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.
65 Before undertaking any large documentation work, contributors are
66 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Documentation Meister}.
69 @node Documentation suggestions
70 @section Documentation suggestions
72 @subheading Small additions
74 For additions to the documentation,
79 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
80 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
83 Please write exact changes to the text.
86 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
87 take care of the technical details.
90 Send the suggestions to the @code{bug-lilypond} mailing list as
91 discussed in @rweb{Contact}.
94 Here is an example of a perfect documentation report:
97 To: bug-lilypond@gnu.org
98 From: helpful-user@example.net
101 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
102 like..."), please add:
105 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
108 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
109 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
114 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
115 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
116 often...") and replace it with this:
118 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
128 @subheading Larger contributions
130 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
131 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
132 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
137 Ask on the lilypond-devel mailing list if such a rewrite is necessary;
138 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
141 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
142 compare the new and old documentation.
145 Please prepare a formal git patch.
149 @subheading Contributions that contain examples using overrides
151 Examples that use overrides, tweaks, customer Scheme functions etc. are
152 (with very few exceptions) not included in the main text of the manuals;
153 as there would be far too many, equally useful, candidates.
155 The correct way is to submit your example, with appropriate explanatory
156 text and tags, to the LilyPond Snippet Repository (LSR). Snippets that
157 have the @qq{docs} tag can then be easily added as a
158 @emph{selected snippet} in the documentation. It will also appear
159 automatically in the Snippets lists. See @ref{Introduction to LSR}.
161 Snippets that @emph{don't} have the @qq{docs} tage will still be
162 searchable and viewable within the LSR, but will be not be included in
163 the Snippets list or be able to be included as part of the main
166 Generally, any new snippets that have the @qq{docs} tag are more
167 carefully checked for syntax and formatting.
169 @subheading Announcing your snippet
171 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
172 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
173 there is a strict @q{no top-posting} check on the mailing list; to avoid
176 @code{> I'm not top posting}
178 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation addition.
180 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and we may
181 not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if you give us
182 some material to work with, we can improve the manual much faster.
184 Thanks for your interest!
187 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
188 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
191 * Texinfo introduction::
192 * Documentation files::
193 * Sectioning commands::
194 * LilyPond formatting::
197 * Other text concerns::
201 @node Texinfo introduction
202 @subsection Texinfo introduction
204 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
206 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
208 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
209 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
210 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
211 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
213 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
214 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
215 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
218 @node Documentation files
219 @subsection Documentation files
221 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
223 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
224 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
225 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
226 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
227 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
228 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
229 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
230 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
231 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
232 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
234 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
235 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
238 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
239 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
240 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
243 @node Sectioning commands
244 @subsection Sectioning commands
246 The Notation Reference uses section headings at four, occasionally
251 @item Level 1: @@chapter
252 @item Level 2: @@section
253 @item Level 3: @@subsection
254 @item Level 4: @@unnumberedsubsubsec
255 @item Level 5: @@subsubsubheading
258 The first three levels are numbered in html, the last two are not.
259 Numbered sections correspond to a single html page in the split html
262 The first four levels always have accompanying nodes so they can be
263 referenced and are also included in the ToC in html.
265 Most of the manual is written at level 4 under headings created with
269 @@unnumberedsubsubsec Foo
272 Level 3 subsections are created with
281 Level 4 headings and menus must be preceded by level 3 headings and
282 menus, and so on for level 3 and level 2. If this is not what is
286 @@subsubsubheading Foo
290 Please leave two blank lines above a @code{@@node}; this makes it
291 easier to find sections in texinfo.
294 Do not use any @code{@@} commands for a @code{@@node}. They may be
295 used for any @code{@@sub...} sections or headings however.
299 @@node @@code@{Foo@} Bar
300 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
304 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
308 No punctuation may be used in the node names. If the heading text
309 uses punctuation (in particular, colons and commas) simply leave
310 this out of the node name and menu.
318 @@subsection Foo: Bar
322 With the exception of @code{@@} commands and punctuation, the
323 section name should match the node name exactly.
326 Sectioning commands (@code{@@node} and @code{@@section}) must not appear
327 inside an @code{@@ignore}. Separate those commands with a space, ie
328 @code{@@n}@tie{}@code{ode}.
332 Nodes must be included inside a
342 construct. These can be constructed with scripts:
343 see @ref{Stripping whitespace and generating menus}.
346 @node LilyPond formatting
347 @subsection LilyPond formatting
352 Most LilyPond examples throughout the documentation can be produced
356 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
362 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
365 If using any combination of @code{\header@{@}}, @code{\score@{@}} or
366 @code{\layout@{@}} in your example, then you must omit the
367 @code{relative} variable and either use absolute entry mode or an
368 explicit @code{\relative@{@}} construction.
