1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
6 * Introduction to documentation work::
7 * Documentation suggestions::
8 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
9 * Documentation policy::
10 * Tips for writing docs::
11 * Updating docs with convert-ly::
12 * Translating the documentation::
16 @node Introduction to documentation work
17 @section Introduction to documentation work
19 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
20 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
21 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
22 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
23 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
24 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
25 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
26 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
27 likely to miss that information.
29 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
30 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
31 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
32 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
33 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
34 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
35 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
36 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
37 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
38 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
39 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
40 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
41 plagued with inconsistent information.
43 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
44 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
45 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
46 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
47 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
49 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
50 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
51 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
52 limited documentation help.
55 @node Documentation suggestions
56 @section Documentation suggestions
58 @subheading Small additions
60 For additions to the documentation,
65 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
66 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
69 Please write exact changes to the text.
72 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
73 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
74 perfect documentation report:
77 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
78 From: helpful-user@example.net
81 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
82 like..."), please add:
85 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
88 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
89 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
94 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
95 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
96 often...") and replace it with this:
98 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
108 @subheading Larger contributions
110 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
111 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
112 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
117 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
118 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
121 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
122 compare the new and old documentation.
125 Please prepare a formal git patch.
129 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
130 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
131 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
134 > I'm not top posting.
136 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
139 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
140 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
141 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
142 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
145 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
146 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
149 * Texinfo introduction::
150 * Documentation files::
151 * Sectioning commands::
152 * LilyPond formatting::
155 * Other text concerns::
159 @node Texinfo introduction
160 @subsection Texinfo introduction
162 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
164 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
166 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
167 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
168 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
169 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
171 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
172 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
173 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
176 @node Documentation files
177 @subsection Documentation files
179 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
181 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
182 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
183 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
184 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
185 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
186 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
187 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
188 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
189 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
190 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
192 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
193 only one: the Contributors' Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
196 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
197 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
198 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
201 @node Sectioning commands
202 @subsection Sectioning commands
204 Most of the manual operates at the
212 level. Sections are created with
221 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
222 easier to find sections in texinfo.
225 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
226 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
231 Nodes must be included inside a
241 construct. These are easily constructed with the emacs
242 @code{M-x texinfo-all-menus-update} construct, or by this
247 emacs $1 -batch -f texinfo-all-menus-update -f save-buffer
251 (save the above as something like @command{texinfo-menus.sh}, make
252 it executable, then run @command{texinfo-menus.sh foo.itely})
255 @node LilyPond formatting
256 @subsection LilyPond formatting
261 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
265 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
266 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
267 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
268 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
271 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
274 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
277 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
281 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
284 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
285 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
286 own line if possible. Bad:
289 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
295 \override textscript #'padding = #3
300 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
303 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
310 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
313 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
316 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
319 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
322 Inspirational headwords are produced with
325 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
326 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
330 LSR snippets are linked with
333 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
338 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
341 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
342 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
343 example does not need to be minimal, however)
346 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
349 If possible, end with a complete bar.
352 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
353 the line(s) to which they refer.
356 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
359 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
360 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
364 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
365 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
369 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
370 easier/faster processing), use this header:
374 #(define dump-extents #t)
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, tere will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
519 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
526 @subsection Syntax survey
530 @@c - single line comments
531 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
532 version. (gp only command ;)
534 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
537 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
538 capitalize the first word.
540 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
543 @@example ... @@end ignore - example text that should be set as a
544 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
548 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
549 Do not compress vertically like this.
552 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
553 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
554 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
556 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
557 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
558 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
561 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
563 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
564 introducing special input modes.
567 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
568 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
569 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
570 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
573 @@var - Use for variables.
575 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
578 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
579 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
580 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
583 @@ref@{@} - normal references (type the exact node name inside the
586 @@ruser@{@} - link to the NR.
588 @@rlearning@{@} - link to the LM.
590 @@rglos@{@} - link to the MG.
592 @@rprogram@{@} - link to the AU.
594 @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section.
596 @@rinternals@{@} - link to the IR.
598 @@uref@{@} - link to an external url.
604 @node Other text concerns
605 @subsection Other text concerns
610 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
611 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
612 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
613 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
614 @@seealso section at the bottom.
