1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
5 There are currently 11 manuals for LilyPond, not including the
6 translations. Each book is available in HTML, PDF, and info. The
7 documentation is written in a language called @code{texinfo} --
8 this allows us to generate different output formats from a single
11 To organize multiple authors working on the documentation, we use a
12 Version Control System (VCS) called git, previously discussed in
13 @ref{Starting with Git}.
16 * Introduction to documentation work::
17 * Documentation suggestions::
18 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
19 * Documentation policy::
20 * Tips for writing docs::
21 * Scripts to ease doc work::
22 * Docstrings in scheme::
23 * Translating the documentation::
27 @node Introduction to documentation work
28 @section Introduction to documentation work
30 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
31 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
32 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
33 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
34 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
35 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
36 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
37 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
38 likely to miss that information.
40 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
41 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
42 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
43 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
44 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
45 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
46 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
47 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
48 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
49 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
50 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
51 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
52 plagued with inconsistent information.
54 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
55 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
56 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
57 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
58 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
60 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
61 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
62 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
63 limited documentation help.
65 Before undertaking any large documentation work, contributors are
66 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Documentation Meister}.
69 @node Documentation suggestions
70 @section Documentation suggestions
72 @subheading Small additions
74 For additions to the documentation,
79 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
80 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
83 Please write exact changes to the text.
86 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
87 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
88 perfect documentation report:
91 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
92 From: helpful-user@example.net
95 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
96 like..."), please add:
99 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
102 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
103 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
108 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
109 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
110 often...") and replace it with this:
112 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
122 @subheading Larger contributions
124 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
125 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
126 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
131 Ask on the lilypond-devel mailing list if such a rewrite is necessary;
132 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
135 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
136 compare the new and old documentation.
139 Please prepare a formal git patch.
143 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
144 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
145 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailing list; to avoid
148 > I'm not top posting.
150 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
153 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
154 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
155 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
156 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
159 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
160 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
163 * Texinfo introduction::
164 * Documentation files::
165 * Sectioning commands::
166 * LilyPond formatting::
169 * Other text concerns::
173 @node Texinfo introduction
174 @subsection Texinfo introduction
176 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
178 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
180 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
181 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
182 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
183 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
185 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
186 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
187 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
190 @node Documentation files
191 @subsection Documentation files
193 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
195 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
196 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
197 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
198 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
199 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
200 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
201 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
202 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
203 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
204 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
206 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
207 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
210 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
211 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
212 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
215 @node Sectioning commands
216 @subsection Sectioning commands
218 Most of the manual operates at the
226 level. Sections are created with
235 Please leave two blank lines above a @code{@@node}; this makes it
236 easier to find sections in texinfo.
239 Do not use any @code{@@} commands for a @code{@@node}. They may be
240 used for any @code{@@sub...} sections or headings however.
244 @@node @@code@{Foo@} Bar
245 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
249 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
253 If a heading is desired without creating a @code{@@node}, please use
261 Sectioning commands (@code{@@node} and @code{@@section}) must not appear
262 inside an @code{@@ignore}. Separate those commands with a space, ie
263 @code{@@n}@tie{}@code{ode}.
267 Nodes must be included inside a
277 construct. These are easily constructed with automatic tools; see
278 @ref{Scripts to ease doc work}.
281 @node LilyPond formatting
282 @subsection LilyPond formatting
287 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples (no tabs).
290 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
293 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
296 LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
297 convention to follow.
300 All context or layout object strings should be prefaced with @code{#}.
301 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is helpful
302 to get users accustomed to this scheme construct, i.e. @code{\set
303 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
306 Try to avoid using @code{#'} or @code{#`} within when describing
307 context or layout properties outside of an @code{@@example} or @code{@@lilypond}, unless
308 the description explicitly requires it.
310 i.e. @qq{...setting the @code{transparent} property leaves the object where it
311 is, but makes it invisible.}
314 If possible, only write one bar per line.
317 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
318 must put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
322 Tweaks should, if possible, also occur on their own line.
324 not: \override TextScript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
325 but instead: \override TextScript #'padding = #3
330 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
333 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
340 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
343 Please avoid using extra spacing either after or within the
344 @code{@@lilypond} parameters.