370 If using @code{\book@{@}} in your example then you must also omit the
371 @code{relative} variable and either use absolute entry mode or an
372 explicit @code{\relative@{@}} construction. However, you must also
373 include the @code{papersize=X} variable, where @code{X} is a defined
374 paper size from within @file{scm/paper.scm}. This is to avoid the
375 default @code{a4} paper size being used and leaving too much unnecessary
376 whitespace and potentially awkward page breaks in the PDFs.
378 The preferred @code{papersize}s are @code{a5}, @code{a6} or
381 @code{a8landscape} works best for a single measure with a single title
382 and/or single @code{tagline}:
385 @@lilypond[papersize=a8landscape,verbatim]
388 title = "A scale in LilyPond"
397 and can also be used to easily show features that require page breaks
398 (i.e. page numbers) without taking large amounts of space within the
399 documentation. Do not use the @code{quote} option with this paper size.
401 @code{a5} or @code{a6} paper sizes are best used for examples that have
402 more than two measures of music or require multiple staves (i.e. to
403 illustrate cross-staff features, RH and LH parts etc.) and where
404 @code{\book@{@}} constructions are required or where @code{a8landscape}
405 produces an example that is too cramped. Depending on the example the
406 @code{quote} option may need to be omitted.
408 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
411 Please avoid using extra spacing either after or within the
412 @code{@@lilypond} parameters.
415 not: @@lilypond [verbatim, quote, relative=1]
416 but instead: @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
420 Inspirational headwords are produced with:
423 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
424 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
428 LSR snippets are linked with:
431 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,quote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
436 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples (no tabs).
439 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
442 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
445 LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
446 convention to follow.
449 All context or layout object strings should be prefaced with @code{#}.
450 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is helpful
451 to get users accustomed to this scheme construct, i.e. @code{\set
452 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
455 Try to avoid using @code{#'} or @code{#`} within when describing
456 context or layout properties outside of an @code{@@example} or @code{@@lilypond}, unless
457 the description explicitly requires it.
459 i.e. @qq{...setting the @code{transparent} property leaves the object where it
460 is, but makes it invisible.}
463 If possible, only write one bar per line.
466 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
467 must put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
471 Tweaks should, if possible, also occur on their own line.
473 not: \override TextScript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
474 but instead: \override TextScript #'padding = #3
479 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
482 Avoid long stretches of input code. Nobody is going to read
483 them in print. Create small examples. However, this does not mean
487 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
490 If possible, end with a complete bar.
493 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
494 the line(s) to which they refer.
497 For clarity, always use @{ @} marks even if they are not technically
503 \context Voice \repeat unfold 2 \relative c' @{
519 Add a space around @{ @} marks; i.e.
522 not: \chordmode@{c e g@}
523 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
527 Use @{ @} marks for additional @code{\markup} format commands; i.e.
530 not: c^\markup \tiny\sharp
531 but instead: c^\markup @{ \tiny \sharp @}
535 Remove any space around @code{<} @code{>} marks; i.e.
539 but instead: <c e g>4
543 Beam, slur and tie marks should begin immediately after the first
544 note with beam and phrase marks ending immediately after the last.
547 a8\( ais16[ b cis( d] b) cis4~ b' cis,\)
551 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
552 easier/faster processing), use this header:
557 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
558 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
565 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
566 example demonstrating special @code{\paper@{@}} values, contact the
567 Documentation Editor.
572 @node Text formatting
573 @subsection Text formatting
577 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (We personally
578 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but do not bother modifying
579 existing material). Also see the recommendations for fixed-width
580 fonts in the @ref{Syntax survey}.
586 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
587 @code{@@example} or @code{@@verbatim} environments), and do not
588 use more than a single space between words. @q{makeinfo} copies
589 the input lines verbatim without removing those spaces.
592 Use two spaces after a period.
595 In examples of syntax, use @code{@@var@{@var{musicexpr}@}} for a
599 Don't use @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in the main text. If you're
600 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to @qq{talking
601 through the code}. If you really want to refer to a context, use
602 @code{@@code@{@}} in the main text and @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in
603 the @code{@@seealso}.
608 @subsection Syntax survey
618 * Special characters::
624 @unnumberedsubsubsec Comments
628 @code{@@c @dots{}} --- single line comment. @samp{@@c NOTE:} is a
629 comment which should remain in the final version. (gp only
633 @code{@@ignore} --- multi-line comment:
643 @node Cross references
644 @unnumberedsubsubsec Cross references
646 Enter the exact @code{@@node} name of the target reference between
647 the brackets (eg.@tie{}@w{@samp{@@ref@{Syntax survey@}}}). Do not
648 split a cross-reference across two lines -- this causes the
649 cross-reference to be rendered incorrectly in html documents.
653 @code{@@ref@{@dots{}@}} --- link within current manual.
656 @code{@@rchanges@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Changes.
659 @code{@@rcontrib@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Contributor's Guide.
662 @code{@@ressay@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Engraving Essay.
665 @code{@@rextend@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Extending LilyPond.
668 @code{@@rglos@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Music Glossary.
671 @code{@@rinternals@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Internals Reference.
