The purpose of the Bridge Bidding Markup Language (BML) is to offer an easy way of documenting contract bridge bidding systems. The file(s) created are supposed to be easy to read for both human and machines. A BML-file is created using an ordinary text editor (like Notepad).

Programs have been written in order to export BML-files to the following formats:

HTML

Outputs a .htm-file which can be used on the web. The CSS in bml.css must be used. Use bml2html.py

LaTeX

Outputs a .tex-file which can be converted to a pdf, using LaTeX. The file bml.tex must be included in the folder where the resulting .tex-files are created. Use bml2latex.py

Full Discloure

On the popular bridge website Bridge Base Online (BBO) the players are able to submit their own systems, in order to have their bids alerted automatically when bidding. bml2bss.py outputs a .bss-file, which can be put on BBO using the BBO desktop Windows client.

Checkout example.txt for an example of how BML looks. Also be sure to check out example.htm, example.tex (and example.pdf) and example.bss to see how BML converts to different formats.

You need Python v.3 or higher in order to use the BML converters. Get it from https://www.python.org.

You can run the programs and type the name of the BML-file which you want to convert. Another options is to use the command line, for instance:

python bml2bss.py mysystem.txt

The goal of BML’s syntax is to be readable and easy to write. It is heavily inspired by org-mode; a plugin included in the powerful text editor Emacs. If using org-mode in Emacs, there’s some nifty features which might make it easier to work with BML.

Perhaps the best way to get an introduction to BML is to read example.txt, as it show of a lot of the features of BML.

A BML file can contain a number of elements: bidding tables, text paragraphs, section names, lists and metadata. All elements must be separated by a blank line.

The most powerful part of BML is the ability to write bidding tables easily. Let’s take a look at this basic precision structure:

1C  Any hand with 16+ hcp
  1D  Artificial. 0--7 hcp
    1H  Any hand with 20+ hcp
  1HS 5+ suit, forcing to game (8+ hcp)
  1N  Natural game force, 8+ hcp
  2m  5+ suit, forcing to game (8+ hcp)
  2M  6+ suit, 5--7 hcp
1D  Nebulous with 2+!d, 11--15 hcp
1HS 5+ suit, 11--15 hcp
1N  14--16 hcp
2C  6+!c or 5!c and 4!h/!s, 11--15 hcp
2D  4414. 4405, 4305 or 3405, 11--15 hcp
2HS Weak
2N  Weak with 5-5 minors

Pretty simple, right? A row is written according to the format <bid> <description>. Each bid may have sub-bids, by increasing the indentation (number of spaces). The text !c, !d, !h and !s will be converted to suit symbols when exported (and so will the bid names in the bid table).

When writing bidding tables you may sometimes want to have a description with linebreaks. This can be done in BML by indenting the description lines at the same level. Here’s an example:

1C  Polish club, one of three:
    a) 12--14 NT
    b) 15+ hcp and 5+!c
    c) 18+ hcp any distribution

Because of the description linebreak feature it isn’t possible to start a sub-bid at the same indentation level as the previous bid’s description.

You may add equal signs when separating bids and descriptions, instead of only whitespaces, if you prefer that notation. This can make the bidtable easier to read:

1m = 3+ minor
1M = 5+ major
1N = 15--17
     May have 5M, 6m or 5-4 minors
2C = Strong and forcing
2X = Weak
2N = 20--21

As bids you could type for instance 1C, to show the bid of 1 club. D(iamond), H(eart), S(spade) and N(o trump) work too. You could also use to suits, like 3CD to define both 3C and 3D at the same time. There’s also some other special cases:

<digit>m

Defines both <digit>C and <digit>D

<digit>M

Defines both <digit>H and <digit>S

<digit>X

Defines <digit>C, <digit>D, <digit>H and <digit>S

<digit>red

Defines <digit>D and <digit>H

<digit>step[s]

Defines the bid <digit> steps above the parent bid (the previous bid made). In response to 1C, 1step would be 1D, 2steps would be 1H etc.

It is worth noticing that whitespaces before the first bid in the bidding table is ignored. Other indentation whitespaces are part of the syntax.

You probably won’t want to add your entire system to a single bidding table. The first bid in a bidding table is the start of a sequence, if the characters - and/or ; are included in the bid. Here’s an example of adding the answers to Stayman to an already exisiting sequence.

1N-2C;
2D No 4 card major
  2H 5+!h, 4!s, invitational
  2S 5+!s, invitational
  3HS Smolen (5+ cards in other major)
2HS 4+ suit
2N  4-4 majors, minimum
3C  4-4 majors, maximum

If a bid has already been defined, it will not be overwritten; the first definition stands. Normal bids (like 2C) are evaluated before special bids (like 2X), hence this would work:

2C Strong, forcing
  2D Waiting
2X Weak
  2N Ogust

In order to describe competetive auctions, use parantheses around the opponents’ bids. All bids, even passes, needs to be described in an competetive auction. P stands for Pass, D is for Double and R is for Redouble. Here’s an example of a defense to 1NT:

(1NT)---
D   Strength, ca 15+
2C  At least 5-4 majors
  (D)
    P  5+!c, suggestion to play
    R  Asking for better/longer major
    2D 5+!d, suggestion to play
  (P)
    2D Asking for better/longer major
2D  A weak major or a strong minor
2HS Constructive
2N  5-5 minors
3X  Preemptive

Note that the above only defines competing directly over 1NT, balancing over 1NT would be written as (1NT)-P-(P)--- instead of (1NT)---.