347 not: @@lilypond [verbatim, quote, relative=1]
348 but instead: @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
351 If you want to use @code{\layout@{@}} or define variables, use
354 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
357 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
360 Inspirational headwords are produced with
363 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
364 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
368 LSR snippets are linked with
371 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
376 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
379 Avoid long stretches of input code. Nobody is going to read
380 them in print. Create small examples. However, this does not mean
384 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
387 If possible, end with a complete bar.
390 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
391 the line(s) to which they refer.
394 For clarity, always use @{ @} marks even if they are not technically
400 \context Voice \repeat unfold 2 \relative c' @{
416 Add a space around @{ @} marks; i.e.
419 not: \chordmode@{c e g@}
420 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
424 Use @{ @} marks for additional @code{\markup} format commands; i.e.
427 not: c^\markup \tiny\sharp
428 but instead: c^\markup @{ \tiny \sharp @}
432 Remove any space around @code{<} @code{>} marks; i.e.
436 but instead: <c e g>4
440 Beam, slur and tie marks should begin immediately after the first
441 note with beam and phrase marks ending immediately after the last.
444 a8\( ais16[ b cis( d] b) cis4~ b' cis,\)
448 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
449 easier/faster processing), use this header:
454 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
456 force-assignment = #""
457 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
464 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
465 example demonstrating special @code{\paper@{@}} values, contact the
466 Documentation Editor.
471 @node Text formatting
472 @subsection Text formatting
476 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (We personally
477 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but do not bother modifying
478 existing material). Also see the recommendations for fixed-width
479 fonts in the @ref{Syntax survey}.
485 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
486 @code{@@example} or @code{@@verbatim} environments), and do not
487 use more than a single space between words. @q{makeinfo} copies
488 the input lines verbatim without removing those spaces.
491 Use two spaces after a period.
494 In examples of syntax, use @code{@@var@{@var{musicexpr}@}} for a
498 Don't use @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in the main text. If you're
499 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to @qq{talking
500 through the code}. If you really want to refer to a context, use
501 @code{@@code@{@}} in the main text and @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in
502 the @code{@@seealso}.
507 @subsection Syntax survey
517 * Special characters::
523 @unnumberedsubsubsec Comments
527 @code{@@c @dots{}} --- single line comment. @samp{@@c NOTE:} is a
528 comment which should remain in the final version. (gp only
532 @code{@@ignore} --- multi-line comment:
542 @node Cross references
543 @unnumberedsubsubsec Cross references
545 Enter the exact @code{@@node} name of the target reference between
546 the brackets (eg.@tie{}@w{@samp{@@ref@{Syntax survey@}}}). Do not
547 split a cross-reference across two lines -- this causes the
548 cross-reference to be rendered incorrectly in html documents.
552 @code{@@ref@{@dots{}@}} --- link within current manual.
555 @code{@@rchanges@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Changes.
558 @code{@@rcontrib@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Contributor's Guide.
561 @code{@@ressay@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Engraving Essay.
564 @code{@@rextend@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Extending LilyPond.
567 @code{@@rglos@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Music Glossary.
570 @code{@@rinternals@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Internals Reference.
573 @code{@@rlearning@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Learning Manual.
576 @code{@@rlsr@{@dots{}@}} --- link to a Snippet section.
579 @code{@@rprogram@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Application Usage.
582 @code{@@ruser@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Notation Reference.
585 @code{@@rweb@{@dots{}@}} --- link to General Information.
590 @unnumberedsubsubsec External links
594 @code{@@email@{@dots{}@}} --- create a @code{mailto:} E-mail link.
597 @code{@@uref@{@var{URL}[, @var{link text}]@}} --- link to an
598 external url. Use within an @code{@@example ... @@end example}.
602 @@uref@{URL [, link text ]@}
608 @node Fixed-width font
609 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fixed-width font
613 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} ---
615 Use the @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} command when referring to
616 individual language-specific tokens (keywords, commands,
617 engravers, scheme symbols, etc.) in the text. Ideally, a single
618 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} block should fit within one line in the
621 Use the @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} command when you have a short
622 example of user input, unless it constitutes an entire
623 @code{@@item} by itself, in which case @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} is
624 preferable. Otherwise, both should only be used when part of a
625 larger sentence within a paragraph or @code{@@item}. Do not use
626 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} inside an
627 @code{@@example} block, and do not use either as a free-standing
628 paragraph; use @code{@@example} instead.