617 Introducing examples must be done with
620 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
621 : (ie `in this example:')
622 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
625 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
629 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
640 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
642 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
645 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
650 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
651 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
652 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
659 @node Documentation policy
660 @section Documentation policy
664 * Section organization::
665 * Checking cross-references::
667 * Technical writing style::
673 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
674 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
682 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
683 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
684 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
685 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
686 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
687 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
688 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
689 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
690 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
691 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
692 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
693 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
694 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
695 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
696 explained before it is used.
698 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
703 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
704 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
705 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
706 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
707 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
708 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
709 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
710 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
713 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
714 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
715 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
716 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
717 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
718 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
719 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
720 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
722 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
723 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
724 text, but ask about this first.
726 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
727 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
731 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
732 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
733 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
736 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
740 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
741 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
743 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
746 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
747 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
752 @node Section organization
753 @subsection Section organization
758 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
771 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
775 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
784 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
794 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
796 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
799 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
800 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
804 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
808 Always end with a period.
811 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
812 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
815 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
818 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
819 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
822 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
823 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
828 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
832 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
836 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
837 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
838 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
839 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
844 @node Checking cross-references
845 @subsection Checking cross-references
847 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
848 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
849 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
850 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
851 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
852 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
853 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
854 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
855 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
856 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
859 @node General writing
860 @subsection General writing
865 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
866 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
869 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
874 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
875 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
878 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
880 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
883 @@cindex time signature
887 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
888 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
890 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
893 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
895 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
904 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
905 property names use this spelling.
908 List of specific terms:
912 simultaneous NOT concurrent
913 measure: the unit of music
914 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
915 note head NOT notehead
916 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
924 @node Technical writing style
925 @subsection Technical writing style
927 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
933 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
934 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
937 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
938 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
941 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
942 besides the reader and the writer.
945 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
948 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
949 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
952 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
956 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
957 Say @q{invalid} instead.
962 @node Tips for writing docs
963 @section Tips for writing docs
965 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
966 time. For each subsection,
971 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
972 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
975 add any appropriate index entries.
978 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
979 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
980 concern. Check for potential additions.
983 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
984 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
987 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
988 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
989 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
992 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
995 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
996 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
997 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
998 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1002 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1003 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1004 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1005 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1006 harder than it looks.
1009 @subsubheading Tweaks
1011 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1012 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1013 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
1014 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1015 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1016 good example of this.
1019 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1022 On the other side of this,
1025 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1028 clearly belongs in LSR.
1030 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1031 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1032 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1033 possible into there.
1036 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1037 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1038 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1039 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1042 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1043 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1044 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1049 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1052 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
1053 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1055 cd into @file{Documentation/} and run
1058 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1062 This also updates translated documentation.
1066 @node Translating the documentation
1067 @section Translating the documentation
1070 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1071 * Documentation translation details::
1072 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1073 * Translations management policies::
1074 * Technical background::
1077 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1078 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1080 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
1081 translations source code}.
1084 * Translation requirements::
1085 * Which documentation can be translated::
1086 * Starting translation in a new language::
1089 @node Translation requirements
1090 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1092 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1093 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1096 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1102 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1103 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1104 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1105 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1106 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1111 @node Which documentation can be translated
1112 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1114 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1115 of the following documentation:
1118 @item documentation index (HTML);
1119 @item the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1120 -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output might be added if
1121 there is enough demand for it;
1122 @item the Changes document.
1125 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1126 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1129 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1130 predefined music functions;
1131 @item the Snippets List;
1132 @item the Internals Reference.
1136 @node Starting translation in a new language
1137 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1139 At top of the source directory, do
1146 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1149 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1153 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1154 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1155 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1156 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1158 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1161 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1165 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1167 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1168 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1170 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1171 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1172 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1176 @node Documentation translation details
1177 @subsection Documentation translation details
1179 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1181 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1184 * Files to be translated::
1185 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1186 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1187 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1190 @node Files to be translated
1191 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1193 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1195 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1196 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1202 @b{Note:} node names and section titles are now translated directly in
1203 Texinfo source files. In case you have files in your working tree that
1204 have not been converted, please pull first, then run
1207 make -C Documentation/po doc
1208 export LYDOC_LOCALEDIR=Documentation/po/out-www
1209 export PYTHONPATH=python:python/auxiliar
1210 scripts/auxiliar/tely-gettext.py @var{manual.tely}
1214 This will also update files included in @file{@var{manual}.tely}, and of
1215 course this script can be used for individual @file{@var{foo}.itely}
1219 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1220 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1223 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1224 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1225 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1229 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1233 should be translated as
1236 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1237 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1238 @@translationof Foo bar
1241 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1242 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1243 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1245 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1246 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1247 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1248 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1249 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1250 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1251 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1252 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1253 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1254 contains @code{@@untranslated} and append @code{ @@c external} to the
1255 line that contains @code{@@translationof}. That is, you should end up
1256 for each untranslated node with something like
1259 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1260 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1261 @@translationof Foo bar @@c external
1267 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1268 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1269 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1271 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1272 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1273 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1274 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1275 through the Free Translation Project.