674 @code{@@rlearning@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Learning Manual.
677 @code{@@rlsr@{@dots{}@}} --- link to a Snippet section.
680 @code{@@rprogram@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Application Usage.
683 @code{@@ruser@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Notation Reference.
686 @code{@@rweb@{@dots{}@}} --- link to General Information.
691 @unnumberedsubsubsec External links
695 @code{@@email@{@dots{}@}} --- create a @code{mailto:} E-mail link.
698 @code{@@uref@{@var{URL}[, @var{link text}]@}} --- link to an
699 external url. Use within an @code{@@example ... @@end example}.
703 @@uref@{URL [, link text ]@}
709 @node Fixed-width font
710 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fixed-width font
714 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} ---
716 Use the @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} command when referring to
717 individual language-specific tokens (keywords, commands,
718 engravers, scheme symbols, etc.) in the text. Ideally, a single
719 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} block should fit within one line in the
722 Use the @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} command when you have a short
723 example of user input, unless it constitutes an entire
724 @code{@@item} by itself, in which case @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} is
725 preferable. Otherwise, both should only be used when part of a
726 larger sentence within a paragraph or @code{@@item}. Do not use
727 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} inside an
728 @code{@@example} block, and do not use either as a free-standing
729 paragraph; use @code{@@example} instead.
731 A single unindented line in the PDF has space for about 79
732 fixed-width characters (76 if indented). Within an @code{@@item}
733 there is space for about 75 fixed-width characters. Each
734 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
735 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
737 However, even short blocks of @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} and
738 @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} can run into the margin if the Texinfo
739 line-breaking algorithm gets confused. Additionally, blocks that
740 are longer than this may in fact print nicely; it all depends
741 where the line breaks end up. If you compile the docs yourself,
742 check the PDF output to make sure the line breaks are
745 The Texinfo setting @code{@@allowcodebreaks} is set to
746 @code{false} in the manuals, so lines within
747 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} blocks will
748 only break at spaces, not at hyphens or underscores. If the block
749 contains spaces, use @code{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}} or
750 @code{@@w@{@@samp@{@dots{}@}@}} to prevent unexpected line breaks.
752 The Texinfo settings @code{txicodequoteundirected} and
753 @code{txicodequotebacktick} are both set in the manuals, so
754 backticks (@code{`}) and apostrophes (@code{'}) placed within
755 blocks of @code{@@code}, @code{@@example}, or @code{@@verbatim}
756 are not converted to left- and right-angled quotes
757 (@code{@quoteleft{} @quoteright{}}) as they normally are within
758 the text, so the apostrophes in
759 @q{@w{@code{@@w@{@@code@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}}} will display
760 correctly. However, these settings do not affect the PDF output
761 for anything within a @code{@@samp} block (even if it includes a
762 nested @code{@@code} block), so entering
763 @q{@code{@@w@{@@samp@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}} wrongly produces
764 @q{@w{@code{@bs{}relative c@quoteright{}@quoteright{}}}} in PDF.
765 Consequently, if you want to use a @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} block
766 which contains backticks or apostrophes, you should instead use
767 @q{@code{@@q@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}}} (or
768 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}@}}} if the block also
769 contains spaces). Note that backslashes within
770 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} blocks must be entered as @samp{@@bs@{@}},
771 so the example above would be coded as
772 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@@bs@{@}relative c''@}@}@}}}.
775 @code{@@command@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
776 commands within the text (eg. @samp{@@command@{convert-ly@}}). Do
777 not use inside an @code{@@example} block.
780 @code{@@example} --- Use for examples of program code. Do not add
781 extraneous indentation (i.e. don't start every line with
782 whitespace). Use the following layout (notice the use of blank
783 lines). Omit the @code{@@noindent} if the text following the
784 example starts a new paragraph:
787 @var{@dots{}text leading into the example@dots{}}
794 @var{continuation of the text@dots{}}
797 Individual lines within an @code{@@example} block should not
798 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
799 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@example} block
800 is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
801 @code{@@example} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
802 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
803 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
805 For long command line examples, if possible, use a trailing
806 backslash to break up a single line, indenting the next line with
807 2 spaces. If this isn't feasible, use @samp{@@smallexample
808 @dots{} @@end@tie{}smallexample} instead, which uses a smaller
809 fontsize. Use @code{@@example} whenever possible, but if needed,
810 @code{@@smallexample} can fit up to 90 characters per line before
811 running into the PDF margin. Each additional level of
812 @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate} shortens a
813 @code{@@smallexample} line by about 5 columns.
816 @code{@@file@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to filenames and
817 directories in the text. Do not use inside an @code{@@example}
821 @code{@@option@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
822 options in the text (eg. @samp{@@option@{--format@}}). Do not use
823 inside an @code{@@example} block.
826 @code{@@verbatim} --- Prints the block exactly as it appears in
827 the source file (including whitespace, etc.). For program code
828 examples, use @code{@@example} instead. @code{@@verbatim} uses
829 the same format as @code{@@example}.