630 A single unindented line in the PDF has space for about 79
631 fixed-width characters (76 if indented). Within an @code{@@item}
632 there is space for about 75 fixed-width characters. Each
633 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
634 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
636 However, even short blocks of @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} and
637 @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} can run into the margin if the Texinfo
638 line-breaking algorithm gets confused. Additionally, blocks that
639 are longer than this may in fact print nicely; it all depends
640 where the line breaks end up. If you compile the docs yourself,
641 check the PDF output to make sure the line breaks are
644 The Texinfo setting @code{@@allowcodebreaks} is set to
645 @code{false} in the manuals, so lines within
646 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} blocks will
647 only break at spaces, not at hyphens or underscores. If the block
648 contains spaces, use @code{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}} or
649 @code{@@w@{@@samp@{@dots{}@}@}} to prevent unexpected line breaks.
651 The Texinfo settings @code{txicodequoteundirected} and
652 @code{txicodequotebacktick} are both set in the manuals, so
653 backticks (@code{`}) and apostrophes (@code{'}) placed within
654 blocks of @code{@@code}, @code{@@example}, or @code{@@verbatim}
655 are not converted to left- and right-angled quotes
656 (@code{@quoteleft{} @quoteright{}}) as they normally are within
657 the text, so the apostrophes in
658 @q{@w{@code{@@w@{@@code@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}}} will display
659 correctly. However, these settings do not affect the PDF output
660 for anything within a @code{@@samp} block (even if it includes a
661 nested @code{@@code} block), so entering
662 @q{@code{@@w@{@@samp@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}} wrongly produces
663 @q{@w{@code{@bs{}relative c@quoteright{}@quoteright{}}}} in PDF.
664 Consequently, if you want to use a @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} block
665 which contains backticks or apostrophes, you should instead use
666 @q{@code{@@q@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}}} (or
667 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}@}}} if the block also
668 contains spaces). Note that backslashes within
669 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} blocks must be entered as @samp{@@bs@{@}},
670 so the example above would be coded as
671 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@@bs@{@}relative c''@}@}@}}}.
674 @code{@@command@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
675 commands within the text (eg. @samp{@@command@{convert-ly@}}). Do
676 not use inside an @code{@@example} block.
679 @code{@@example} --- Use for examples of program code. Do not add
680 extraneous indentation (i.e. don't start every line with
681 whitespace). Use the following layout (notice the use of blank
682 lines). Omit the @code{@@noindent} if the text following the
683 example starts a new paragraph:
686 @var{@dots{}text leading into the example@dots{}}
693 @var{continuation of the text@dots{}}
696 Individual lines within an @code{@@example} block should not
697 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
698 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@example} block
699 is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
700 @code{@@example} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
701 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
702 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
704 For long command line examples, if possible, use a trailing
705 backslash to break up a single line, indenting the next line with
706 2 spaces. If this isn't feasible, use @samp{@@smallexample
707 @dots{} @@end@tie{}smallexample} instead, which uses a smaller
708 fontsize. Use @code{@@example} whenever possible, but if needed,
709 @code{@@smallexample} can fit up to 90 characters per line before
710 running into the PDF margin. Each additional level of
711 @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate} shortens a
712 @code{@@smallexample} line by about 5 columns.
715 @code{@@file@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to filenames and
716 directories in the text. Do not use inside an @code{@@example}
720 @code{@@option@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
721 options in the text (eg. @samp{@@option@{--format@}}). Do not use
722 inside an @code{@@example} block.
725 @code{@@verbatim} --- Prints the block exactly as it appears in
726 the source file (including whitespace, etc.). For program code
727 examples, use @code{@@example} instead. @code{@@verbatim} uses
728 the same format as @code{@@example}.
730 Individual lines within an @code{@@verbatim} block should not
731 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
732 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@verbatim}
733 block is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
734 @code{@@verbatim} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
735 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
736 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
741 @unnumberedsubsubsec Indexing
745 @code{@@cindex @dots{}} --- General index. Please add as many as you can.
746 Don't capitalize the first word.
749 @code{@@funindex @dots{}} --- is for a \lilycommand.
754 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lists
758 @code{@@enumerate} --- Create an ordered list (with numbers).
759 Always put @samp{@@item} on its own line. As an exception, if all
760 the items in the list are short enough to fit on single lines, placing
761 them on the @samp{@@item} lines is also permissible. @samp{@@item}
762 and @samp{@@end@tie{}enumerate} should always be preceded by a blank
769 A long multi-line item like this one must begin
770 on a line of its own and all the other items in
771 the list must do so too.
