As an example, a doi:: handler could be used for referencing research papers etc.

[Platonic Ideal](wiki:Theory_of_forms) would become <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_forms">Platonic Ideal</a>

This proposal could also create a resolution for the unimplemented portion of 🏗 SEP 8: Create a shorthand for proposals: a handler that transforms eg. :sep:44 for referencing Site Enhancement Proposals.

Another unresolved issue is whether the syntax for link-text substitution could be improved. A ‘$’ might make more sense for it’s use as the syntax for a variable in shell, bash, zsh, etc.

This consistency could, in the future, be picked up by a custom editor plugin that detects these handler strings and provides completion for quick document referencing¹.