1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
6 * Introduction to documentation work::
7 * Documentation suggestions::
8 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
9 * Documentation policy::
10 * Tips for writing docs::
11 * Updating docs with convert-ly::
12 * Translating the documentation::
16 @node Introduction to documentation work
17 @section Introduction to documentation work
19 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
20 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
21 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
22 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
23 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
24 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
25 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
26 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
27 likely to miss that information.
29 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
30 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
31 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
32 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
33 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
34 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
35 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
36 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
37 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
38 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
39 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
40 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
41 plagued with inconsistent information.
43 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
44 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
45 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
46 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
47 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
49 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
50 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
51 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
52 limited documentation help.
55 @node Documentation suggestions
56 @section Documentation suggestions
58 @subheading Small additions
60 For additions to the documentation,
65 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
66 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
69 Please write exact changes to the text.
72 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
73 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
74 perfect documentation report:
77 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
78 From: helpful-user@example.net
81 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
82 like..."), please add:
85 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
88 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
89 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
94 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
95 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
96 often...") and replace it with this:
98 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
108 @subheading Larger contributions
110 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
111 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
112 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
117 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
118 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
121 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
122 compare the new and old documentation.
125 Please prepare a formal git patch.
129 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
130 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
131 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
134 > I'm not top posting.
136 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
139 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
140 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
141 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
142 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
145 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
146 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
149 * Texinfo introduction::
150 * Documentation files::
151 * Sectioning commands::
152 * LilyPond formatting::
155 * Other text concerns::
159 @node Texinfo introduction
160 @subsection Texinfo introduction
162 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
164 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
166 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
167 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
168 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
169 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
171 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
172 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
173 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
176 @node Documentation files
177 @subsection Documentation files
179 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
181 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
182 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
183 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
184 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
185 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
186 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
187 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
188 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
189 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
190 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
192 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
193 only one: the Contributors' Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
196 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
197 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
198 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
201 @node Sectioning commands
202 @subsection Sectioning commands
204 Most of the manual operates at the
212 level. Sections are created with
221 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
222 easier to find sections in texinfo.
225 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
226 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
231 Nodes must be included inside a
241 construct. These are easily constructed with the emacs
242 @code{M-x texinfo-all-menus-update} construct, or by this
247 emacs $1 -batch -f texinfo-all-menus-update -f save-buffer
251 (save the above as something like @command{texinfo-menus.sh}, make
252 it executable, then run @command{texinfo-menus.sh foo.itely})
255 @node LilyPond formatting
256 @subsection LilyPond formatting
261 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
265 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
266 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
267 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
268 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
271 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
274 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
277 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
281 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
284 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
285 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
286 own line if possible. Bad:
289 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
295 \override textscript #'padding = #3
300 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
303 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
310 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
313 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
316 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
319 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
322 Inspirational headwords are produced with
325 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
326 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
330 LSR snippets are linked with
333 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
338 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
341 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
342 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
343 example does not need to be minimal, however)
346 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
349 If possible, end with a complete bar.
352 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
353 the line(s) to which they refer.
356 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
359 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
360 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
364 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
365 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
369 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
370 easier/faster processing), use this header:
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. (I personally
399 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
406 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
407 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
408 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
409 verbatim without removing those spaces.
412 Use two spaces after a period.
415 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
419 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
420 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
421 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
422 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
425 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
426 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
427 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
430 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
434 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
435 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
436 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
437 indentation. For example, this
448 should be replaced with
459 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
462 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
465 Beginning of logical unit
469 continuation of logical unit
476 Beginning of logical unit
483 continuation of logical unit
486 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
487 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
488 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
492 in @@itemize use @@item
493 on a separate line like this:
504 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
507 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
508 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
509 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
510 space, tere will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
518 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
525 @subsection Syntax survey
529 @@c - single line comments
530 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
531 version. (gp only command ;)
533 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
536 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
537 capitalize the first word.
539 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
542 @@example ... @@end ignore - example text that should be set as a
543 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
547 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
548 Do not compress vertically like this.
551 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
552 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
553 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
555 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
556 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
557 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
560 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
562 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
563 introducing special input modes.
566 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
567 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
568 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
569 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
572 @@var - Use for variables.
574 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
577 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
578 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
579 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
582 @@ref@{@} - normal references (type the exact node name inside the
585 @@ruser@{@} - link to the NR.
587 @@rlearning@{@} - link to the LM.
589 @@rglos@{@} - link to the MG.
591 @@rprogram@{@} - link to the AU.
593 @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section.
595 @@rinternals@{@} - link to the IR.
597 @@uref@{@} - link to an external url.
603 @node Other text concerns
604 @subsection Other text concerns
609 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
610 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
611 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
612 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
613 @@seealso section at the bottom.
