This proposal is based on the discussion on Talk.Creole 0.4. See also GenericExtensionElementProposal, which conflicts with this proposal.

Rationale

There is a need to support arbitrary data in Creole text, for at least two purposes:

• Modules (plugins) which allow a user to insert the result of the plugin into the page's contents.
• Literate programming

Fixed syntax for parameters should be avoided in Creole specification, because it is difficult to anticipate the requirements for data type, character set with escape sequences, etc. Even a consensus on module names seems difficult to reach.

New construct

The following construct, which may appear as a block (at the beginning of a line) or inline, is reserved for modules. It is guaranteed that it will not conflict with future Creole mark-up. The syntax of what follows, the end marker and the semantics depend on the Creole engine.

<<< etc.