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# 3.3. Lists

## 3.3.1. Overview

SDF supports 3 types of lists:

- unordered - items are bulleted
- plain - items are not bulleted
- ordered - items are labelled with numbers or letters.

As lists are so common, they are supported by a special syntax:

       special_tag text

where special_tag is a sequence of 1 to 6 special characters. Spaces or tabs between the tag and text are ignored.

## 3.3.2. Unordered Lists

To define an unordered list, use the '*' character. For example:

    * peach
    * banana
    * mango.

The result is:

- peach
- banana
- mango.

## 3.3.3. Plain Lists

To define a plain list, use the '.' character. For example:

    . peach
    . banana
    . mango.

The result is:

peach
banana
mango.

## 3.3.4. Ordered Lists

To define an ordered list, use the '^' character for the first item and the '+' character for remaining items. For example:

    ^ peach
    + banana
    + mango.

The result is:

1. peach
2. banana
3. mango.

## 3.3.5. List Paragraphs

To nest a normal paragraph inside a list, use the '.' tag. For example:

    * peach
    . This is one of my favorites.

The result is:

- peach
  This is one of my favorites.

## 3.3.6. Nested Lists

Lists can be nested up to 6 levels. The nesting level is taken from the number of special characters in the tag. For example:

    ** a bulleted list at level 2
    ^^^ an ordered list at level 3

To nest normal paragraphs inside these lists, use plain list items. For example:

    ** a bulleted list at level 2
    .. A normal paragraph at level 2.

## 3.3.7. The '-' Special Tag

As a convenience, the '-' character can be used to specify a bulleted list at level 2. For example:

    * inputs:
      - programmers
      - pizza
    * outputs:
      - software
      - empty pizza boxes.

The result is:

- inputs:
  - programmers
  - pizza
- outputs:
  - software
  - empty pizza boxes.

Likewise, the tags '--' to '-----' are equivalent to the tags '***' to '******'.