# General syntax rules

Source: https://help.malighting.com/grandMA2/en/help/key_cs_general_syntax_rules.html
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The command line syntax is used to create valid expressions out of keywords. 

### General Rules

The general rules are:

**Important:**\
Basic syntax is: \[Function] \[Object]

- All objects have a default function which is used if no function is given.
- Most functions have a default object or an object type which is used if no object is given. 
- Objects are arranged in a hierarchical tree structure. 
- If an object does not support the function applied, the function will be passed on to a child or parent object. 

 

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### Terminology

- \[Square brackets]:\
  Description of a non-literal content.
- (Parentheses):\
  Description of an optional content. 
- "Quotation marks":\
  Quotation marks are used to enter a definite name or content. If the line ends after the word in quotation marks, the quotation marks at the end may be omitted. If the name or content is not a keyword and does not contain special characters, the quotation marks can be left out altogether. 
- Capitalization:\
  The console does not distinguish between upper case and lower case. Capitalization is used to improve readability only.

## Subtopics

- [Helping keywords](/grandma2/key_cs_helping_keywords/)
- [Object keywords](/grandma2/key_cs_object_keywords/)
- [Function keywords](/grandma2/key_cs_function_keywords/)