Continuum evaluates phrase-style expressions before symbolic math, then resolves dependencies across the complete document. These examples describe production behavior.
Assignments and subtotals
Use name = expression to store a value. Spaces in an authored name normalize to underscores. A standalone subtotal totals the current section; a line such as operating_total = stores that subtotal.
Subtotal boundaries occur at headings, previous subtotals, and subtotal assignments. A simple percentage line inside a subtotal section adjusts the running subtotal multiplicatively.
revenue = 1000
costs = 300
10%
subtotal
Arithmetic and logic
- Arithmetic:
+,-,*,/,%,^,**,×,÷, andmod. - Comparisons:
==,!=,>,<,>=, and<=. - Logic:
and,or,&&,||,true, andfalse. - Numbers: thousands separators,
kshorthand, percent literals, parentheses, and unary signs.
Natural math
Production phrases include total of, sum of, average of, mean of, count of, and median of. Percentage phrases cover % of, % on, % off, percent-of-base, reverse percentage, and increase/decrease forms. Multiplier phrases answer “what x” questions.
Rounding supports plain, up, and down variants, optionally to the nearest numeric or named step. Conditionals support result if condition, result unless condition, and if … then … else ….
Rates and time
Mix natural phrases, rates, percentages, and time conversions.
- 17,680
- 26,912
- 390
- 418
Rates and time
Rates can be written as 100 per day, $500 / month, or 3 widgets a week. Apply a rate over a duration, multiply by a duration, solve an inverse with at, combine compatible rates, or convert between second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year units.
Compound durations work too: 1 hour and 30 minutes in min.
Finance and currency
Growth phrases model a principal over time at a rate with optional monthly, quarterly, or yearly compounding. Production expressions also cover interest, ROI multiples, annualized returns, required investment capital, present value, and loan repayment/interest totals.
Common currency symbols and aliases—including USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD, AUD, CHF, CNY, and INR—are preserved in context-aware output. Results can render as numbers, percentages, fractions, multipliers, currencies, rates, quantities, or converted durations.
Errors
Unknown variables, division by zero, syntax errors, and unsupported expression nodes are shown at line and token range where possible. Continuum retries dependency resolution before reporting an unknown variable, so a later resolvable assignment can still satisfy an earlier reference.