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 * Updating docs with convert-ly::
22 * Docstrings in scheme::
23 * Translating the documentation::
27 @node Introduction to documentation work
28 @section Introduction to documentation work
30 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
31 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
32 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
33 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
34 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
35 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
36 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
37 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
38 likely to miss that information.
40 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
41 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
42 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
43 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
44 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
45 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
46 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
47 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
48 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
49 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
50 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
51 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
52 plagued with inconsistent information.
54 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
55 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
56 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
57 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
58 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
60 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
61 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
62 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
63 limited documentation help.
66 @node Documentation suggestions
67 @section Documentation suggestions
69 @subheading Small additions
71 For additions to the documentation,
76 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
77 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
80 Please write exact changes to the text.
83 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
84 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
85 perfect documentation report:
88 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
89 From: helpful-user@example.net
92 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
93 like..."), please add:
96 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
99 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
100 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
105 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
106 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
107 often...") and replace it with this:
109 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
119 @subheading Larger contributions
121 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
122 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
123 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
128 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
129 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
132 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
133 compare the new and old documentation.
136 Please prepare a formal git patch.
140 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
141 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
142 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
145 > I'm not top posting.
147 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
150 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
151 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
152 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
153 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
156 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
157 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
160 * Texinfo introduction::
161 * Documentation files::
162 * Sectioning commands::
163 * LilyPond formatting::
166 * Other text concerns::
170 @node Texinfo introduction
171 @subsection Texinfo introduction
173 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
175 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
177 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
178 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
179 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
180 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
182 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
183 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
184 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
187 @node Documentation files
188 @subsection Documentation files
190 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
192 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
193 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
194 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
195 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
196 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
197 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
198 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
199 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
200 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
201 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
203 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
204 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
207 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
208 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
209 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
212 @node Sectioning commands
213 @subsection Sectioning commands
215 Most of the manual operates at the
223 level. Sections are created with
232 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
233 easier to find sections in texinfo.
236 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
237 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
242 Nodes must be included inside a
252 construct. These are easily constructed with the emacs
253 @code{M-x texinfo-all-menus-update} construct, or by this
258 emacs $1 -batch -f texinfo-all-menus-update -f save-buffer
262 (save the above as something like @command{texinfo-menus.sh}, make
263 it executable, then run @command{texinfo-menus.sh foo.itely})
266 @node LilyPond formatting
267 @subsection LilyPond formatting
272 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
276 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
277 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
278 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
279 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
282 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
285 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
288 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
292 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
295 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
296 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
297 own line if possible. Bad:
300 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
306 \override textscript #'padding = #3
311 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
314 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
321 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
324 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
327 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
330 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
333 Inspirational headwords are produced with
336 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
337 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
341 LSR snippets are linked with
344 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
349 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
352 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
353 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
354 example does not need to be minimal, however)
357 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
360 If possible, end with a complete bar.
363 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
364 the line(s) to which they refer.
367 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
370 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
371 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
375 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
376 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
380 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
381 easier/faster processing), use this header:
386 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
388 force-assignment = #""
389 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
396 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
397 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
398 Documentation Editor.
403 @node Text formatting
404 @subsection Text formatting
409 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
410 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
417 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
418 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
419 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
420 verbatim without removing those spaces.
423 Use two spaces after a period.
426 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
430 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
431 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
432 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
433 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
436 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
437 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
438 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
441 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
445 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
446 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
447 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
448 indentation. For example, this
459 should be replaced with
470 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
473 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
476 Beginning of logical unit
480 continuation of logical unit
487 Beginning of logical unit
494 continuation of logical unit
497 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
498 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
499 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
503 in @@itemize use @@item
504 on a separate line like this:
515 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
518 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
519 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
520 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
521 space, there will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
529 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
536 @subsection Syntax survey
540 @@c - single line comments
541 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
542 version. (gp only command ;)
544 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
547 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
548 capitalize the first word.
550 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
553 @@example ... @@end example - example text that should be set as a
554 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
559 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
560 Do not compress vertically like this.
563 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
564 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
565 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
568 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
569 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
570 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
574 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
577 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
578 introducing special input modes.
581 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
582 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
583 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
584 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
587 @@var - Use for variables.
590 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
593 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
594 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
595 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
598 @@ref@{@} - link within current manual (type the exact node name inside the
602 @@ruser@{@} - link to Notation Reference.
605 @@rlearning@{@} - link to Learning Manual.
608 @@rglos@{@} - link to the Music Glossary.
611 @@rprogram@{@} - link to Application Usage.
614 @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section.
617 @@rinternals@{@} - link to the Internals Reference.
620 @@rextend@{@} - link to Extending LilyPond.
623 @@uref@{@} - link to an external url.
629 @node Other text concerns
630 @subsection Other text concerns
635 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
636 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
637 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
638 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
639 @@seealso section at the bottom.
