1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
6 * Introduction to documentation work::
7 * Documentation suggestions::
8 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
9 * Documentation policy::
10 * Tips for writing docs::
11 * Updating docs with convert-ly::
12 * Translating the documentation::
16 @node Introduction to documentation work
17 @section Introduction to documentation work
19 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
20 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
21 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
22 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
23 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
24 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
25 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
26 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
27 likely to miss that information.
29 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
30 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
31 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
32 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
33 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
34 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
35 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
36 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
37 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
38 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
39 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
40 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
41 plagued with inconsistent information.
43 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
44 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
45 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
46 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
47 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
49 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
50 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
51 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
52 limited documentation help.
55 @node Documentation suggestions
56 @section Documentation suggestions
58 @subheading Small additions
60 For additions to the documentation,
65 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
66 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
69 Please write exact changes to the text.
72 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
73 take care of the technical details. Here is an example of a
74 perfect documentation report:
77 To: lilypond-devel@gnu.org
78 From: helpful-user@example.net
81 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
82 like..."), please add:
85 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
88 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
89 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
94 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
95 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
96 often...") and replace it with this:
98 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
108 @subheading Larger contributions
110 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
111 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
112 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
117 Ask on the lilypond-devel maillist if such a rewrite is necessary;
118 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
121 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
122 compare the new and old documentation.
125 Please prepare a formal git patch.
129 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
130 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
131 there is a strict “no top-posting” check on the mailist; to avoid
134 > I'm not top posting.
136 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation
139 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and
140 we may not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if
141 you give us some material to work with, we can improve the manual
142 much faster. Thanks for your interest!
145 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
146 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
149 * Texinfo introduction::
150 * Documentation files::
151 * Sectioning commands::
152 * LilyPond formatting::
155 * Other text concerns::
159 @node Texinfo introduction
160 @subsection Texinfo introduction
162 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
164 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
166 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
167 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
168 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
169 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
171 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
172 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
173 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
176 @node Documentation files
177 @subsection Documentation files
179 The user manuals lives in @file{Documentation/user/}. In
180 particular, the files @file{lilypond-learning.ly} (LM),
181 @file{lilypond.itely} (NR), @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG), and
182 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a
183 separate file (ending in @file{.itely} for files containing
184 lilypond code, and @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code);
185 see the @qq{main} file for each manual to determine the filename
186 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
188 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/devel}. Currently
189 there is only one; @file{contrib-guide.texi}.
191 Although snippets are part of documentation, they are not
192 (directly) part of the manuals. For information about how to
193 modify them, see @ref{LSR work}.
196 @node Sectioning commands
197 @subsection Sectioning commands
199 Most of the manual operates at the
207 level. Sections are created with
216 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
217 easier to find sections in texinfo.
220 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
221 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
227 @node LilyPond formatting
228 @subsection LilyPond formatting
233 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
237 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
238 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
239 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
240 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
243 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
246 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
249 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
253 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
256 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
257 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
258 own line if possible. Bad:
261 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
267 \override textscript #'padding = #3
272 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
275 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
282 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
285 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
288 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
291 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
294 Inspirational headwords are produced with
297 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
298 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
302 LSR snippets are linked with
305 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
310 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
313 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
314 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
315 example does not need to be minimal, however)
318 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
321 If possible, end with a complete bar.
324 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
325 the line(s) to which they refer.
328 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
331 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
332 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
336 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
337 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
341 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
342 easier/faster processing), use this header:
346 #(define dump-extents #t)
348 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
350 force-assignment = #""
351 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
358 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
359 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
360 Documentation Editor.
365 @node Text formatting
366 @subsection Text formatting
371 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
372 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
379 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
380 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
381 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
382 verbatim without removing those spaces.
385 Use two spaces after a period.
388 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
392 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
393 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
394 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
395 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
398 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
399 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
400 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
403 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
407 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
408 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
409 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
410 indentation. For example, this
421 should be replaced with
432 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
435 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
438 Beginning of logical unit
442 continuation of logical unit
449 Beginning of logical unit
456 continuation of logical unit
459 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
460 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
461 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
465 in @@itemize use @@item
466 on a separate line like this:
477 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
480 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
481 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
482 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
483 space, tere will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
491 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
498 @subsection Syntax survey
502 @@c - single line comments
503 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
504 version. (gp only command ;)
506 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
509 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
510 capitalize the first word.
