1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
5 There are currently 11 manuals for LilyPond, not including the
6 translations. Each book is available in HTML, PDF, and info. The
7 documentation is written in a language called @code{texinfo} --
8 this allows us to generate different output formats from a single
11 To organize multiple authors working on the documentation, we use a
12 Version Control System (VCS) called git, previously discussed in
13 @ref{Starting with git}.
16 * Introduction to documentation work::
17 * Documentation suggestions::
18 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
19 * Documentation policy::
20 * Tips for writing docs::
21 * Scripts to ease doc work::
22 * Docstrings in scheme::
23 * Translating the documentation::
27 @node Introduction to documentation work
28 @section Introduction to documentation work
30 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
31 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
32 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
33 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
34 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
35 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
36 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
37 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
38 likely to miss that information.
40 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
41 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
42 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
43 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
44 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
45 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
46 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
47 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
48 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
49 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
50 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
51 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
52 plagued with inconsistent information.
54 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
55 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
56 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
57 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
58 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
60 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
61 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
62 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
63 limited documentation help.
66 @node Documentation suggestions
67 @section Documentation suggestions
69 @subheading Small additions
71 For additions to the documentation,
76 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
77 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
80 Please write exact changes to the text.
83 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
84 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
85 perfect documentation report:
88 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
89 From: helpful-user@example.net
92 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
93 like..."), please add:
96 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
99 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
100 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
105 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
106 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
107 often...") and replace it with this:
109 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
119 @subheading Larger contributions
121 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
122 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
123 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
128 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
129 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
132 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
133 compare the new and old documentation.
136 Please prepare a formal git patch.
140 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
141 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
142 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
145 > I'm not top posting.
147 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
150 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
151 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
152 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
153 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
156 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
157 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
160 * Texinfo introduction::
161 * Documentation files::
162 * Sectioning commands::
163 * LilyPond formatting::
166 * Other text concerns::
170 @node Texinfo introduction
171 @subsection Texinfo introduction
173 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
175 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
177 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
178 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
179 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
180 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
182 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
183 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
184 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
187 @node Documentation files
188 @subsection Documentation files
190 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
192 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
193 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
194 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
195 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
196 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
197 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
198 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
199 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
200 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
201 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
203 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
204 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
207 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
208 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
209 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
212 @node Sectioning commands
213 @subsection Sectioning commands
215 Most of the manual operates at the
223 level. Sections are created with
232 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
233 easier to find sections in texinfo.
236 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
237 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
242 Nodes must be included inside a
252 construct. These are easily constructed with automatic tools; see
253 @ref{Scripts to ease doc work}.
256 @node LilyPond formatting
257 @subsection LilyPond formatting
262 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
266 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
267 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
268 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
269 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
272 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
275 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
278 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
282 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
285 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
286 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
287 own line if possible. Bad:
290 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
296 \override textscript #'padding = #3
301 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
304 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
311 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
314 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
317 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
320 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
323 Inspirational headwords are produced with
326 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
327 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
331 LSR snippets are linked with
334 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
339 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
342 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
343 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
344 example does not need to be minimal, however)
347 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
350 If possible, end with a complete bar.
353 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
354 the line(s) to which they refer.
357 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
360 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
361 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
365 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
366 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
370 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
371 easier/faster processing), use this header:
376 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
378 force-assignment = #""
379 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
386 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
387 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
388 Documentation Editor.
393 @node Text formatting
394 @subsection Text formatting
399 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
400 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
407 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
408 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
409 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
410 verbatim without removing those spaces.
413 Use two spaces after a period.
416 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
420 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
421 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
422 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
423 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
426 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
427 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
428 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
431 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
435 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
436 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
437 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
438 indentation. For example, this
449 should be replaced with
460 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
463 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
466 Beginning of logical unit
470 continuation of logical unit
477 Beginning of logical unit
484 continuation of logical unit
487 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
488 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
489 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
493 in @@itemize use @@item
494 on a separate line like this:
505 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
508 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
509 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
510 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
511 space, there will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
519 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
526 @subsection Syntax survey
530 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
531 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
532 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
535 @@c - single line comments
536 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
537 version. (gp only command ;)
540 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
541 capitalize the first word.