790 @code{@@itemize} --- Create an unordered list (with bullets). Use
791 the same format as @code{@@enumerate}. Do not use
792 @samp{@@itemize@tie{}@@bullet}.
796 @node Special characters
797 @unnumberedsubsubsec Special characters
801 @code{--}, @code{---} --- Create an en dash (--) or an em dash
802 (---) in the text. To print two or three literal hyphens in a
803 row, wrap one of them in a @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} (eg.
807 @code{@@@@}, @code{@@@{}, @code{@@@}} --- Create an at-sign (@@),
808 a left curly bracket (@{), or a right curly bracket (@}).
811 @code{@@bs@{@}} --- Create a backslash within a
812 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}}, or
813 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} block. This is a custom LilyPond
814 macro, not a builtin @@-command in Texinfo. Texinfo would also
815 allow @samp{\\}, but this breaks the PDF output.
818 @code{@@tie@{@}} --- Create a @emph{variable-width} non-breaking
819 space in the text (use @w{@samp{@@w@{ @}}} for a single
820 @emph{fixed-width} non-breaking space). Variables or numbers
821 which consist of a single character (probably followed by a
822 punctuation mark) should be tied properly, either to the previous
823 or the next word. Example: @samp{The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is
829 @unnumberedsubsubsec Miscellany
833 @code{@@notation@{@dots{}@}} --- refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
834 @samp{@@notation@{clef@}}. Also use for specific lyrics
835 (@samp{the @@notation@{A@tie{}-@tie{}men@} is centered}).
836 Only use once per subsection per term.
839 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} --- Single quotes. Used for
840 @quoteleft{}vague@quoteright{} terms. To get a backslash
841 (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
844 @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}} --- Double quotes. Used for actual quotes
845 (@qq{he said}) or for introducing special input modes. To get a
846 backslash (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
849 @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} --- Use for metasyntactic variables (such
850 as @code{@var{foo}}, @code{@var{bar}}, @code{@var{arg1}}, etc.).
851 In most cases, when the @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} command appears in
852 the text (and not in an @code{@@example} block) it should be
853 wrapped with an appropriate texinfo code-highlighting command
854 (such as @code{@@code}, @code{@@samp}, @code{@@file},
855 @code{@@command}, etc.). For example:
856 @samp{@@code@{@@var@{foo@}@}},
857 @samp{@@file@{@@var@{myfile.ly@}@}},
858 @w{@samp{@@samp@{git checkout @@var@{branch@}@}}}, etc. This
859 improves readability in the PDF and HTML output.
862 @code{@@version@{@}} --- Return the current LilyPond version
863 string. Use @samp{@@w@{@@version@{@}@}} if it's at the end of a
864 line (to prevent an ugly line break in PDF); use
865 @samp{@@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}} if you need it in quotes.
868 @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} --- Do not allow any line breaks.
871 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} --- produces a @qq{Note:@tie{}} box.
872 Use for important messages. To get a backslash (\), you must use
877 @node Other text concerns
878 @subsection Other text concerns
882 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
884 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/,texinfo
885 manual}. Ideally this should also be the final sentence of a
886 paragraph, but this is not required. Any link in a doc section
887 must be duplicated in the @code{@@seealso} section at the bottom.
890 Introducing examples must be done with
893 . (i.e. finish the previous sentence/paragraph)
894 : (i.e. `in this example:')
895 , (i.e. `may add foo with the blah construct,')
898 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
902 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
912 When beginning a quote: @qq{So, he said,...}.
914 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
917 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
921 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
922 this is, don't say @samp{Ba@@ss@{@}tuba} but @samp{Baßtuba}. This
923 ensures that all such characters appear in all output formats.
927 @node Documentation policy
928 @section Documentation policy
932 * Section organization::
933 * Checking cross-references::
935 * Technical writing style::
941 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
942 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
950 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
951 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
952 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
953 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
954 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
955 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
956 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
957 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
958 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
959 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
960 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
961 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
962 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
963 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
964 explained before it is used.
966 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
971 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
972 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
973 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
974 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
975 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
976 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
977 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
978 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
981 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
982 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
983 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
984 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
985 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
986 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
987 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
988 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
990 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
991 @file{.itely} file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
992 text, but ask about this first.