831 Individual lines within an @code{@@verbatim} block should not
832 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
833 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@verbatim}
834 block is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
835 @code{@@verbatim} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
836 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
837 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
842 @unnumberedsubsubsec Indexing
846 @code{@@cindex @dots{}} --- General index. Please add as many as you can.
847 Don't capitalize the first word.
850 @code{@@funindex @dots{}} --- is for a \lilycommand.
855 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lists
859 @code{@@enumerate} --- Create an ordered list (with numbers).
860 Always put @samp{@@item} on its own line. As an exception, if all
861 the items in the list are short enough to fit on single lines, placing
862 them on the @samp{@@item} lines is also permissible. @samp{@@item}
863 and @samp{@@end@tie{}enumerate} should always be preceded by a blank
870 A long multi-line item like this one must begin
871 on a line of its own and all the other items in
872 the list must do so too.
891 @code{@@itemize} --- Create an unordered list (with bullets). Use
892 the same format as @code{@@enumerate}. Do not use
893 @samp{@@itemize@tie{}@@bullet}.
897 @node Special characters
898 @unnumberedsubsubsec Special characters
902 @code{--}, @code{---} --- Create an en dash (--) or an em dash
903 (---) in the text. To print two or three literal hyphens in a
904 row, wrap one of them in a @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} (eg.
908 @code{@@@@}, @code{@@@{}, @code{@@@}} --- Create an at-sign (@@),
909 a left curly bracket (@{), or a right curly bracket (@}).
912 @code{@@bs@{@}} --- Create a backslash within a
913 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}}, or
914 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} block. This is a custom LilyPond
915 macro, not a builtin @@-command in Texinfo. Texinfo would also
916 allow @samp{\\}, but this breaks the PDF output.
919 @code{@@tie@{@}} --- Create a @emph{variable-width} non-breaking
920 space in the text (use @w{@samp{@@w@{ @}}} for a single
921 @emph{fixed-width} non-breaking space). Variables or numbers
922 which consist of a single character (probably followed by a
923 punctuation mark) should be tied properly, either to the previous
924 or the next word. Example: @samp{The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is
930 @unnumberedsubsubsec Miscellany
934 @code{@@notation@{@dots{}@}} --- refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
935 @samp{@@notation@{clef@}}. Also use for specific lyrics
936 (@samp{the @@notation@{A@tie{}-@tie{}men@} is centered}).
937 Only use once per subsection per term.
940 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} --- Single quotes. Used for
941 @quoteleft{}vague@quoteright{} terms. To get a backslash
942 (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
945 @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}} --- Double quotes. Used for actual quotes
946 (@qq{he said}) or for introducing special input modes. To get a
947 backslash (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
950 @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} --- Use for metasyntactic variables (such
951 as @code{@var{foo}}, @code{@var{bar}}, @code{@var{arg1}}, etc.).
952 In most cases, when the @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} command appears in
953 the text (and not in an @code{@@example} block) it should be
954 wrapped with an appropriate texinfo code-highlighting command
955 (such as @code{@@code}, @code{@@samp}, @code{@@file},
956 @code{@@command}, etc.). For example:
957 @samp{@@code@{@@var@{foo@}@}},
958 @samp{@@file@{@@var@{myfile.ly@}@}},
959 @w{@samp{@@samp@{git checkout @@var@{branch@}@}}}, etc. This
960 improves readability in the PDF and HTML output.
963 @code{@@version@{@}} --- Return the current LilyPond version
964 string. Use @samp{@@w@{@@version@{@}@}} if it's at the end of a
965 line (to prevent an ugly line break in PDF); use
966 @samp{@@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}} if you need it in quotes.
969 @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} --- Do not allow any line breaks.
972 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} --- produces a @qq{Note:@tie{}} box.
973 Use for important messages. To get a backslash (\), you must use
978 @node Other text concerns
979 @subsection Other text concerns
983 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
985 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/,texinfo
986 manual}. Ideally this should also be the final sentence of a
987 paragraph, but this is not required. Any link in a doc section
988 must be duplicated in the @code{@@seealso} section at the bottom.
991 Introducing examples must be done with
994 . (i.e. finish the previous sentence/paragraph)
995 : (i.e. `in this example:')
996 , (i.e. `may add foo with the blah construct,')
999 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
1003 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
1013 When beginning a quote: @qq{So, he said,...}.
1015 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
1018 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
1022 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
1023 this is, don't say @samp{Ba@@ss@{@}tuba} but @samp{Baßtuba}. This
1024 ensures that all such characters appear in all output formats.
1028 @node Documentation policy
1029 @section Documentation policy
1033 * Section organization::
1034 * Checking cross-references::
1036 * Technical writing style::
1042 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
1043 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
1051 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
1052 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
1053 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
1054 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
1055 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
1056 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
1057 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
1058 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
1059 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
1060 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
1061 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
1062 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
1063 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
1064 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
1065 explained before it is used.
