Techniques
Notation atlas — the semantic silhouettes
The composable semantic silhouettes on one sheet: the shapes the notation assigns to meaning, drawn as a reference atlas.
ddn@1New DDN source
Why use it?
Reading any DDN diagram starts with shape recognition — the atlas is the one-page key to all of them.
When it helps
Onboarding to the notation, or checking which silhouette a kind will draw before you use it.
How to read it
- Each cell is one silhouette with its name; shapes compose (border, fill, glyph) from the kind's declaration.
- Find the shape from a diagram you are reading, then read its meaning here.
What you need
- None — this is a reference sheet generated from the registry
Things to check
- Do not memorise colour — colour is theme, silhouette is meaning.
- A shape you cannot find here is a custom publication choice, not registry notation.
Scope of this diagram
The installed registry's silhouettes; kind counts always trace to facts.json, never to this page's prose.
Work with the converted example
- Open the viewer and select
shape_atlas. Inspect the rendered view and its source. - Open the designer. Keep the selected profile and inspect its legal palette and property controls.
- Change one displayed title or an appropriate data value. Apply the edit and check the resulting diagram.
- Run the verifier and review its diagnostics before moving complete content into review.
- Download your edited DDN source to retain the change.
The example uses the indentation-based ddn-next-1 dialect. The language guide explains reusable definitions, dotted data rows and explicit property blocks.