994 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
995 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
999 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
1000 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
1001 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
1004 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1008 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
1009 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
1011 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1014 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
1015 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
1020 @node Section organization
1021 @subsection Section organization
1026 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
1039 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
1043 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
1052 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
1061 Essay on automated music engraving:
1068 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
1070 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
1072 Internals Reference:
1073 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
1074 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
1078 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
1082 Always end with a period.
1085 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
1086 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
1089 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
1092 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
1093 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
1096 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
1097 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
1102 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
1106 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in
1110 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (i.e. 1.1
1111 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
1112 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
1113 (i.e. 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
1116 The @@knownissues should not discuss any issues that are in the
1117 tracker, unless the issue is Priority-Postponed. The goal is to
1118 discuss any overall architecture or syntax decisions which may be
1119 interpreted as bugs. Normal bugs should not be discussed here,
1120 because we have so many bugs that it would be a huge task to keep
1121 the @@knownissues current and accurate all the time.
1126 @node Checking cross-references
1127 @subsection Checking cross-references
1129 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
1130 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
1131 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
1132 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
1133 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
1134 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and run:
1141 Note that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
1142 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
1143 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
1145 @c temporary? how long will kainhofer be used? -gp
1146 Also of interest may be the linkdoc checks on kainhofer.com. Be
1147 warned that these docs are not completely rebuilt every day, so it
1148 might not accurately reflect the current state of the docs.
1151 @uref{http://kainhofer.com/~lilypond/linkdoc/}
1155 @node General writing
1156 @subsection General writing
1161 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
1162 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
1165 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
1166 @@funindex \relative
1170 Do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
1171 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
1172 index. Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
1175 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, i.e.
1178 @@cindex time signature
1182 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}. Only use capital
1183 letters for musical terms which demand them, e.g.
1187 For scheme function index entries, only include the final part, i.e.
1190 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
1192 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
1196 Use American spelling. LilyPond's internal property
1197 names use this convention.
1200 Here is a list of preferred terms to be used:
1204 @emph{Simultaneous} NOT concurrent.
1207 @emph{Measure}: the unit of music.
1210 @emph{Bar line}: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline.
1213 @emph{Note head} NOT notehead.
1216 @emph{Chord construct} NOT just chord (when referring to < ... >)
1219 @emph{Staff} NOT stave.
1222 @emph{Staves} NOT Staffs:
1224 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@}s}
1225 should be rephrased to
1226 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@} contexts}.
1234 @node Technical writing style
1235 @subsection Technical writing style
1237 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
1243 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
1244 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
1247 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
1248 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
1251 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
1252 besides the reader and the writer.
1255 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
1258 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
1259 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
1262 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
1266 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
1267 Say @q{invalid} instead.
1272 @node Tips for writing docs
1273 @section Tips for writing docs
1275 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
1276 time. For each subsection,
1281 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1282 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1285 add any appropriate index entries.
1288 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1289 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1290 concern. Check for potential additions.
1293 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1294 material from the @file{.itely} file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1297 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1298 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1299 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1302 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1305 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1306 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1307 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1308 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1312 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1313 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1314 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1315 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1316 harder than it looks.
1319 @subsubheading Tweaks
1321 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1322 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1323 LSR and not the @file{.itely} file. For some cases, the command
1324 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1325 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1326 good example of this.
1329 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1332 On the other side of this,
1335 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1338 clearly belongs in LSR.
1340 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1341 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1342 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1343 possible into there.
1346 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1347 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1348 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1349 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1352 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1353 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1354 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1358 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1361 @node Scripts to ease doc work
1362 @section Scripts to ease doc work
1364 @subheading Building only one section of the documentation
1366 In order to save build time, a script is available to build only
1367 one section of the documentation in English with a default html
1370 The script is available as:
1373 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh
1376 This script will require customization for your site if your
1377 LilyPond git repository is anyplace but @code{$HOME/lilypond}.
1379 Assuming that no customization is required, you can setup the
1380 single section build with:
1383 mkdir $HOME/lilypond/tempdocs
1384 cp $HOME/lilypond/Documentation/out/version.itexi $HOME/lilypond/tempdocs
1387 You can then build a section of the documentation with:
1390 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh MANUAL SECTION
1394 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the section
1395 to be built, and @code{MANUAL} is replaced by the name of the directory
1396 containing the section. So, for example, to build section 1.1 of the
1397 Notation Reference, use the command:
1400 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh notation pitches
1403 This script will not work for building sections of the
1404 Contributors' guide. For building sections of the Contributors'
1408 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh SECTION
1412 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the sections
1413 to be built. For example, to build section 4 of the Contributors' guide,
1417 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh doc-work
1420 Like @code{doc-section.sh}, @code{cg-section.sh} may need to be customized
1421 for your installation.
