Encyclopedia of Chess Openings

Hey guys, I've recently bought the ECO (first edition), but I'm struggling to understand how to read/study it. I understand that the table shows the best moves, but I do not follow how to read moves/lines in text form. Also, what do the numbers on the left side of each line mean?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Yigor, that helps a lot actually. If I understood correctly: In the table representation, 3rd variation should begin the same as the second one, until the move 8 where it gets a new variation? Also, what do the numbers next to the moves in the table representation mean (such as 0-0^24)?

Thanks!

Numbers on the left is the numbering of main variations. The ellipsis ... stands for the same move as in the previous variation.