544 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
545 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
546 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
549 @@example ... @@end example - example text that should be set as a
550 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
553 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
556 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
561 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
562 Do not compress vertically like this.
565 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
566 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
567 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
571 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
574 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
575 introducing special input modes.
578 @@rchanges@{@} - link to Changes.
581 @@rcontrib@{@} - link to Contributor's Guide.
584 @@ref@{@} - link within current manual (type the exact node name inside the
588 @@ressay@{@} - link to Engraving Essay.
591 @@rextend@{@} - link to Extending LilyPond.
594 @@rglos@{@} - link to the Music Glossary.
597 @@rinternals@{@} - link to the Internals Reference.
600 @@rlearning@{@} - link to Learning Manual.
603 @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section.
606 @@rprogram@{@} - link to Application Usage.
609 @@ruser@{@} - link to Notation Reference.
612 @@rweb@{@} - link to General Informaion.
615 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
616 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
617 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
618 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
621 @@uref@{@} - link to an external url.
624 @@var - Use for variables.
627 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
633 @node Other text concerns
634 @subsection Other text concerns
639 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
640 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
641 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
642 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
643 @@seealso section at the bottom.
646 Introducing examples must be done with
649 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
650 : (ie `in this example:')
651 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
654 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
658 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
669 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
671 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
674 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
679 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
680 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
681 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
688 @node Documentation policy
689 @section Documentation policy
693 * Section organization::
694 * Checking cross-references::
696 * Technical writing style::
702 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
703 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
711 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
712 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
713 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
714 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
715 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
716 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
717 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
718 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
719 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
720 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
721 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
722 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
723 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
724 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
725 explained before it is used.
727 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
732 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
733 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
734 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
735 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
736 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
737 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
738 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
739 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
742 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
743 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
744 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
745 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
746 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
747 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
748 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
749 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
751 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
752 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
753 text, but ask about this first.
755 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
756 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
760 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
761 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
762 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
765 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
769 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
770 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
772 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
775 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
776 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
781 @node Section organization
782 @subsection Section organization
787 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
800 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
804 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
813 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
826 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
828 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
831 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
832 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
836 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
840 Always end with a period.
843 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
844 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
847 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
850 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
851 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
854 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
855 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
860 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
864 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
868 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
869 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
870 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
871 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
876 @node Checking cross-references
877 @subsection Checking cross-references
879 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
880 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
881 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
882 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
883 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
884 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and run:
891 Note that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
892 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
893 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
895 @c temporary? how long will kainhofer be used? -gp
896 Also of interest may be the linkdoc checks on kainhofer.com. Be
897 warned that these docs are not completely rebuilt every day, so it
898 might not accurately reflect the current state of the docs.
901 @uref{http://kainhofer.com/~lilypond/linkdoc/}
905 @node General writing
906 @subsection General writing
911 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
912 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
915 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
920 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
921 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
924 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
926 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
929 @@cindex time signature
933 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
934 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
936 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
939 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
941 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
950 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
951 property names use this spelling.
954 List of specific terms:
958 simultaneous NOT concurrent
959 measure: the unit of music
960 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
961 note head NOT notehead
962 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
970 @node Technical writing style
971 @subsection Technical writing style
973 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
979 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
980 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
983 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
984 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
987 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
988 besides the reader and the writer.
991 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
994 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
995 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
998 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
1002 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
1003 Say @q{invalid} instead.
1008 @node Tips for writing docs
1009 @section Tips for writing docs
1011 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
1012 time. For each subsection,
1017 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1018 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1021 add any appropriate index entries.
1024 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1025 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1026 concern. Check for potential additions.
1029 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1030 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1033 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1034 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1035 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1038 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1041 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1042 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1043 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1044 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1048 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1049 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1050 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1051 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1052 harder than it looks.