642 Introducing examples must be done with
645 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
646 : (ie `in this example:')
647 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
650 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
654 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
665 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
667 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
670 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
675 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
676 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
677 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
684 @node Documentation policy
685 @section Documentation policy
689 * Section organization::
690 * Checking cross-references::
692 * Technical writing style::
698 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
699 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
707 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
708 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
709 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
710 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
711 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
712 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
713 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
714 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
715 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
716 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
717 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
718 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
719 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
720 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
721 explained before it is used.
723 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
728 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
729 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
730 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
731 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
732 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
733 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
734 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
735 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
738 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
739 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
740 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
741 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
742 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
743 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
744 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
745 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
747 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
748 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
749 text, but ask about this first.
751 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
752 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
756 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
757 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
758 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
761 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
765 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
766 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
768 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
771 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
772 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
777 @node Section organization
778 @subsection Section organization
783 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
796 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
800 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
809 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
822 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
824 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
827 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
828 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
832 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
836 Always end with a period.
839 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
840 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
843 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
846 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
847 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
850 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
851 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
856 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
860 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
864 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
865 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
866 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
867 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
872 @node Checking cross-references
873 @subsection Checking cross-references
875 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
876 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
877 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
878 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
879 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
880 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
881 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
882 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
883 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
884 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
887 @node General writing
888 @subsection General writing
893 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
894 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
897 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
902 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
903 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
906 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
908 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
911 @@cindex time signature
915 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
916 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
918 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
921 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
923 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
932 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
933 property names use this spelling.
936 List of specific terms:
940 simultaneous NOT concurrent
941 measure: the unit of music
942 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
943 note head NOT notehead
944 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
952 @node Technical writing style
953 @subsection Technical writing style
955 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
961 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
962 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
965 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
966 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
969 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
970 besides the reader and the writer.
973 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
976 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
977 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
980 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
984 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
985 Say @q{invalid} instead.
990 @node Tips for writing docs
991 @section Tips for writing docs
993 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
994 time. For each subsection,
999 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1000 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1003 add any appropriate index entries.
1006 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1007 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1008 concern. Check for potential additions.
1011 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1012 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1015 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1016 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1017 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1020 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1023 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1024 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1025 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1026 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1030 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1031 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1032 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1033 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1034 harder than it looks.
1037 @subsubheading Tweaks
1039 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1040 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1041 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
1042 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1043 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1044 good example of this.
1047 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1050 On the other side of this,
1053 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1056 clearly belongs in LSR.
1058 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1059 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1060 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1061 possible into there.
1064 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1065 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1066 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1067 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1070 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1071 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1072 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1076 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1079 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
1080 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1082 cd into @file{Documentation/} and run
1085 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1089 This also updates translated documentation.
1093 @node Docstrings in scheme
1094 @section Docstrings in scheme
1096 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1097 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1098 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1099 in these docstrings.
1101 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1102 to work on them, please ask for help.
1105 @node Translating the documentation
1106 @section Translating the documentation
1108 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1109 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1110 get support from the Translations Meister and experimented translators,
1111 and we regularly discuss translations issues common to all languagues.
1112 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1113 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1114 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1115 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body.
1118 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1119 * Documentation translation details::
1120 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1121 * Translations management policies::
1122 * Technical background::
1125 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1126 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1128 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
1129 translations source code}.
1132 * Translation requirements::
1133 * Which documentation can be translated::
1134 * Starting translation in a new language::
1137 @node Translation requirements
1138 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1140 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1141 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1144 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1150 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1151 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1152 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1153 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1154 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1157 @node Which documentation can be translated
1158 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1160 FIXME: take into account the new web site integration in main sources.
1162 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1163 of the following documentation:
1166 @item documentation index (HTML);
1167 @item the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1168 -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output might be added if
1169 there is enough demand for it;
1170 @item the Changes document.
1173 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1174 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1177 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1178 predefined music functions;
1179 @item the Snippets List;
1180 @item the Internals Reference.
1184 @node Starting translation in a new language
1185 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1187 At top of the source directory, do
1194 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1197 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1201 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1202 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1203 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1204 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1206 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1209 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1213 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1215 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1216 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1218 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1219 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1220 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1224 @node Documentation translation details
1225 @subsection Documentation translation details
1227 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1229 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1232 * Files to be translated::
1233 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1234 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1235 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1238 @node Files to be translated
1239 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1241 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1243 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1244 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1250 @b{Note:} node names and section titles are now translated directly in
1251 Texinfo source files. In case you have files in your working tree that
1252 have not been converted, please pull first, then run
1255 make -C Documentation/po doc
1256 export LYDOC_LOCALEDIR=Documentation/po/out-www
1257 export PYTHONPATH=python:python/auxiliar
1258 scripts/auxiliar/tely-gettext.py @var{manual.tely}
1262 This will also update files included in @file{@var{manual}.tely}, and of
1263 course this script can be used for individual @file{@var{foo}.itely}
1267 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1268 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1271 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1272 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1273 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1277 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1281 should be translated as
1284 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1285 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1286 @@translationof Foo bar
1289 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1290 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1291 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1293 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1294 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1295 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1296 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1297 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1298 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1299 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1300 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1301 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1302 contains @code{@@untranslated} and append @code{ @@c external} to the
1303 line that contains @code{@@translationof}. That is, you should end up
1304 for each untranslated node with something like
1307 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1308 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1309 @@translationof Foo bar @@c external
1315 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1316 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1317 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1319 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1320 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1321 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1322 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1323 through the Free Translation Project.
