This is the general form of a BEE Variable Name:

[class%][file&]name[:[#]element]

Note 1: The File Specifier 'file&' is considered part of name and is for "scheme", "file" and "upload" classes only.

Note 2: The element positioner '#' before element is used to address the element by position in the array (e.g. #2 for the 3^rd element).  (Without the element positioner, element will be an alphanumeric index.)  Accessing with the positioner (even reading) will automatically extend the array if necessary to reach that position.  e.g. If array "a" has only 3 elements, display "{a:#8}"; or even if ({a:#8|isset}) ... will extend the array "a" to have 9 elements, with 6 null elements appended after this original three.

The three-tier hierarchy of class-name-element is central to the BEE Variable architecture.

Class indicates the type of the variable and often implies the usage and operations of it.  (The meaning of "class" is different from that iin the Object-Oriented context.  In OO, class is a template of the object; In BEE, "class" is the object.  For details, please see Chapter "Classes and Objects")

Name is the name of the variable.  BEE Variables are in fact an arrays.  A single-value scalar variable is in fact the array element with the blank index, which is called the default element.

Element is the index to the BEE Variable array.  If the Element part of a BEE Variable name is omitted, it will be evaluated to either the whole array (class%name) or just the default element (the one with the blank index – class%name:), depending on the context (e.g. based on the BEE Conversion, the assignment target, the Class it belongs to, or explicit specification.)