1055 @subsubheading Tweaks
1057 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1058 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1059 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
1060 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1061 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1062 good example of this.
1065 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1068 On the other side of this,
1071 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1074 clearly belongs in LSR.
1076 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1077 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1078 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1079 possible into there.
1082 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1083 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1084 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1085 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1088 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1089 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1090 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1094 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1097 @node Scripts to ease doc work
1098 @section Scripts to ease doc work
1100 @subheading Stripping whitespace
1102 @c TODO: should this be documented elsewhere? It's useful for
1103 @c more than just docs.
1104 To remove extra whitespace from the ends of lines, run
1107 scripts/auxiliar/strip-whitespace.py Documentation/FILENAME
1111 @subheading Sectioning commands
1113 @warning{These commands add whitespace.}
1115 The emacs @code{M-x texinfo-all-menus-update} command will
1116 regenerate @@menu blocks. This can also be run with this
1117 command-line script:
1121 emacs $1 -batch -f texinfo-all-menus-update -f save-buffer
1125 (save the above as something like @command{texinfo-menus.sh}, make
1126 it executable, then run @command{texinfo-menus.sh foo.itely})
1129 @subheading Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1131 cd into @file{Documentation/} and run
1134 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1138 This also updates translated documentation.
1142 @node Docstrings in scheme
1143 @section Docstrings in scheme
1145 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1146 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1147 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1148 in these docstrings.
1150 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1151 to work on them, please ask for help.
1154 @node Translating the documentation
1155 @section Translating the documentation
1157 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1158 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1159 get support from the Translations Meister and experimented translators,
1160 and we regularly discuss translations issues common to all languagues.
1161 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1162 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1163 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1164 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body.
1167 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1168 * Documentation translation details::
1169 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1170 * Translations management policies::
1171 * Technical background::
1174 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1175 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1177 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
1178 translations source code}.
1181 * Translation requirements::
1182 * Which documentation can be translated::
1183 * Starting translation in a new language::
1186 @node Translation requirements
1187 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1189 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1190 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1193 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1199 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1200 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1201 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1202 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1203 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1206 @node Which documentation can be translated
1207 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1209 FIXME: take into account the new web site integration in main sources.
1211 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1212 of the following documentation:
1215 @item documentation index (HTML);
1216 @item the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1217 -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output might be added if
1218 there is enough demand for it;
1219 @item the Changes document.
1222 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1223 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1226 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1227 predefined music functions;
1228 @item the Snippets List;
1229 @item the Internals Reference.
1233 @node Starting translation in a new language
1234 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1236 At top of the source directory, do
1243 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1246 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1250 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1251 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1252 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1253 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1255 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1258 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1262 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1264 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1265 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1267 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1268 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1269 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1273 @node Documentation translation details
1274 @subsection Documentation translation details
1276 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1278 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1281 * Files to be translated::
1282 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1283 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1284 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1287 @node Files to be translated
1288 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1290 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1292 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1293 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1299 @b{Note:} node names and section titles are now translated directly in
1300 Texinfo source files. In case you have files in your working tree that
1301 have not been converted, please pull first, then run
1304 make -C Documentation/po doc
1305 export LYDOC_LOCALEDIR=Documentation/po/out-www
1306 export PYTHONPATH=python:python/auxiliar
1307 scripts/auxiliar/tely-gettext.py @var{manual.tely}
1311 This will also update files included in @file{@var{manual}.tely}, and of
1312 course this script can be used for individual @file{@var{foo}.itely}
1316 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1317 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1320 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1321 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1322 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1326 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1330 should be translated as
1333 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1334 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1335 @@translationof Foo bar
1338 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1339 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1340 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1342 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1343 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1344 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1345 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1346 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1347 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1348 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1349 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1350 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1351 contains @code{@@untranslated} and append @code{ @@c external} to the
1352 line that contains @code{@@translationof}. That is, you should end up
1353 for each untranslated node with something like
1356 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1357 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1358 @@translationof Foo bar @@c external
1364 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1365 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1366 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1368 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1369 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1370 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1371 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1372 through the Free Translation Project.