1326 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1327 @file{macros.itexi}.
1330 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1331 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1332 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1333 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1334 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1335 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1336 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1343 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1344 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1345 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1350 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1354 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1355 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1356 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1357 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1358 Additionnally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1359 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1360 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1361 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1362 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1366 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1368 Spanish translation blah
1373 Then, you should get these translated strings into compiled snippets in
1374 @file{Documentation/snippets}, see @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding
1375 and editing snippets}.
1377 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1378 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1380 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1381 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1382 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1383 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1384 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1388 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1389 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1391 Copy @file{notation.tely} (or @file{application.tely},
1392 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}}, then translate this
1393 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1394 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1395 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1398 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1399 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1401 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1402 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1403 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1406 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1407 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1409 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1410 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1411 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1414 * Check state of translation::
1415 * Updating documentation translation::
1418 @node Check state of translation
1419 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1421 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1422 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1423 Documentation}) and run
1426 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1430 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1431 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1432 @file{Documentation/} and run
1435 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
1439 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
1440 translation, you should specify both old and new file names,
1441 e.g. @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
1443 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1446 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1449 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1450 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1453 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1456 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1457 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1458 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1459 @file{Documentation/}
1462 make translation-status
1465 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1466 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1467 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1470 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1473 @node Updating documentation translation
1474 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1476 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1477 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1478 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1479 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1482 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1486 or to update a single file
1489 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
1492 For each file to be udpated, @code{update-translation} will open your
1493 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
1494 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
1495 the full file in English will be opened instead.
1497 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1498 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1499 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1500 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1503 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1506 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1507 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1513 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1514 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1515 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1516 Translation meister runs this command.}
1518 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1519 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1520 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1521 @file{Documentation/}):
1524 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1527 This script overwrites music snippets in
1528 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1529 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1530 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1531 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1532 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1533 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1534 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1535 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1536 no sense in their context.
1538 When you have updated texidocs in
1539 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs}, you can get these
1540 changes into compiled snippets in @file{Documentation/snippets}, see
1541 @q{General guidelines} in @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1543 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1544 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1547 make all-translations-update
1550 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1551 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
1554 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
1555 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1558 @node Translations management policies
1559 @subsection Translations management policies
1561 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1562 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1563 coordinators work efficiently.
1566 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1567 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1570 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1571 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1573 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
1574 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
1575 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
1576 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
1577 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
1580 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
1581 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
1582 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
1584 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1587 @item Update macros.itexi.
1588 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1589 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1590 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1591 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1592 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1593 no longer uses this macro.
1595 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1596 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1597 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1598 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1600 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1601 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1602 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1603 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1604 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
1605 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1606 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1607 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1608 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1609 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
1610 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
1611 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1613 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1616 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1617 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
1618 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1619 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1620 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
1621 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1623 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1624 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1625 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1628 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1630 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1631 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1635 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
1638 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1639 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
1640 updated all the rest of the file.
1642 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1643 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1644 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1645 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1646 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1647 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1648 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1651 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1652 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1653 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1654 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1655 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1656 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1659 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1661 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1663 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1664 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1665 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1667 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1670 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1674 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1675 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1676 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1677 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1678 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1679 existing page of documentation in English.
1682 @subsubheading Rationale
1684 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1685 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1686 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1689 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1690 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1691 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1692 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1693 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1694 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1697 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1698 organization, which is better than the old one.
1700 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1701 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1702 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1703 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1705 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1706 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1707 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1708 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1709 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1710 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1711 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1716 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1717 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1719 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1720 translations to Git.
1723 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1724 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1725 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1726 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1727 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1728 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1729 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1731 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1732 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1733 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1735 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1736 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1737 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1738 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1739 documentation in English in master branch.
1741 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1742 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1743 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1744 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1745 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1746 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1747 without updating translations}.
1751 @node Technical background
1752 @subsection Technical background
1754 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1755 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1756 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1759 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1760 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1761 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1762 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1763 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1765 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1766 counts in the file you are reading,
1767 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1768 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1769 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1772 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1775 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1776 and documentation in other languages.
1779 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1780 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1782 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1783 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1784 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1785 of a shell command, use Git),
1786 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1787 tweak links in HTML pages.
1792 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module