1278 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1279 @file{macros.itexi}.
1282 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1283 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1284 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1285 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1286 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1287 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1288 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1295 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1296 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1297 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1302 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1306 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1307 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1308 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1309 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1310 Additionnally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1311 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1312 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1313 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1314 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1318 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1320 Spanish translation blah
1325 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1326 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1327 and editing snippets}.
1329 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1330 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1332 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1333 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If
1334 one of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language,
1335 please ask the Translation meister and/or the Documentation Editors on
1336 @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}.
1339 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1340 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1342 Copy @file{notation.tely} (or @file{application.tely},
1343 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}}, then translate this
1344 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1345 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1346 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1349 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1350 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1352 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1353 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1354 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1357 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1358 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1360 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1361 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1362 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1365 * Check state of translation::
1366 * Updating documentation translation::
1369 @node Check state of translation
1370 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1372 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1373 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1374 Documentation}) and run
1377 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1381 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1382 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1383 @file{Documentation/} and run
1386 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1389 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1392 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1395 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1396 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1399 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1402 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1403 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1404 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1405 @file{Documentation/}
1408 make translation-status
1411 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1412 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1413 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1417 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1420 @node Updating documentation translation
1421 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1423 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1424 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1425 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1426 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1429 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1433 or to update a single file
1436 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1439 For each file to be udpated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1440 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1441 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1442 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1444 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1445 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1446 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1447 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1450 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1453 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1454 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1460 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1461 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1462 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1463 Translation meister runs this command.}
1465 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1466 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1467 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1468 @file{Documentation/}):
1471 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1474 This script overwrites music snippets in
1475 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1476 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1477 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1478 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1479 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1480 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1481 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1482 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1483 no sense in their context.
1485 When you have updated texidocs in
1486 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1487 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1488 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1490 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1491 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1494 make all-translations-update
1497 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1498 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1502 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1503 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1506 @node Translations management policies
1507 @subsection Translations management policies
1509 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1510 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1511 coordinators work efficiently.
1514 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1515 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1518 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1519 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1521 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
1522 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
1523 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
1524 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
1525 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
1528 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
1529 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
1530 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
1532 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1535 @item Update macros.itexi.
1536 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1537 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1538 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1539 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1540 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1541 no longer uses this macro.
1543 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1544 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1545 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1546 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1548 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1549 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1550 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1551 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1552 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
1553 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1554 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1555 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1556 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1557 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
1558 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
1559 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1561 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1564 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1565 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
1566 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1567 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1568 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
1569 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1571 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1572 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1573 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1576 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1578 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1579 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1583 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
1586 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1587 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
1588 updated all the rest of the file.
1590 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1591 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1592 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1593 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1594 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1595 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1596 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1599 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1600 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1601 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1602 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1603 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1604 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1607 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1609 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1611 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1612 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1613 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1615 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1618 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1622 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1623 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1624 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1625 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1626 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1627 existing page of documentation in English.
1630 @subsubheading Rationale
1632 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1633 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1634 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1637 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1638 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1639 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1640 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1641 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1642 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1645 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1646 organization, which is better than the old one.
1648 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1649 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1650 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1651 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1653 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1654 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1655 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1656 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1657 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1658 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1659 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1664 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1665 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1667 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1668 translations to Git.
1671 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1672 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1673 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1674 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1675 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1676 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1677 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1679 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1680 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1681 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1683 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1684 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1685 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1686 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1687 documentation in English in master branch.
1689 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1690 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1691 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1692 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1693 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1694 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1695 without updating translations}.
1699 @node Technical background
1700 @subsection Technical background
1702 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1703 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1704 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1707 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1708 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1709 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1710 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1711 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1713 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1714 counts in the file you are reading,
1715 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1716 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1717 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1720 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1723 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1724 and documentation in other languages.
1727 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1728 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1730 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1731 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1732 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1733 of a shell command, use Git),
1734 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1735 tweak links in HTML pages.
1740 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module