616 Introducing examples must be done with
619 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
620 : (ie `in this example:')
621 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
624 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
628 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
639 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
641 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
644 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
649 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
650 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
651 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
658 @node Documentation policy
659 @section Documentation policy
663 * Section organization::
664 * Checking cross-references::
666 * Technical writing style::
672 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
673 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
681 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
682 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
683 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
684 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
685 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
686 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
687 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
688 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
689 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
690 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
691 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
692 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
693 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
694 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
695 explained before it is used.
697 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
702 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
703 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
704 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
705 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
706 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
707 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
708 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
709 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
712 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
713 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
714 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
715 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
716 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
717 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
718 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
719 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
721 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
722 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
723 text, but ask about this first.
725 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
726 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
730 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
731 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
732 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
735 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
739 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
740 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
742 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
745 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
746 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
751 @node Section organization
752 @subsection Section organization
757 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
770 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
774 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
783 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
793 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
795 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
798 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
799 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
803 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
807 Always end with a period.
810 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
811 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
814 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
817 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
818 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
821 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
822 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
827 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
831 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
835 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
836 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
837 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
838 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
843 @node Checking cross-references
844 @subsection Checking cross-references
846 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
847 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
848 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
849 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
850 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
851 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
852 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
853 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
854 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
855 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
858 @node General writing
859 @subsection General writing
864 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
865 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
868 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
873 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
874 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
877 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
879 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
882 @@cindex time signature
886 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
887 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
889 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
892 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
894 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
903 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
904 property names use this spelling.
907 List of specific terms:
911 simultaneous NOT concurrent
912 measure: the unit of music
913 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
914 note head NOT notehead
915 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
923 @node Technical writing style
924 @subsection Technical writing style
926 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
932 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
933 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
936 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
937 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
940 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
941 besides the reader and the writer.
944 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
947 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
948 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
951 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
955 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
956 Say @q{invalid} instead.
961 @node Tips for writing docs
962 @section Tips for writing docs
964 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
965 time. For each subsection,
970 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
971 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
974 add any appropriate index entries.
977 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
978 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
979 concern. Check for potential additions.
982 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
983 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
986 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
987 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
988 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
991 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
994 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
995 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
996 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
997 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1001 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1002 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1003 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1004 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1005 harder than it looks.
1008 @subsubheading Tweaks
1010 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1011 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1012 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
1013 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1014 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1015 good example of this.
1018 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1021 On the other side of this,
1024 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1027 clearly belongs in LSR.
1029 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1030 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1031 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1032 possible into there.
1035 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1036 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1037 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1038 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1041 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1042 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1043 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1048 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1051 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
1052 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1054 cd into @file{Documentation/} and run
1057 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1061 This also updates translated documentation.
1065 @node Translating the documentation
1066 @section Translating the documentation
1068 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1069 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1070 get support from the Translations Meister and experimented translators,
1071 and we regularly discuss translations issues common to all languagues.
1072 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1073 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1074 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1075 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body.
1078 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1079 * Documentation translation details::
1080 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1081 * Translations management policies::
1082 * Technical background::
1085 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1086 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1088 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
1089 translations source code}.
1092 * Translation requirements::
1093 * Which documentation can be translated::
1094 * Starting translation in a new language::
1097 @node Translation requirements
1098 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1100 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1101 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1104 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1110 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1111 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1112 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1113 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1114 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1117 @node Which documentation can be translated
1118 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1120 FIXME: take into account the new web site integration in main sources.
1122 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1123 of the following documentation:
1126 @item documentation index (HTML);
1127 @item the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1128 -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output might be added if
1129 there is enough demand for it;
1130 @item the Changes document.
1133 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1134 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1137 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1138 predefined music functions;
1139 @item the Snippets List;
1140 @item the Internals Reference.
1144 @node Starting translation in a new language
1145 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1147 At top of the source directory, do
1154 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1157 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1161 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1162 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1163 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1164 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1166 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1169 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1173 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1175 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1176 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1178 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1179 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1180 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1184 @node Documentation translation details
1185 @subsection Documentation translation details
1187 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1189 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1192 * Files to be translated::
1193 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1194 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1195 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1198 @node Files to be translated
1199 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1201 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1203 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1204 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1210 @b{Note:} node names and section titles are now translated directly in
1211 Texinfo source files. In case you have files in your working tree that
1212 have not been converted, please pull first, then run
1215 make -C Documentation/po doc
1216 export LYDOC_LOCALEDIR=Documentation/po/out-www
1217 export PYTHONPATH=python:python/auxiliar
1218 scripts/auxiliar/tely-gettext.py @var{manual.tely}
1222 This will also update files included in @file{@var{manual}.tely}, and of
1223 course this script can be used for individual @file{@var{foo}.itely}
1227 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1228 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1231 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1232 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1233 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1237 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1241 should be translated as
1244 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1245 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1246 @@translationof Foo bar
1249 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1250 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1251 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1253 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1254 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1255 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1256 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1257 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1258 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1259 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1260 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1261 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1262 contains @code{@@untranslated} and append @code{ @@c external} to the
1263 line that contains @code{@@translationof}. That is, you should end up
1264 for each untranslated node with something like
1267 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1268 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1269 @@translationof Foo bar @@c external
1275 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1276 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1277 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1279 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1280 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1281 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1282 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1283 through the Free Translation Project.