1067 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
1072 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
1073 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
1074 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
1075 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
1076 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
1077 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
1078 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
1079 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
1082 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
1083 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
1084 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
1085 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
1086 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
1087 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
1088 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
1089 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
1091 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
1092 @file{.itely} file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
1093 text, but ask about this first.
1095 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
1096 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
1100 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
1101 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
1102 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
1105 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1109 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
1110 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
1112 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1115 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
1116 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
1121 @node Section organization
1122 @subsection Section organization
1127 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
1140 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
1144 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
1153 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
1162 Essay on automated music engraving:
1169 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
1171 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
1173 Internals Reference:
1174 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
1175 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
1179 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
1183 Always end with a period.
1186 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
1187 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
1190 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
1193 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
1194 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
1197 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
1198 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
1203 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
1207 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in
1211 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (i.e. 1.1
1212 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
1213 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
1214 (i.e. 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
1217 The @@knownissues should not discuss any issues that are in the
1218 tracker, unless the issue is Priority-Postponed. The goal is to
1219 discuss any overall architecture or syntax decisions which may be
1220 interpreted as bugs. Normal bugs should not be discussed here,
1221 because we have so many bugs that it would be a huge task to keep
1222 the @@knownissues current and accurate all the time.
1227 @node Checking cross-references
1228 @subsection Checking cross-references
1230 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
1231 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
1232 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
1233 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
1234 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
1235 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and run:
1242 Note that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
1243 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
1244 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
1246 @c temporary? how long will kainhofer be used? -gp
1247 Also of interest may be the linkdoc checks on kainhofer.com. Be
1248 warned that these docs are not completely rebuilt every day, so it
1249 might not accurately reflect the current state of the docs.
1252 @uref{http://kainhofer.com/~lilypond/linkdoc/}
1256 @node General writing
1257 @subsection General writing
1262 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
1263 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
1266 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
1267 @@funindex \relative
1271 Do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
1272 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
1273 index. Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
1276 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, i.e.
1279 @@cindex time signature
1283 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}. Only use capital
1284 letters for musical terms which demand them, e.g.
1288 For scheme function index entries, only include the final part, i.e.
1291 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
1293 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
1297 Use American spelling. LilyPond's internal property
1298 names use this convention.
1301 Here is a list of preferred terms to be used:
1305 @emph{Simultaneous} NOT concurrent.
1308 @emph{Measure}: the unit of music.
1311 @emph{Bar line}: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline.
1314 @emph{Note head} NOT notehead.
1317 @emph{Chord construct} NOT just chord (when referring to < ... >)
1320 @emph{Staff} NOT stave.
1323 @emph{Staves} NOT Staffs:
1325 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@}s}
1326 should be rephrased to
1327 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@} contexts}.
1335 @node Technical writing style
1336 @subsection Technical writing style
1338 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
1344 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
1345 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
1348 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
1349 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
1352 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
1353 besides the reader and the writer.
1356 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
1359 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
1360 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
1363 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
1367 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
1368 Say @q{invalid} instead.
1373 @node Tips for writing docs
1374 @section Tips for writing docs
1376 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
1377 time. For each subsection,
1382 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1383 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1386 add any appropriate index entries.
1389 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1390 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1391 concern. Check for potential additions.
1394 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1395 material from the @file{.itely} file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1398 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1399 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1400 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1403 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1406 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1407 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1408 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1409 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1413 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1414 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1415 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1416 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1417 harder than it looks.
1420 @subsubheading Tweaks
1422 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1423 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1424 LSR and not the @file{.itely} file. For some cases, the command
1425 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1426 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1427 good example of this.
1430 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1433 On the other side of this,
1436 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1439 clearly belongs in LSR.
1441 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1442 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1443 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1444 possible into there.
1447 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1448 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1449 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1450 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1453 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1454 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1455 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1459 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1462 @node Scripts to ease doc work
1463 @section Scripts to ease doc work
1466 * Scripts to test the documentation::
1467 * Scripts to create documentation::
1470 @node Scripts to test the documentation
1471 @subsection Scripts to test the documentation
1474 * Building only one section of the documentation::
1477 @node Building only one section of the documentation
1478 @unnumberedsubsubsec Building only one section of the documentation
1480 In order to save build time, a script is available to build only
1481 one section of the documentation in English with a default html
1484 You can build a section of the documentation with:
1487 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh MANUAL SECTION
1491 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the section
1492 to be built, and @code{MANUAL} is replaced by the name of the directory
1493 containing the section. So, for example, to build section 1.1 of the
1494 Notation Reference, use the command:
1497 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh notation pitches
1500 You can then see the generated document for the section at
1503 tempdocs/pitches/out/pitches.html
1507 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=1236,Lilypond issue 1236},
1508 the location of the lilypond git tree is taken from @code{$LILYPOND_GIT}
1509 if specified, otherwise it is auto-detected.
1511 It is assumed that compilation takes place in the @file{build/}
1512 subdirectory, but this can be overridden by setting the environment
1513 variable @code{LILYPOND_BUILD_DIR}.