1375 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1376 @file{macros.itexi}.
1379 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1380 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1381 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1382 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1383 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1384 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1385 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1392 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1393 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1394 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1399 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1403 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1404 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1405 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1406 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1407 Additionnally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1408 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1409 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1410 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1411 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1415 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1417 Spanish translation blah
1422 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1423 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1424 and editing snippets}.
1426 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1427 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1429 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1430 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1431 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1432 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1433 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1437 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1438 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1440 Copy @file{notation.tely} (or @file{application.tely},
1441 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}}, then translate this
1442 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1443 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1444 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1447 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1448 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1450 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1451 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1452 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1455 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1456 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1458 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1459 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1460 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1463 * Check state of translation::
1464 * Updating documentation translation::
1467 @node Check state of translation
1468 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1470 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1471 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1472 Documentation}) and run
1475 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1479 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1480 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1481 @file{Documentation/} and run
1484 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1488 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1489 translation, you should specify both old and new file names,
1490 e.g. @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1492 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1495 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1498 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1499 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1502 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1505 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1506 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1507 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1508 @file{Documentation/}
1511 make translation-status
1514 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1515 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1516 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1519 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1522 @node Updating documentation translation
1523 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1525 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1526 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1527 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1528 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1531 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1535 or to update a single file
1538 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1541 For each file to be udpated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1542 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1543 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1544 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1546 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1547 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1548 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1549 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1552 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1555 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1556 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1562 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1563 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1564 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1565 Translation meister runs this command.}
1567 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1568 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1569 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1570 @file{Documentation/}):
1573 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1576 This script overwrites music snippets in
1577 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1578 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1579 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1580 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1581 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1582 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1583 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1584 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1585 no sense in their context.
1587 When you have updated texidocs in
1588 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1589 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1590 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1592 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1593 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1596 make all-translations-update
1599 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1600 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1603 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1604 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1607 @node Translations management policies
1608 @subsection Translations management policies
1610 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1611 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1612 coordinators work efficiently.
1615 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1616 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1619 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1620 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1622 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
1623 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
1624 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
1625 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
1626 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
1629 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
1630 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
1631 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
1633 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1636 @item Update macros.itexi.
1637 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1638 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1639 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1640 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1641 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1642 no longer uses this macro.
1644 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1645 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1646 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1647 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1649 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1650 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1651 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1652 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1653 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
1654 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1655 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1656 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1657 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1658 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
1659 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
1660 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1662 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1665 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1666 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
1667 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1668 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1669 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
1670 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1672 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1673 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1674 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1677 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1679 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1680 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1684 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
1687 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1688 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
1689 updated all the rest of the file.
1691 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1692 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1693 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1694 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1695 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1696 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1697 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1700 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1701 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1702 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1703 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1704 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1705 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1708 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1710 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1712 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1713 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1714 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1716 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1719 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1723 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1724 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1725 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1726 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1727 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1728 existing page of documentation in English.
1731 @subsubheading Rationale
1733 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1734 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1735 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1738 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1739 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1740 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1741 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1742 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1743 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1746 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1747 organization, which is better than the old one.
1749 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1750 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1751 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1752 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1754 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1755 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1756 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1757 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1758 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1759 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1760 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1765 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1766 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1768 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1769 translations to Git.
1772 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1773 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1774 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1775 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1776 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1777 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1778 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1780 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1781 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1782 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1784 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1785 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1786 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1787 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1788 documentation in English in master branch.
1790 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1791 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1792 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1793 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1794 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1795 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1796 without updating translations}.
1800 @node Technical background
1801 @subsection Technical background
1803 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1804 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1805 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1808 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1809 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1810 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1811 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1812 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1814 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1815 counts in the file you are reading,
1816 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1817 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1818 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1821 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1824 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1825 and documentation in other languages.
1828 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1829 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1831 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1832 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1833 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1834 of a shell command, use Git),
1835 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1836 tweak links in HTML pages.
1841 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module