1423 @subheading Stripping whitespace and generating menus
1425 @warning{This script assumes that the file conforms to our doc
1426 policy; a few files still need work in this regard.}
1428 To automatically regenerate @code{@@menu} portions and strip
1432 scripts/auxiliar/node-menuify.py @var{FILENAME}
1436 @subheading Stripping whitespace only
1438 @c TODO: should this be documented elsewhere? It's useful for
1439 @c more than just docs.
1440 To remove extra whitespace from the ends of lines, run
1443 scripts/auxiliar/strip-whitespace.py Documentation/FILENAME
1447 @subheading Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1449 Don't. This should be done by programmers when they add new
1450 features. If you notice that it hasn't been done, complain to
1451 @code{lilypond-devel}.
1454 @node Docstrings in scheme
1455 @section Docstrings in scheme
1457 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1458 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1459 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1460 in these docstrings.
1462 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1463 to work on them, please ask for help.
1466 @node Translating the documentation
1467 @section Translating the documentation
1469 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1470 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1471 get support from the Translations Meister and experienced translators,
1472 and we regularly discuss translation issues common to all languages.
1473 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1474 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1475 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1476 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body. Unless mentioned explicitly,
1477 or except if a translations coordinator contacts you privately, you
1478 should send questions, remarks and patches to the list
1479 @code{translations@@lilynet.net}. Please note that traffic is high
1480 on the English-speaking list @code{lilypond-user@@gnu.org}, so it may
1481 take some time before your request or contribution is handled.
1484 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1485 * Documentation translation details::
1486 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1487 * Translations management policies::
1488 * Technical background::
1491 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1492 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1494 First, get the sources of branch @code{lilypond/translation} from the
1495 Git repository, see @ref{Starting with Git}.
1498 * Translation requirements::
1499 * Which documentation can be translated::
1500 * Starting translation in a new language::
1503 @node Translation requirements
1504 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1506 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1507 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1510 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1516 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1517 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1518 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1519 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1520 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling}.
1522 Before undertaking any large translation work, contributors are
1523 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Translation Meister}.
1526 @node Which documentation can be translated
1527 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1529 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1530 of the following documentation:
1533 @item the web site, the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and
1534 Application Usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output
1535 might be added if there is enough demand for it;
1536 @item the Changes document.
1539 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1540 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1543 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1544 predefined music functions;
1545 @item the Snippets List;
1546 @item the Internals Reference.
1550 @node Starting translation in a new language
1551 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1553 At top of the source directory, do
1560 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1563 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1567 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1568 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1569 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1570 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1572 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1575 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1579 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1581 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1582 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1585 @node Documentation translation details
1586 @subsection Documentation translation details
1588 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1590 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1593 * Files to be translated::
1594 * Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation::
1595 * Adding a Texinfo manual::
1598 @node Files to be translated
1599 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1601 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1603 In addition, not listed above, Snippets' titles and descriptions
1604 should be translated; they are a part of the Notation Reference and
1605 therefore their priority is 5.
1607 @node Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1608 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1610 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1611 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1614 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1615 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1616 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1620 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1624 should be translated as
1627 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1628 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1629 @@translationof Foo bar
1632 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1633 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1634 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1636 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1637 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1638 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1639 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1640 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1641 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1642 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1643 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1644 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1645 contains @code{@@untranslated}. That is, you should end up
1646 for each untranslated node with something like
1649 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1650 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1651 @@translationof Foo bar
1656 @warning{you do not have to translate the node name of a cross-reference
1657 to a node that you do not have translated. If you do, you must define
1658 an @qq{empty} node like explained just above; this will produce a
1659 cross-reference with the translated node name in output, although the
1660 target node will still be in English. On the opposite, if all
1661 cross-references that refer to an untranslated node use the node name in
1662 English, then you do not have to define such an @qq{empty} node, and the
1663 cross-reference text will appear in English in the output. The choice
1664 between these two strategies implies its particular maintenance
1665 requirements and is left to the translators, although the opinion of the
1666 Translation meister leans towards not translating these
1669 Please think of the fact that it may not make sense translating
1670 everything in some Texinfo files, and you may take distance from the
1671 original text; for instance, in the translation of the web site section
1672 Community, you may take this into account depending on what you know the
1673 community in your language is willing to support, which is possible only
1674 if you personally assume this support, or there exists a public forum
1675 or mailing list listed in Community for LilyPond in your language:
1678 @item @rweb{Bug reports}: this page should be translated only if you
1679 know that every bug report sent on your language's mailing list or forum
1680 will be handled by someone who will translate it to English and send it
1681 on bug-lilypond or add an issue in the tracker, then translate back the
1682 reply from developers.