If you add #HIDE at the beginning of a row somewhere in the bidding table, the bidding table will only be exported to Full Disclosure; not HTML nor LaTeX.

You could copy/cut sections of bidding tables. This is done by writing #COPY <name> or #CUT <name>. The <name> is later used when pasting the copy. The difference between #COPY and #CUT is that #COPY will preserve the copied rows, while #CUT will remove them (and hence they will not be parsed until pasted). Use #ENDCOPY or #ENDCUT to specify where the copying/cutting ends.

To paste a copied/cut section, use #PASTE <name>. #PASTE takes indentation into consideration, so for instance a #CUT may be done at the top level of the document and later pasted deep into a bidding table. You can also replace text in the copy when pasting, a somewhat complex but powerful tool. This is done by typing #PASTE <name> <target>=<replacement>. A paste may have several targets and replacements. Let’s look at an example:

#CUT transfer
2\R Transfer
  2\M Transfer accept
  3\M Super accept
#ENDCUT

1N---
2C Stayman
#PASTE transfer \R=D \M=H
#PASTE transfer \R=H \M=S

By default it doesn’t matter which seat you’re in, or which vulnerability it is, when you bid. Full Disclosure, however, allows for different meanings of sequences depending on these factors.

To change the vulnerability (for the forthcoming bidding tables) type #VUL <we><them>. Both <we> and <them> can be Y, N or 0: Yes, No or Doesn’t matter. #VUL Y0 would mean that where vulnerable, but it doesn’t matter if the opponents are.

Seat is changed in a similar way: #SEAT <seat>, where <seat> can be 0 (doesn’t matter), 1, 2, 3, 4, 12 (first or second) or 34 (third or fourth).

In order to write text, just write normal text and separate the paragraphs by blank lines. Any whitespace in the beginning of a row will be ignored.

In order to separate the document into sections, asterisks are used. One for the first level, two for the second level etc.

The character combinations !c, !d, !h and !s will be converted into suit symbols when exported, just as in the case of bidding tables.

* The 1!c opening

  Opening 1!c shows at least 16+ hcp, and is forcing. The
  continuation is fairly natural.

  Some hands might be upgraded to 1!c due to distribution, but
  wildly distributional hands might also be downgraded to avoid
  problems if the opponents preempt.

** The 1!d negative

   Responding 1!d shows a hand which doesn't have enough values to
   establish a game force.

In the examples above whitespace are used in the beginning of the paragraph lines, in order to make the text easier to read, but doing this is optional.

Metadata are written like #+METADATA:data, where METADATA is the type of the data and data is the actual content. The available type of metadata is:

TITLE

The system’s title, and also the title of the document

DESCRIPTION

A short description of the system

AUTHOR

The author of the document

#+TITLE: Precision club
#+AUTHOR: John Smith
#+DESCRIPTION: Strong club system. Nebulous diamond and 5 card majors

The metadata can be set anywhere in the BML file. If the metadata has already been set, it will not be overwritten.

It is possible to create deal diagrams with BML. Right now these can only be exported to LaTeX. Here’s an example of a deal diagram:

N None 35 4SXS hK
N Kxx T9 xxx Q987x
E Jx AJxxx AJx KTx
S A987xx - Q9xx Axx
W QT KQxxxx KTx Jx

The first row is the header row. The header row adds additional information about the deal, and may be excluded if you only want to show the cards. The header row can include the following information:

Dealer

The dealer of this deal. You simply write the first letter of the player: N E S W

Vulnerability

Who is vulnerable on this deal? You write NS (north/south), EW (east/west), None or All

Board number

If you write a digit, this will be interpreted as the board number. 35 in the example above.

Final contract

To specify the final contract of the deal, you simply write the contract (capital letters) and the player which played the contract. In the example above this is 4SXS (four spades doubled, played by south). If the board is passed out, write P.

Lead

The deal is written with a lower-case suit (s h d c), followed by the card (a number or A K Q J T).

Any of the above parameters may be excluded from the header row if you do not want to include all the info. They may also be entered in any order. They may be followed by a comma, to make it more readable. The board number may have a # in front of it. You may have any other words in the header row as well, to increase readability.

After the (optional) header row, the hands are specified. Each hand is written on its own row, starting with the player holding the hand (N E S W), optionally followed by a colon. Any hand may be excluded if you’d like a diagram not showing all hands. A hand may have any number of cards but all four suits must be specified, separated by space, in the order spades, hearts, diamonds clubs. A dash - is used to notate a void. A card is notated by a number, A K Q J T or x.

Here’s an example of how the above example diagram may be more readable:

#35, Dealer N, None vul, played 4SXS with hK lead
N: Kxx    T9     xxx  Q987x
E: Jx     AJxxx  AJx  KTx
S: A987xx -      Q9xx Axx
W: QT     KQxxxx KTx  Jx

There are two types of lists available in BML; ordered lists and unordered lists. The syntax is easy:

- The first item in an unordered list
- The second item
- Etc..

1. The first item in an ordered list
2. The second item
3. Etc..

At the moment it is not possible to have different levels in a BML list.

If you want to write text which shouldn’t be shown in the export, use //comment here.

It is possible to split your system notes into different files. To include another file in a document, use #INCLUDE <filename>. The filename may be a relative path. Let’s say you have made a BML file for a multi opening, and placed it into a subfolder called “modules”. You could now write #INCLUDE modules/multi.txt where you want the file to be inserted.

By surrounding words/sentences with / * or = you can make them italic, bold or monospace.

/Here's/ *an* =example= (italic, bold, monospace)