YAML Ain't a Markup Language!

Welcome to your first step in the wonderful world of YAML! My goal is to (hopefully) teach you the raw basics and essentials of YAML so that you can write YAML with ease when making a configuration file, or configuring your Spigot plugins! Let's get started.

Data. Delicious.

First off, we should start with why a configuration file is useful for developers and server owners in the first place. Otherwise, what would be the point in it? Config files are used to store configuration parameters, meaning initial settings for an application, or, in this case, a plugin! What this would mean is, it makes life so much easier, for developers and owners!

For a developer, it means that they don't have to slave over their computers, scrolling through hundreds of lines of code to find that one variable value to change. They can simply find their variable in a nicely formatted file, change it, save it, and test!

For a server owner, the advantage is so much more clear. Customisation. A configuration file allows you to change almost any value that would otherwise be hard-coded! This could mean many things for you, in a more "Minecraft" way of explaining things, it could allow you to change the number of crates in an event, the number of prizes in a lottery, the amount of money won from winning a minigame and so much more! Changing these values quickly and easily saves so much time, if there's one thing that everyone in this world values, it's definitely time. Thank your developers for giving you a configuration file for their plugins if you get the chance.

Somebody say formatting?

For me, the best part of a YAML file is definitely the syntax and formatting. Config files can be neatly arranged with comments, whitespace, lists, and more. This would make life so much easier for server owners and developers! You'll see all of this later on.

So what does this mean for you?

In short, it means your life was made so much better. Developers can make their plugins with customisation in mind, write a neatly formatted config file with comments everywhere, explaining what things do, how they do them, and why! This means you can take one plugin, and completely change how it looks in a matter of seconds. You could take one plugin, configurate for a few minutes, and end up with a completely different result! Your Minecraft server just became putty in your hands.

Please note that some information may be wrong in this wiki, and I have done my best to ensure whatever has been written is correct. This was written in British English (with the odd oxford comma). If you believe there is a spelling, grammatical, or technical error, please contact me immediately through Discord: longbow122#1576