Comments, continuations, and headwords
Comments and continuations are illustrated by the example file examples/wiki/comncon.pf:
As you can see, we distinguish between docstrins and comments. Docstrings are considered part of the API; comments are not. Docstrings can appear at the head of a code file, as here, or before a definition. The hub api command, which we met eariler, will render docstrings in markdown.
Continuations must be marked by a .. at the end of the continued line and a corresponding .. at the beginning of the continuing line, as in the definitions of X, above.
The allowed exception is that the continued line may end in a comma where this is syntactic, in which case the continuation must begin with .. just the same, as in the definition of Y, above. The continuations can be placed wherever is most readable: they are exempt from whitespace rules.
We have met four "headwords" so far: def, cmd, const, and var. The meaning of a headword is "everything after this until the next headword or the end of file is a def/cmd/whatever declaration". So after cmd, Pipefish expects you to be declaring commands; after def you can define functions, after const you can define constants, and after var you can define variables. Besides these, there are newtype, import, and external, which will be discussed later.