1684 @item @rweb{Help us}: this page should be translated very freely,
1685 and possibly not at all: ask help for contributing to LilyPond for tasks
1686 that LilyPond community in your language is able and going to handle.
1690 In any case, please mark in your work the sections which do not result
1691 from the direct translation of a piece of English translation, using
1692 comments i.e. lines starting with @q{@code{@@c}}.
1694 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1695 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1696 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1698 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1699 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1700 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1701 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1702 through the Free Translation Project.
1705 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1706 @file{macros.itexi}.
1708 If you wonder whether a word, phrase or larger piece of text should be
1709 translated, whether it is an argument of a Texinfo command or a small
1710 piece sandwiched between two Texinfo commands, try to track whether and
1711 where it appears in PDF and/or HTML output as visible text. This piece
1712 of advice is especially useful for translating @file{macros.itexi}.
1714 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1715 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1716 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1717 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1718 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1719 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1720 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1727 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1728 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1729 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1734 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1738 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1739 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1740 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1741 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1742 Additionally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1743 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1744 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1745 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1746 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1750 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1752 Spanish translation blah
1757 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1758 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1759 and editing snippets}.
1761 @code{@@example} blocks need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1762 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1764 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1765 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1766 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1767 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1768 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1772 @node Adding a Texinfo manual
1773 @unnumberedsubsubsec Adding a Texinfo manual
1775 In order to start translating a new manual whose basename is @var{FOO},
1779 cd Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}
1780 cp ../@var{FOO}.tely .
1782 cp web/GNUmakefile @var{FOO}
1786 then append @var{FOO} to variable @code{SUBDIRS} in
1787 Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/GNUmakefile, then translate file
1788 @var{MY-LANGUAGE}/@var{FOO}.tely and run @code{skeleton-update}:
1792 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} TEXI_LANGUTIL_FLAGS=--head-only skeleton-update
1796 Your are now ready to translate the new manual exactly like the web site
1797 or the Learning Manual.
1800 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1801 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1803 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1804 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1805 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1807 You should use them whenever you would like to update the translation in
1808 your language, which you may do at the frequency that fits your and your
1809 cotranslators' respective available times. In the case your translation
1810 is up-do-date (which you can discover in the first subsection below), it
1811 is enough to check its state every one or two weeks. If you feel
1812 overwhelmed by the quantity of documentation to be updated, see
1813 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1816 * Check state of translation::
1817 * Updating documentation translation::
1818 * Updating translation committishes::
1821 @macro seeCommittishesUpdate{}
1822 @warning{do not forget to update the committish in each file you have
1823 completely updated, see @ref{Updating translation committishes}.}
1826 @node Check state of translation
1827 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1829 First pull from Git -- see @ref{Pulling and rebasing}, but DO NOT rebase
1830 unless you are sure to master the translation state checking and
1831 updating system -- then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of the
1832 source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1833 Documentation}) and run
1836 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1840 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1841 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1842 @file{Documentation/} and run
1845 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1849 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1850 translation, you should specify both old and new file names, e.g.
1851 @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1853 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1856 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1859 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1860 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1863 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1866 You can see the diffs generated by the commands above as changes that
1867 you should make in your language to the existing translation, in order
1868 to make your translation up to date.
1870 @seeCommittishesUpdate
1872 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1873 @file{Documentation/translations.itexi}, which is used to generate
1874 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1875 @file{Documentation/}
1878 make translation-status
1881 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1882 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1883 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1886 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1888 @node Updating documentation translation
1889 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1891 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1892 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1893 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1894 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1897 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1901 or to update a single file
1904 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1907 For each file to be updated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1908 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1909 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1910 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1912 @seeCommittishesUpdate
1914 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1915 containing only the first node of the original file in English can be
1916 updated automatically: whenever @command{make check-translation} shows
1917 that such files should be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1920 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1923 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1924 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1930 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1931 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1932 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1933 Translation meister runs this command.}
1935 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1936 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1937 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1938 @file{Documentation/}):
1941 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1944 This script overwrites music snippets in
1945 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1946 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1947 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1948 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1949 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1950 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1951 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1952 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1953 no sense in their context.