1515 Similarly, output defaults to @file{build/tempdocs/} but this can be
1516 overridden by setting the environment variable
1517 @code{LILYPOND_TEMPDOCS}.
1519 This script will not work for building sections of the
1520 Contributors' guide. For building sections of the Contributors'
1524 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh SECTION
1528 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the sections
1529 to be built. For example, to build section 4 of the Contributors' guide,
1533 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh doc-work
1536 @code{cg-section.sh} uses the same environment variables and
1537 corresponding default values as @code{doc-section.sh}.
1539 @node Scripts to create documentation
1540 @subsection Scripts to create documentation
1543 * Stripping whitespace and generating menus::
1544 * Stripping whitespace only::
1545 * Updating doc with convert-ly::
1548 @node Stripping whitespace and generating menus
1549 @unnumberedsubsubsec Stripping whitespace and generating menus
1551 @warning{This script assumes that the file conforms to our doc
1552 policy, in particular with regard to @ref{Sectioning commands};
1553 a few files still need work in this regard.}
1555 To automatically regenerate @code{@@menu} portions and strip
1559 scripts/auxiliar/node-menuify.py @var{FILENAME}
1562 If you are adding documentation that requires new menus,
1563 you will need to add a blank @code{@@menu} section:
1570 @node Stripping whitespace only
1571 @unnumberedsubsubsec Stripping whitespace only
1573 @c TODO: should this be documented elsewhere? It's useful for
1574 @c more than just docs.
1575 To remove extra whitespace from the ends of lines, run
1578 scripts/auxiliar/strip-whitespace.py @var{FILENAME}
1582 @node Updating doc with convert-ly
1583 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1585 Don't. This should be done by programmers when they add new
1586 features. If you notice that it hasn't been done, complain to
1587 @code{lilypond-devel}.
1590 @node Docstrings in scheme
1591 @section Docstrings in scheme
1593 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1594 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1595 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1596 in these docstrings.
1598 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1599 to work on them, please ask for help.
1602 @node Translating the documentation
1603 @section Translating the documentation
1605 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1606 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1607 get support from the Translations Meister and experienced translators,
1608 and we regularly discuss translation issues common to all languages.
1609 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1610 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1611 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1612 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body. Unless mentioned explicitly,
1613 or except if a translations coordinator contacts you privately, you
1614 should send questions, remarks and patches to the list
1615 @code{translations@@lilynet.net}. Please note that traffic is high
1616 on the English-speaking list @code{lilypond-user@@gnu.org}, so it may
1617 take some time before your request or contribution is handled.
1620 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1621 * Documentation translation details::
1622 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1623 * Translations management policies::
1624 * Technical background::
1627 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1628 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1630 First, get the sources of branch @code{translation} from the
1631 Git repository, see @ref{Starting with Git}.
1634 * Translation requirements::
1635 * Which documentation can be translated::
1636 * Starting translation in a new language::
1639 @node Translation requirements
1640 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1642 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1643 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1646 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1652 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1653 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1654 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1655 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1656 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling}.
1658 Before undertaking any large translation work, contributors are
1659 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Translation Meister}.
1662 @node Which documentation can be translated
1663 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1665 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1666 of the following documentation:
1669 @item the web site, the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and
1670 Application Usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output
1671 might be added if there is enough demand for it;
1672 @item the Changes document.
1675 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1676 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1679 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1680 predefined music functions;
1681 @item the Snippets List;
1682 @item the Internals Reference.
1686 @node Starting translation in a new language
1687 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1689 At top of the source directory, do
1696 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1699 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1703 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1704 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1705 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1706 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1708 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1711 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1715 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1717 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1718 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1721 @node Documentation translation details
1722 @subsection Documentation translation details
1724 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1726 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1729 * Files to be translated::
1730 * Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation::
1731 * Adding a Texinfo manual::
1734 @node Files to be translated
1735 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1737 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1739 In addition, not listed above, Snippets' titles and descriptions
1740 should be translated; they are a part of the Notation Reference and
1741 therefore their priority is 5.
1743 @node Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1744 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1746 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1747 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1750 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1751 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1752 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1756 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1760 should be translated as
1763 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1764 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1765 @@translationof Foo bar
1768 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1769 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1770 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1772 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1773 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1774 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1775 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1776 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1777 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1778 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1779 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1780 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1781 contains @code{@@untranslated}. That is, you should end up
1782 for each untranslated node with something like
1785 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1786 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1787 @@translationof Foo bar
1792 @warning{you do not have to translate the node name of a cross-reference
1793 to a node that you do not have translated. If you do, you must define
1794 an @qq{empty} node like explained just above; this will produce a
1795 cross-reference with the translated node name in output, although the
1796 target node will still be in English. On the opposite, if all
1797 cross-references that refer to an untranslated node use the node name in
1798 English, then you do not have to define such an @qq{empty} node, and the
1799 cross-reference text will appear in English in the output. The choice
1800 between these two strategies implies its particular maintenance
1801 requirements and is left to the translators, although the opinion of the
1802 Translation meister leans towards not translating these
1805 Please think of the fact that it may not make sense translating
1806 everything in some Texinfo files, and you may take distance from the
1807 original text; for instance, in the translation of the web site section
1808 Community, you may take this into account depending on what you know the
1809 community in your language is willing to support, which is possible only
1810 if you personally assume this support, or there exists a public forum
1811 or mailing list listed in Community for LilyPond in your language:
1814 @item @rweb{Bug reports}: this page should be translated only if you
1815 know that every bug report sent on your language's mailing list or forum
1816 will be handled by someone who will translate it to English and send it
1817 on bug-lilypond or add an issue in the tracker, then translate back the
1818 reply from developers.