1286 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1287 @file{macros.itexi}.
1290 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1291 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1292 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1293 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1294 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1295 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1296 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1303 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1304 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1305 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1310 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1314 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1315 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1316 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1317 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1318 Additionnally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1319 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1320 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1321 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1322 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1326 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1328 Spanish translation blah
1333 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1334 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1335 and editing snippets}.
1337 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1338 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1340 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1341 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1342 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1343 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1344 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1348 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1349 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1351 Copy @file{notation.tely} (or @file{application.tely},
1352 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}}, then translate this
1353 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1354 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1355 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1358 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1359 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1361 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1362 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1363 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1366 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1367 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1369 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1370 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1371 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1374 * Check state of translation::
1375 * Updating documentation translation::
1378 @node Check state of translation
1379 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1381 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1382 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1383 Documentation}) and run
1386 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1390 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1391 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1392 @file{Documentation/} and run
1395 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1399 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1400 translation, you should specify both old and new file names,
1401 e.g. @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1403 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1406 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1409 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1410 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1413 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1416 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1417 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1418 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1419 @file{Documentation/}
1422 make translation-status
1425 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1426 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1427 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1431 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1434 @node Updating documentation translation
1435 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1437 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1438 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1439 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1440 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1443 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1447 or to update a single file
1450 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1453 For each file to be udpated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1454 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1455 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1456 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1458 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1459 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1460 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1461 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1464 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1467 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1468 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1474 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1475 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1476 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1477 Translation meister runs this command.}
1479 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1480 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1481 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1482 @file{Documentation/}):
1485 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1488 This script overwrites music snippets in
1489 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1490 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1491 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1492 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1493 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1494 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1495 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1496 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1497 no sense in their context.
1499 When you have updated texidocs in
1500 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1501 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1502 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1504 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1505 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1508 make all-translations-update
1511 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1512 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1516 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1517 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1520 @node Translations management policies
1521 @subsection Translations management policies
1523 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1524 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1525 coordinators work efficiently.
1528 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1529 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1532 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1533 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1535 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
1536 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
1537 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
1538 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
1539 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
1542 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
1543 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
1544 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
1546 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1549 @item Update macros.itexi.
1550 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1551 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1552 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1553 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1554 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1555 no longer uses this macro.
1557 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1558 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1559 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1560 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1562 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1563 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1564 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1565 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1566 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
1567 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1568 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1569 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1570 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1571 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
1572 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
1573 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1575 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1578 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1579 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
1580 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1581 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1582 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
1583 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1585 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1586 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1587 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1590 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1592 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1593 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1597 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
1600 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1601 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
1602 updated all the rest of the file.
1604 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1605 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1606 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1607 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1608 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1609 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1610 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1613 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1614 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1615 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1616 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1617 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1618 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1621 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1623 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1625 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1626 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1627 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1629 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1632 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1636 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1637 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1638 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1639 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1640 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1641 existing page of documentation in English.
1644 @subsubheading Rationale
1646 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1647 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1648 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1651 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1652 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1653 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1654 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1655 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1656 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1659 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1660 organization, which is better than the old one.
1662 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1663 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1664 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1665 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1667 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1668 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1669 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1670 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1671 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1672 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1673 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1678 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1679 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1681 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1682 translations to Git.
1685 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1686 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1687 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1688 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1689 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1690 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1691 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1693 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1694 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1695 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1697 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1698 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1699 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1700 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1701 documentation in English in master branch.
1703 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1704 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1705 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1706 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1707 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1708 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1709 without updating translations}.
1713 @node Technical background
1714 @subsection Technical background
1716 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1717 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1718 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1721 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1722 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1723 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1724 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1725 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1727 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1728 counts in the file you are reading,
1729 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1730 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1731 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1734 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1737 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1738 and documentation in other languages.
1741 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1742 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1744 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1745 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1746 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1747 of a shell command, use Git),
1748 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1749 tweak links in HTML pages.
1754 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module