1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
5 There are currently 11 manuals for LilyPond, not including the
6 translations. Each book is available in HTML, PDF, and info. The
7 documentation is written in a language called @code{texinfo} --
8 this allows us to generate different output formats from a single
11 To organize multiple authors working on the documentation, we use a
12 Version Control System (VCS) called git, previously discussed in
13 @ref{Starting with Git}.
16 * Introduction to documentation work::
17 * Documentation suggestions::
18 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
19 * Documentation policy::
20 * Tips for writing docs::
21 * Scripts to ease doc work::
22 * Docstrings in scheme::
23 * Translating the documentation::
27 @node Introduction to documentation work
28 @section Introduction to documentation work
30 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
31 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
32 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
33 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
34 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
35 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
36 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
37 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
38 likely to miss that information.
40 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
41 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
42 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
43 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
44 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
45 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
46 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
47 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
48 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
49 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
50 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
51 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
52 plagued with inconsistent information.
54 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
55 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
56 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
57 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
58 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
60 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
61 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
62 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
63 limited documentation help.
66 @node Documentation suggestions
67 @section Documentation suggestions
69 @subheading Small additions
71 For additions to the documentation,
76 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
77 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
80 Please write exact changes to the text.
83 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
84 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
85 perfect documentation report:
88 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
89 From: helpful-user@example.net
92 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
93 like..."), please add:
96 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
99 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
100 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
105 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
106 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
107 often...") and replace it with this:
109 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
119 @subheading Larger contributions
121 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
122 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
123 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
128 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
129 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
132 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
133 compare the new and old documentation.
136 Please prepare a formal git patch.
140 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
141 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
142 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
145 > I'm not top posting.
147 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
150 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
151 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
152 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
153 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
156 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
157 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
160 * Texinfo introduction::
161 * Documentation files::
162 * Sectioning commands::
163 * LilyPond formatting::
166 * Other text concerns::
170 @node Texinfo introduction
171 @subsection Texinfo introduction
173 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
175 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
177 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
178 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
179 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
180 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
182 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
183 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
184 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
187 @node Documentation files
188 @subsection Documentation files
190 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
192 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
193 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
194 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
195 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
196 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
197 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
198 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
199 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
200 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
201 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
203 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
204 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
207 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
208 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
209 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
212 @node Sectioning commands
213 @subsection Sectioning commands
215 Most of the manual operates at the
223 level. Sections are created with
232 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
233 easier to find sections in texinfo.
236 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
237 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
242 Nodes must be included inside a
252 construct. These are easily constructed with automatic tools; see
253 @ref{Scripts to ease doc work}.
256 @node LilyPond formatting
257 @subsection LilyPond formatting
262 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
266 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
267 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
268 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
269 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
272 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
275 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
278 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
282 If possible, only write one bar per line.
285 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
286 must put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
290 Tweaks should, if possible, also occur on their own line.
294 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
300 \override textscript #'padding = #3
305 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
308 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
315 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
318 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
321 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
324 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
327 Inspirational headwords are produced with
330 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
331 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
335 LSR snippets are linked with
338 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
343 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
346 Avoid long stretches of input code. Nobody is going to read
347 them in print. Create small examples. However, this does not mean
351 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
354 If possible, end with a complete bar.
357 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
358 the line(s) to which they refer.
361 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
364 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
365 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
369 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
370 easier/faster processing), use this header:
375 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
377 force-assignment = #""
378 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
385 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
386 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
387 Documentation Editor.
392 @node Text formatting
393 @subsection Text formatting
398 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (We personally
399 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but do not bother modifying
400 existing material). However, see the note below regarding line
401 lengths within @code{@@example} blocks.
404 Individual lines within an @code{@@example} block should not
405 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
406 the pdf output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@example} block
407 is part of an @code{@@item} within an @code{@@itemize} or
408 @code{@@enumerate} block, each line of the @code{@@example} should
409 not exceed 70 columns---each additional level of @code{@@itemize}
410 or @code{@@enumerate} shortens the line by about 4 columns.
412 For command line examples, if possible, use a trailing backslash
413 to break up a single line, indenting the next line with 2 spaces.
