Referent Syntax

Several features need to locate a data provider from elsewhere: a reference (ref@) points to its target, a back-reference (backref@ / backref-n@) specifies its source, and a virtual table lists its partitions. Such a target is termed the referent.

Syntax Forms

The syntax depends on the referent’s type:

Referent	Ways to locate it
A spreadsheet file with no index table (foo.xlsx)	foo, foo::, or foo.xlsx
A worksheet bar in a spreadsheet file with an index table (foo.xlsx)	bar, ::bar, foo::bar, or foo.xlsx::bar
A tree-backed regular table (hero.json)	hero, hero::, or hero.json
A virtual table (skill)	skill or ::skill::

Disambiguation

Short names are convenient but can be ambiguous: a file and a worksheet may share the name foo, and the same worksheet name bar may appear in multiple files. The qualified forms settle which one you mean:

• foo:: selects the file foo, never a worksheet.
• ::foo selects a worksheet named foo, never a file.
• foo::bar selects the worksheet bar within the file foo.
• ::skill:: selects the virtual table skill.

If a name remains ambiguous, Archmage reports a conflict and requires a more qualified form.