1820 @item @rweb{Help us}: this page should be translated very freely,
1821 and possibly not at all: ask help for contributing to LilyPond for tasks
1822 that LilyPond community in your language is able and going to handle.
1826 In any case, please mark in your work the sections which do not result
1827 from the direct translation of a piece of English translation, using
1828 comments i.e. lines starting with @q{@code{@@c}}.
1830 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1831 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1832 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1834 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1835 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1836 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1837 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1838 through the Free Translation Project.
1841 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1842 @file{macros.itexi}.
1844 If you wonder whether a word, phrase or larger piece of text should be
1845 translated, whether it is an argument of a Texinfo command or a small
1846 piece sandwiched between two Texinfo commands, try to track whether and
1847 where it appears in PDF and/or HTML output as visible text. This piece
1848 of advice is especially useful for translating @file{macros.itexi}.
1850 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1851 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1852 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1853 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1854 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1855 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1856 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1863 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1864 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1865 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1870 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1874 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1875 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1876 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1877 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1878 Additionally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1879 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1880 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1881 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1882 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1886 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1888 Spanish translation blah
1892 @code{@@example} blocks need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1893 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1895 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1896 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1897 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1898 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1899 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1903 @node Adding a Texinfo manual
1904 @unnumberedsubsubsec Adding a Texinfo manual
1906 In order to start translating a new manual whose basename is @var{FOO},
1910 cd Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}
1911 cp ../@var{FOO}.tely .
1913 cp web/GNUmakefile @var{FOO}
1917 then append @var{FOO} to variable @code{SUBDIRS} in
1918 Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/GNUmakefile, then translate file
1919 @var{MY-LANGUAGE}/@var{FOO}.tely and run @code{skeleton-update}:
1923 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} TEXI_LANGUTIL_FLAGS=--head-only skeleton-update
1927 Your are now ready to translate the new manual exactly like the web site
1928 or the Learning Manual.
1931 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1932 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1934 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1935 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1936 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1938 You should use them whenever you would like to update the translation in
1939 your language, which you may do at the frequency that fits your and your
1940 cotranslators' respective available times. In the case your translation
1941 is up-do-date (which you can discover in the first subsection below), it
1942 is enough to check its state every one or two weeks. If you feel
1943 overwhelmed by the quantity of documentation to be updated, see
1944 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1947 * Check state of translation::
1948 * Updating documentation translation::
1949 * Updating translation committishes::
1952 @macro seeCommittishesUpdate{}
1953 @warning{do not forget to update the committish in each file you have
1954 completely updated, see @ref{Updating translation committishes}.}
1957 @node Check state of translation
1958 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1960 First pull from Git -- see @ref{Pulling and rebasing}, but DO NOT rebase
1961 unless you are sure to master the translation state checking and
1962 updating system -- then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of the
1963 source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1964 Documentation}) and run
1967 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1971 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1972 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1973 @file{Documentation/} and run
1976 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1980 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1981 translation, you should specify both old and new file names, e.g.
1982 @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1984 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1987 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1990 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1991 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1994 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1997 You can see the diffs generated by the commands above as changes that
1998 you should make in your language to the existing translation, in order
1999 to make your translation up to date.
2001 @seeCommittishesUpdate
2003 Global state of the translation is recorded in
2004 @file{Documentation/translations.itexi}, which is used to generate
2005 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
2006 @file{Documentation/}
2009 make translation-status
2012 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
2013 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
2014 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
2017 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
2019 @node Updating documentation translation
2020 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
2022 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
2023 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
2024 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
2025 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
2028 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
2032 or to update a single file
2035 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
2038 For each file to be updated, @code{update-translation} will open your
2039 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
2040 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
2041 the full file in English will be opened instead.
2043 @seeCommittishesUpdate
2045 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
2046 containing only the first node of the original file in English can be
2047 updated automatically: whenever @command{make check-translation} shows
2048 that such files should be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
2051 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
2054 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
2055 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
2061 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
2062 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
2063 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
2064 Translation meister runs this command.}
2066 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
2067 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
2068 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
2069 @file{Documentation/}):
2072 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
2075 This script overwrites music snippets in
2076 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
2077 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
2078 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
2079 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
2080 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
2081 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
2082 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
2083 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
2084 no sense in their context.