414 If this isn't feasible, use @code{@@smallexample ...
415 @@end@tie{}smallexample} instead, which uses a smaller fontsize.
416 Use @code{@@example} whenever possible, but if needed,
417 @code{@@smallexample} can fit up to 96 characters per line before
418 running into the pdf margin. Each additional level of
419 @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate} shortens a
420 @code{@@smallexample} line by about 5 columns.
426 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
427 @code{@@example} or @code{@@verbatim} environments), and do not
428 use more than a single space between words. @q{makeinfo} copies
429 the input lines verbatim without removing those spaces.
432 Use two spaces after a period.
435 In examples of syntax, use @code{@@var@{@var{musicexpr}@}} for a
439 Don't use @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in the main text. If you're
440 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to @qq{talking
441 through the code}. If you really want to refer to a context, use
442 @code{@@code@{@}} in the main text and @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in
443 the @code{@@seealso}.
446 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character (probably
447 followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly, either to
448 the previous or the next word. Example:
451 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
455 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better to
456 avoid the @code{@@verbatim} environment. Use the @code{@@example}
457 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
458 indentation. For example, this
469 should be replaced with
480 where @q{@code{@@example}} starts the line (without leading
484 Do not compress the input vertically; that is, do not use
487 Beginning of logical unit
491 continuation of logical unit
498 Beginning of logical unit
505 continuation of logical unit
508 This makes it easier to remember the @q{@code{@@noindent}}. Only
509 use @code{@@noindent} if the material is discussing the same
510 material; new material should simply begin without anything
511 special on the line above it.
514 in @code{@@itemize} and @code{@@enumerate} blocks, use
515 @code{@@item} on a separate line like this:
526 Do not use @code{@@itemize@tie{}@@bullet}.
529 To get LilyPond version, use @code{@@version@{@}} (this does not
530 work inside LilyPond snippets). If you write
531 @code{"@@version@{@}"} (enclosed with quotes), or generally if
532 @code{@@version@{@}} is not followed by a space, there will be an
533 ugly line break in PDF output unless you enclose it with
540 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
547 @subsection Syntax survey
551 @code{@@bs} --- Generates a backslash inside @code{@@warning}.
552 Any @q{@bs{}} used inside @code{@@warning} (and @code{@@q} or
553 @code{@@qq}) must be written as @q{@code{@@bs@{@}}} (texinfo would
554 also allow @q{@bs{}@bs{}}, but this breaks with PDF output).
557 @code{@@c} --- single line comments. @qq{@code{@@c NOTE:}} is a
558 comment which should remain in the final version. (gp only
562 @code{@@cindex} --- General index. Please add as many as you can.
563 Don't capitalize the first word.
566 @code{@@code@{@}} --- typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual
567 LilyPond code or property/context names. If the name contains a
568 space, wrap the entire thing inside @code{@@w@{@@code@{ @}@}}.
571 @code{@@example ... @@end example} --- example text that should be
572 set as a blockquote. Any @code{@{@tie{}@}} must be escaped with
573 @code{@@@{@tie{}@@@}}.
576 @code{@@funindex} --- is for a \lilycommand.
579 @code{@@ignore ... @@end ignore} --- multi-line comment
582 @code{@@itemize @@item A @@item B ... @@end itemize} --- for
583 bulleted lists. Do not compress vertically like this.
586 @code{@@notation@{@}} --- refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
587 @qq{@code{@@notation@{clef}.@}}. Also use for specific lyrics
588 (@qq{the @code{@@notation@{}A@tie{}-@tie{}men@} is centered}).
589 Only use once per subsection per term.
592 @code{@@q@{@}} --- Single quotes. Used for @q{vague} terms.
595 @code{@@qq@{@}} --- Double quotes. Used for actual quotes (@qq{he
596 said}) or for introducing special input modes.
599 @code{@@rchanges@{@}} --- link to Changes.
602 @code{@@rcontrib@{@}} --- link to Contributor's Guide.
605 @code{@@ref@{@}} --- link within current manual (type the exact
606 node name inside the @code{@{@}}).
609 @code{@@ressay@{@}} --- link to Engraving Essay.
612 @code{@@rextend@{@}} --- link to Extending LilyPond.
615 @code{@@rglos@{@}} --- link to the Music Glossary.