1955 When you have updated texidocs in
1956 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1957 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1958 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1960 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1961 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1964 make all-translations-update
1967 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1968 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1971 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1972 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1975 @node Updating translation committishes
1976 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating translation committishes
1978 At the beginning of each translated file except PO files, there is a
1979 committish which represents the revision of the sources which you have
1980 used to translate this file from the file in English.
1982 When you have pulled and updated a translation, it is very important to
1983 update this committish in the files you have completely updated (and
1984 only these); to do this, first commit possible changes to any
1985 documentation in English which you are sure to have done in your
1986 translation as well, then replace in the up-to-date translated files the
1987 old committish by the committish of latest commit, which can be obtained
1991 git rev-list HEAD |head -1
1994 A special case is updating Snippet documentation strings in
1995 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}. For these to be
1996 correctly marked as up-to-date, first run @code{makelsr.py} as
1997 explained in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}, and commit the
1998 resulting compiled snippets left in @file{Documentation/snippets/}.
1999 Say the SHA1 ID code of this commit is <C>. Now edit again your
2000 translated files in @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}
2001 adjusting the 40-digit committish that appears in the text to be <C>;
2002 finally, commit these updated files. Not doing so would result in
2003 changes made both to your updates and original snippets to
2004 persistently appear in the check-translation output as if they were
2007 This two-phase mechanism avoids the (practically) unsolvable problem
2008 of guessing what committish will have our update, and pretending to
2009 put this very committish on the files in the same commit.
2011 @c http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-01/msg00245.html
2012 @c contains a helper script which could be used to perform massive
2013 @c committish updates.
2019 @node Translations management policies
2020 @subsection Translations management policies
2022 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
2023 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
2024 coordinators work efficiently.
2027 * Maintaining without updating translations::
2028 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
2031 @node Maintaining without updating translations
2032 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
2034 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
2035 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
2036 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
2037 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
2038 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
2041 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
2042 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
2043 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
2045 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
2048 @item Update macros.itexi.
2049 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
2050 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
2051 do it and delete the macro definition from @file{macros.itexi}; otherwise,
2052 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
2053 @file{macros.itexi} until the documentation translation has been updated and
2054 no longer uses this macro.
2056 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
2057 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect output
2058 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
2059 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
2061 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
2062 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
2063 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
2064 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
2065 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
2066 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
2067 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
2068 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
2069 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
2070 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
2071 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
2072 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
2074 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
2077 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
2078 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
2079 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
2080 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
2081 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
2082 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
2084 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
2085 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
2086 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
2089 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
2091 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
2092 'texinfo-show-structure)))
2096 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
2099 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
2100 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
2101 updated all the rest of the file.
2103 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
2104 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
2105 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
2106 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
2107 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
2108 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
2109 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
2112 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
2113 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
2114 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
2115 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
2116 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
2117 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
2120 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
2122 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
2124 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
2125 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
2126 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
2128 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
2131 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
2135 This step requires a successful documentation build (with @command{make
2136 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
2137 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
2138 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
2139 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
2140 existing page of documentation in English.
2143 @subsubheading Rationale
2145 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
2146 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
2147 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
2150 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
2151 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
2152 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
2153 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
2154 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
2155 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
2158 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
2159 organization, which is better than the old one.
2161 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
2162 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
2163 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
2164 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
2166 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
2167 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
2168 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
2169 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
2170 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
2171 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
2172 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
2177 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
2178 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
2180 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
2181 translations to Git.
2184 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
2185 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
2186 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
2187 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
2188 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
2189 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
2190 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
2192 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
2193 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
2194 (@command{make doc}) compile successfully.
2196 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
2197 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
2198 doc} are successful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
2199 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
2200 documentation in English in master branch.
2202 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
2203 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
2204 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
2205 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
2206 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
2207 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
2208 without updating translations}.
2212 @node Technical background
2213 @subsection Technical background
2215 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
2216 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
2217 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
2220 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
2221 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
2222 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
2223 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
2224 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
2226 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
2227 counts in the file you are reading,
2228 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
2229 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
2230 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
2233 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
2236 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
2237 and documentation in other languages.
2240 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
2241 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
2243 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
2244 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
2245 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
2246 of a shell command, use Git),
2247 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
2248 tweak links in HTML pages.
2253 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module