2086 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
2087 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
2090 make all-translations-update
2093 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
2094 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
2097 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
2098 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
2101 @node Updating translation committishes
2102 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating translation committishes
2104 At the beginning of each translated file except PO files, there is a
2105 committish which represents the revision of the sources which you have
2106 used to translate this file from the file in English.
2108 When you have pulled and updated a translation, it is very important to
2109 update this committish in the files you have completely updated (and
2110 only these); to do this, first commit possible changes to any
2111 documentation in English which you are sure to have done in your
2112 translation as well, then replace in the up-to-date translated files the
2113 old committish by the committish of latest commit, which can be obtained
2117 git rev-list HEAD |head -1
2120 @c http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-01/msg00245.html
2121 @c contains a helper script which could be used to perform massive
2122 @c committish updates.
2124 Most of the changes in the LSR snippets included in the documentation concern
2125 the syntax, not the description inside @code{texidoc=""}. This implies that
2126 quite often you will have to update only the committish of the matching
2127 .texidoc file. This can be a tedious work if there are many snippets to be
2128 marked as up do date. You can use the following command to update the
2129 committishes at once:
2132 cd Documentation/LANG/texidocs
2133 sed -i -r 's/[0-9a-z]@{40@}/NEW-COMMITTISH/' *.texidoc
2139 @node Translations management policies
2140 @subsection Translations management policies
2142 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
2143 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
2144 coordinators work efficiently.
2147 * Maintaining without updating translations::
2148 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
2151 @node Maintaining without updating translations
2152 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
2154 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
2155 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
2156 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
2157 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
2158 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
2161 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
2162 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
2163 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
2165 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
2168 @item Update macros.itexi.
2169 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
2170 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
2171 do it and delete the macro definition from @file{macros.itexi}; otherwise,
2172 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
2173 @file{macros.itexi} until the documentation translation has been updated and
2174 no longer uses this macro.
2176 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
2177 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect output
2178 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
2179 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
2181 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
2182 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
2183 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
2184 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
2185 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
2186 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
2187 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
2188 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
2189 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
2190 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
2191 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
2192 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
2194 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
2197 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
2198 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
2199 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
2200 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
2201 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
2202 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
2204 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
2205 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
2206 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
2209 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
2211 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
2212 'texinfo-show-structure)))
2216 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
2219 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
2220 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
2221 updated all the rest of the file.
2223 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
2224 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
2225 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
2226 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
2227 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
2228 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
2229 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
2232 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
2233 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
2234 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
2235 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
2236 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
2237 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
2240 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
2243 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
2246 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
2247 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
2248 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
2250 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
2253 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
2257 This step requires a successful documentation build (with @command{make
2258 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
2259 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
2260 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
2261 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
2262 existing page of documentation in English.
2265 @subsubheading Rationale
2267 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
2268 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
2269 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
2272 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
2273 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
2274 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
2275 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
2276 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
2277 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
2280 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
2281 organization, which is better than the old one.
2283 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
2284 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
2285 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
2286 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
2288 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
2289 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
2290 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
2291 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
2292 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
2293 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
2294 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
2299 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
2300 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
2302 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
2303 translations to Git.
2306 @item Translation work is made on
2307 @code{translation} branch. This branch is merged on
2308 @code{staging} once a week, approximately. Then,
2309 @code{master} branch is merged on
2310 @code{translation}, where the check-translation script (see
2311 @ref{Check state of translation}) shows changes in English docs which
2312 should be translated, and the cycle starts again.
2314 @item Translations may be pushed directly to
2315 @code{staging} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
2316 its documentation. Those changes could be pushed to
2317 @code{translation} too, or alternatively translators could wait until
2319 @code{master} the next time it is merged on
2320 @code{translation}. Similarly, changes matching
2321 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
2322 @code{X.Ytranslation}.
2324 @item @code{translation} Git branch may be merged into
2325 @code{staging} branch only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and
2326 documentation (@command{make doc}) compile successfully.
2328 @item @command{make} and @command{make doc} are usually successful in
2329 @code{master} Git branch because those tests should have already
2331 @code{staging} branch before merging.
2332 @code{master} branch may be merged into
2333 @code{translation} when significant changes had been made in
2334 documentation in English in
2335 @code{master} branch.
2337 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
2338 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
2339 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
2340 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
2341 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
2342 cross-references, and operations described in
2343 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
2347 @node Technical background
2348 @subsection Technical background
2350 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
2351 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
2352 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
2355 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
2356 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
2357 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
2358 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
2359 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
2361 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
2362 counts in the file you are reading,
2363 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
2364 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
2365 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
2368 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
2371 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
2372 and documentation in other languages.
2375 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
2376 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
2378 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
2379 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
2380 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
2381 of a shell command, use Git),
2382 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
2383 tweak links in HTML pages.
2388 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module