618 @code{@@rinternals@{@}} --- link to the Internals Reference.
621 @code{@@rlearning@{@}} --- link to Learning Manual.
624 @code{@@rlsr@{@}} --- link to a Snippet section.
627 @code{@@rprogram@{@}} --- link to Application Usage.
630 @code{@@ruser@{@}} --- link to Notation Reference.
633 @code{@@rweb@{@}} --- link to General Informaion.
636 @code{@@tie@{@}} --- Variables or numbers which consist of a
637 single character (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should
638 be tied properly, either to the previous or the next word.
639 Example: @q{@code{The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped}}
642 @code{@@uref@{@}} --- link to an external url.
645 @code{@@var} --- Use for variables.
648 @code{@@version@{@}} --- Return the current LilyPond version
652 @code{@@warning@{@}} --- produces a @qq{Note:@tie{}} box. Use for
659 @node Other text concerns
660 @subsection Other text concerns
665 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
666 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
667 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
668 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
669 @@seealso section at the bottom.
672 Introducing examples must be done with
675 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
676 : (ie `in this example:')
677 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
680 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
684 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
695 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
697 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
700 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
705 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
706 this is, don't say @q{Ba@@ss@{@}tuba} but @q{Baßtuba}. This ensures
707 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
714 @node Documentation policy
715 @section Documentation policy
719 * Section organization::
720 * Checking cross-references::
722 * Technical writing style::
728 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
729 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
737 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
738 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
739 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
740 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
741 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
742 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
743 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
744 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
745 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
746 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
747 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
748 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
749 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
750 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
751 explained before it is used.
753 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
758 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
759 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
760 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
761 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
762 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
763 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
764 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
765 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
768 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
769 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
770 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
771 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
772 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
773 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
774 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
775 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
777 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
778 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
779 text, but ask about this first.
781 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
782 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
786 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
787 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
788 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
791 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
795 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
796 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
798 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
801 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
802 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
807 @node Section organization
808 @subsection Section organization
813 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
826 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
830 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
839 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
852 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
854 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
857 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
858 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
862 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
866 Always end with a period.
869 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
870 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
873 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
876 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
877 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
880 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
881 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
886 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
890 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in
894 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
895 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
896 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
897 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
902 @node Checking cross-references
903 @subsection Checking cross-references
905 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
906 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
907 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
908 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
909 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
910 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and run:
917 Note that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
918 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
919 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
921 @c temporary? how long will kainhofer be used? -gp
922 Also of interest may be the linkdoc checks on kainhofer.com. Be
923 warned that these docs are not completely rebuilt every day, so it
924 might not accurately reflect the current state of the docs.
927 @uref{http://kainhofer.com/~lilypond/linkdoc/}
931 @node General writing
932 @subsection General writing
937 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
938 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
941 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
946 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
947 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
950 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
952 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
955 @@cindex time signature
959 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
960 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
962 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
965 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
967 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
976 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
977 property names use this spelling.
980 List of specific terms:
984 simultaneous NOT concurrent
985 measure: the unit of music
986 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
987 note head NOT notehead
988 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
996 @node Technical writing style
997 @subsection Technical writing style
999 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
1005 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
1006 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
1009 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
1010 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
1013 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
1014 besides the reader and the writer.
1017 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
1020 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
1021 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
1024 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
1028 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
1029 Say @q{invalid} instead.
1034 @node Tips for writing docs
1035 @section Tips for writing docs
1037 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
1038 time. For each subsection,
1043 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1044 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1047 add any appropriate index entries.
1050 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1051 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1052 concern. Check for potential additions.
1055 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1056 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1059 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1060 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1061 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1064 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1067 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1068 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1069 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1070 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1074 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1075 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1076 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1077 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1078 harder than it looks.
1081 @subsubheading Tweaks
1083 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1084 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1085 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
1086 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1087 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1088 good example of this.
1091 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1094 On the other side of this,
1097 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1100 clearly belongs in LSR.
1102 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1103 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1104 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1105 possible into there.
1108 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1109 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1110 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1111 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1114 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1115 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1116 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1120 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1123 @node Scripts to ease doc work
1124 @section Scripts to ease doc work
1126 @subheading Stripping whitespace
1128 @c TODO: should this be documented elsewhere? It's useful for
1129 @c more than just docs.
1130 To remove extra whitespace from the ends of lines, run
1133 scripts/auxiliar/strip-whitespace.py Documentation/FILENAME
1137 @subheading Sectioning commands
1139 @warning{These commands add whitespace.}
1141 The emacs @code{M-x texinfo-all-menus-update} command will
1142 regenerate @@menu blocks. This can also be run with this
1143 command-line script:
1147 emacs $1 -batch -f texinfo-all-menus-update -f save-buffer
1151 (save the above as something like @command{texinfo-menus.sh}, make
1152 it executable, then run @command{texinfo-menus.sh foo.itely})
1155 @subheading Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1157 cd into @file{Documentation/} and run
1160 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1164 This also updates translated documentation.
1168 @node Docstrings in scheme
1169 @section Docstrings in scheme
1171 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1172 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1173 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1174 in these docstrings.
1176 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1177 to work on them, please ask for help.
1180 @node Translating the documentation
1181 @section Translating the documentation
1183 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1184 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1185 get support from the Translations Meister and experimented translators,
1186 and we regularly discuss translations issues common to all languagues.
1187 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1188 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1189 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1190 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body. Unless mentioned explicitly
1191 or except if a translations coordinator contacts you privately, you
1192 should send questions, remarks, patches to this list
1193 @code{translations@@lilynet.net}; especially note that the traffic is so
1194 high on English-speaking list @code{lilypond-user@@gnu.org} that it may
1195 take months before your request or contribution is handled if you send a
1196 email to these lists.
1199 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1200 * Documentation translation details::
1201 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1202 * Translations management policies::
1203 * Technical background::
1206 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1207 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1209 First, get the sources of branch @code{lilypond/translation} from the
1210 Git repository, see @ref{Starting with Git}.
1213 * Translation requirements::
1214 * Which documentation can be translated::
1215 * Starting translation in a new language::
1218 @node Translation requirements
1219 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1221 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1222 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1225 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1231 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1232 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1233 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1234 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1235 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1238 @node Which documentation can be translated
1239 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1241 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1242 of the following documentation:
1245 @item the web site, the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and
1246 Application Usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output
1247 might be added if there is enough demand for it;
1248 @item the Changes document.
1251 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1252 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1255 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1256 predefined music functions;
1257 @item the Snippets List;
1258 @item the Internals Reference.
1262 @node Starting translation in a new language
1263 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1265 At top of the source directory, do
1272 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1275 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1279 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1280 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1281 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1282 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1284 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1287 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1291 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1293 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1294 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1297 @node Documentation translation details
1298 @subsection Documentation translation details
1300 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1302 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1305 * Files to be translated::
1306 * Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation::
1307 * Adding a Texinfo manual::
1310 @node Files to be translated
1311 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1313 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1315 In addition, not listed above, Snippets' titles and descriptions
1316 should be translated; they are a part of the Notation Reference and
1317 therefore their priority is 5.
1319 @node Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1320 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1322 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1323 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1326 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1327 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1328 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1332 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1336 should be translated as
1339 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1340 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1341 @@translationof Foo bar
1344 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1345 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1346 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1348 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1349 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1350 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1351 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1352 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1353 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1354 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1355 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1356 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1357 contains @code{@@untranslated}. That is, you should end up
1358 for each untranslated node with something like
1361 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1362 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1363 @@translationof Foo bar
1368 @warning{you do not have to translate the node name of a cross-reference
1369 to a node that you do not have translated. If you do, you must define
1370 an @qq{empty} node like explained just above; this will produce a
1371 cross-reference with the translated node name in output, although the
1372 target node will still be in English. On the opposite, if all
1373 cross-references that refer to an untranslated node use the node name in
1374 English, then you do not have to define such an @qq{empty} node, and the
1375 cross-reference text will appear in English in the output. The choice
1376 between these two strategies implies its particular maintenance
1377 requirements and is left to the translators, although the opinion of the
1378 Translation meister leans towards not translating these
1381 Please think of the fact that it may not make sense translating
1382 everything in some Texinfo files, and you may take distance from the
1383 original text; for instance, in the translation of the web site section
1384 Community, you may take this into account depending on what you know the
1385 community in your language is willing to support, which is possible only
1386 if you personnally assume this support, or there exists a public forum
1387 or mailing list listed in Community for LilyPond in your language:
1390 @item @rweb{Bug reports}: this page should be translated only if you
1391 know that every bug report sent on your language's mailing list or forum
1392 will be handled by someone who will translate it to English and send it
1393 on bug-lilypond or add an issue in the tracker, then translate back the
1394 reply from developers.
1396 @item @rweb{Help us}: this page should be translated very freely,
1397 and possibly not at all: ask help for contributing to LilyPond for tasks
1398 that LilyPond community in your language is able and going to handle.
1402 In any case, please mark in your work the sections which do not result
1403 from the direct translation of a piece of English translation, using
1404 comments i.e. lines starting with @q{@code{@@c}}.
1406 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1407 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1408 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1410 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1411 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1412 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1413 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1414 through the Free Translation Project.
1417 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1418 @file{macros.itexi}.
1420 If you wonder whether a word, phrase or larger piece of text should be
1421 translated, whether it is an argument of a Texinfo command or a small
1422 piece sandwiched between two Texinfo commands, try to track whether and
1423 where it appears in PDF and/or HTML output as visible text. This piece
1424 of advice is especially useful for translating @file{macros.itexi}.
1426 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1427 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1428 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1429 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1430 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1431 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1432 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1439 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1440 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1441 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1446 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1450 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1451 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1452 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1453 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1454 Additionnally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1455 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1456 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1457 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1458 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1462 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1464 Spanish translation blah
1469 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1470 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1471 and editing snippets}.
1473 @code{@@example} blocks need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1474 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1476 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1477 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1478 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1479 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1480 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1484 @node Adding a Texinfo manual
1485 @unnumberedsubsubsec Adding a Texinfo manual
1487 In order to start translating a new manual whose basename is @var{FOO},
1491 cd Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}
1492 cp ../@var{FOO}.tely .
1494 cp web/GNUmakefile @var{FOO}
1498 then append @var{FOO} to variable @code{SUBDIRS} in
1499 Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/GNUmakefile, then translate file
1500 @var{MY-LANGUAGE}/@var{FOO}.tely and run @code{skeleton-update}:
1504 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} TEXI_LANGUTIL_FLAGS=--head-only skeleton-update
1508 Your are now ready to translate the new manual exactly like the web site
1509 or the Learning Manual.
1512 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1513 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1515 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1516 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1517 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1519 You should use them whenever you would like to update the translation in
1520 your language, which you may do at the frequency that fits your and your
1521 cotranslators' respective available times. In the case your translation
1522 is up-do-date (which you can discover in the first subsection below), it
1523 is enough to check its state every one or two weeks. If you feel
1524 overwhelmed by the quantity of documentation to be updated, see
1525 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1528 * Check state of translation::
1529 * Updating documentation translation::
1530 * Updating translation committishes::
1533 @macro seeCommittishesUpdate{}
1534 @warning{do not forget to update the committish in each file you have
1535 completely updated, see @ref{Updating translation committishes}.}
1538 @node Check state of translation
1539 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1541 First pull from Git -- see @ref{Pulling and rebasing}, but DO NOT rebase
1542 unless you are sure to master the translation state checking and
1543 updating system -- then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of the
1544 source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1545 Documentation}) and run
1548 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1552 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1553 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1554 @file{Documentation/} and run
1557 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1561 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1562 translation, you should specify both old and new file names, e.g.
1563 @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1565 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1568 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1571 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1572 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1575 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1578 You can see the diffs generated by the commands above as changes that
1579 you should make in your language to the existing translation, in order
1580 to make your translation up to date.
1582 @seeCommittishesUpdate
1584 @warning{translation status generation is currently broken, so
1585 translation status pages have been removed; it will be regenerated again
1586 as soon as possible, in Texinfo format.}
1588 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1589 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1590 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1591 @file{Documentation/}
1594 make translation-status
1597 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1598 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1599 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1602 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1605 @node Updating documentation translation
1606 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1608 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1609 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1610 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1611 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1614 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1618 or to update a single file
1621 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1624 For each file to be udpated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1625 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1626 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1627 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1629 @seeCommittishesUpdate
1631 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1632 containing only the first node of the original file in English can be
1633 updated automatically: whenever @command{make check-translation} shows
1634 that such files should be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1637 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1640 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1641 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1647 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1648 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1649 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1650 Translation meister runs this command.}
1652 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1653 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1654 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1655 @file{Documentation/}):
1658 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1661 This script overwrites music snippets in
1662 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1663 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1664 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1665 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1666 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1667 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1668 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1669 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1670 no sense in their context.
1672 When you have updated texidocs in
1673 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1674 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1675 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1677 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1678 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1681 make all-translations-update
1684 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1685 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1688 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1689 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1692 @node Updating translation committishes
1693 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating translation committishes
1695 At the beginning of each translated file except PO files, there is a
1696 committish which represents the revision of the sources which you have
1697 used to translate this file from the file in English.
1699 When you have pulled and updated a translation, it is very important to
1700 update this committish in the files you have completely updated (and
1701 only these); to do this, first commit possible changes to any
1702 documentation in English which you are sure to have done in your
1703 translation as well, then replace in the up-to-date translated files the
1704 old committish by the committish of latest commit, which can be obtained
1708 git rev-list HEAD |head -1
1711 A special case is updating Snippet documentation strings in
1712 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}. For these to be
1713 correctly marked as up-to-date, first run @code{makelsr.py} as
1714 explained in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}, and commit the
1715 resulting compiled snippets left in @file{Documentation/snippets/}.
1716 Say the SHA1 ID code of this commit is <C>. Now edit again your
1717 translated files in @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}
1718 adjusting the 40-digit committish that appears in the text to be <C>;
1719 finally, commit these updated files. Not doing so would result in
1720 changes made both to your updates and original snippets to
1721 persistently appear in the check-translation output as if they were
1724 This two-phase mechanism avoids the (practically) unsolvable problem
1725 of guessing what committish will have our update, and pretending to
1726 put this very committish on the files in the same commit.
1728 @c http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-01/msg00245.html
1729 @c contains a helper script which could be used to perform massive
1730 @c committish updates.
1737 @node Translations management policies
1738 @subsection Translations management policies
1740 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1741 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1742 coordinators work efficiently.
1745 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1746 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1749 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1750 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1752 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
1753 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
1754 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
1755 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
1756 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
1759 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
1760 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
1761 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
1763 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1766 @item Update macros.itexi.
1767 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1768 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1769 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1770 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1771 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1772 no longer uses this macro.
1774 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1775 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1776 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1777 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1779 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1780 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1781 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1782 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1783 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
1784 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1785 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1786 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1787 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1788 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
1789 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
1790 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1792 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1795 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1796 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
1797 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1798 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1799 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
1800 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1802 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1803 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1804 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1807 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1809 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1810 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1814 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
1817 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1818 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
1819 updated all the rest of the file.
1821 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1822 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1823 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1824 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1825 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1826 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1827 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1830 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1831 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1832 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1833 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1834 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1835 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1838 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1840 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1842 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1843 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1844 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1846 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1849 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1853 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1854 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1855 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1856 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1857 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1858 existing page of documentation in English.
1861 @subsubheading Rationale
1863 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1864 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1865 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1868 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1869 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1870 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1871 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1872 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1873 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1876 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1877 organization, which is better than the old one.
1879 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1880 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1881 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1882 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1884 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1885 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1886 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1887 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1888 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1889 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1890 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1895 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1896 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1898 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1899 translations to Git.
1902 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1903 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1904 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1905 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1906 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1907 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1908 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1910 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1911 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1912 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1914 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1915 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1916 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1917 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1918 documentation in English in master branch.
1920 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1921 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1922 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1923 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1924 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1925 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1926 without updating translations}.
1930 @node Technical background
1931 @subsection Technical background
1933 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1934 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1935 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1938 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1939 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1940 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1941 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1942 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1944 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1945 counts in the file you are reading,
1946 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1947 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1948 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1951 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1954 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1955 and documentation in other languages.
1958 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1959 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1961 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1962 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1963 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1964 of a shell command, use Git),
1965 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1966 tweak links in HTML pages.
1971 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module