512 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
515 @@example ... @@end ignore - example text that should be set as a
516 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
520 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
521 Do not compress vertically like this.
524 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
525 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
526 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
528 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
529 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
530 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
533 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
535 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
536 introducing special input modes.
539 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
540 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
541 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
542 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
545 @@var - Use for variables.
547 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
550 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
551 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
552 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
555 @@ref@{@} - normal references (type the exact node name inside the
558 @@ruser@{@} - link to the NR.
560 @@rlearning@{@} - link to the LM.
562 @@rglos@{@} - link to the MG.
564 @@rprogram@{@} - link to the AU.
566 @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section.
568 @@rinternals@{@} - link to the IR.
570 @@uref@{@} - link to an external url.
576 @node Other text concerns
577 @subsection Other text concerns
582 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
583 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
584 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
585 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
586 @@seealso section at the bottom.
589 Introducing examples must be done with
592 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
593 : (ie `in this example:')
594 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
597 The old "sentence runs directly into the example" method is not
601 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
612 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
614 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
617 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
622 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
623 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
624 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
631 @node Documentation policy
632 @section Documentation policy
636 * Section organization::
637 * Checking cross-references::
639 * Technical writing style::
645 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
646 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
654 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
655 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
656 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
657 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
658 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
659 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
660 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
661 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
662 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
663 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
664 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
665 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
666 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
667 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
668 explained before it is used.
670 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
675 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
676 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
677 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
678 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
679 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
680 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
681 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
682 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
685 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
686 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
687 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
688 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
689 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
690 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
691 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
692 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
694 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
695 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
696 text, but ask about this first.
698 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
699 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
703 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
704 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
705 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
708 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
712 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
713 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
715 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
718 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
719 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
724 @node Section organization
725 @subsection Section organization
730 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
743 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
747 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
756 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
766 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
768 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
771 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
772 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
776 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
780 Always end with a period.
783 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
784 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
787 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
790 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
791 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
794 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
795 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
800 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
804 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
808 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
809 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
810 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
811 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
816 @node Checking cross-references
817 @subsection Checking cross-references
819 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
820 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
821 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
822 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
823 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
824 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
825 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
826 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
827 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
828 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
831 @node General writing
832 @subsection General writing
837 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
838 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
841 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
846 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
847 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
850 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
852 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
855 @@cindex time signature
859 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
860 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
862 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
865 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
867 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
876 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
877 property names use this spelling.
880 List of specific terms:
884 simultaneous NOT concurrent
885 measure: the unit of music
886 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
887 note head NOT notehead
888 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
896 @node Technical writing style
897 @subsection Technical writing style
899 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
905 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
906 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
909 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
910 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
913 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
914 besides the reader and the writer.
917 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
920 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
921 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
924 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
928 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
929 Say @q{invalid} instead.
934 @node Tips for writing docs
935 @section Tips for writing docs
937 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
938 time. For each subsection,
943 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
944 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
947 add any appropriate index entries.
950 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
951 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
952 concern. Check for potential additions.
955 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
956 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
959 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
960 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
961 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
964 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
967 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
968 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
969 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
970 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
974 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
975 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
976 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
977 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
978 harder than it looks.
981 @subsubheading Tweaks
983 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
984 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
985 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
986 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
987 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
988 good example of this.
991 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
994 On the other side of this,
997 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1000 clearly belongs in LSR.
1002 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1003 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1004 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1005 possible into there.
1008 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1009 tweaks for users... but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1010 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1011 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1014 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1015 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1016 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1021 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1024 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
1025 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1027 cd into Documentation and run
1030 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
1034 This also updates translated documentation.
1038 @node Translating the documentation
1039 @section Translating the documentation
1042 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1043 * Documentation translation details::
1044 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1045 * Translations management policies::
1046 * Technical background::
1047 * Translation status::
1050 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1051 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1053 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
1054 translations source code}.
1057 * Translation requirements::
1058 * Which documentation can be translated::
1059 * Starting translation in a new language::
1062 @node Translation requirements
1063 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1065 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1066 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1069 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1074 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1075 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1076 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1077 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1078 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
1083 @node Which documentation can be translated
1084 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1086 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1087 of the following documentation:
1090 @item documentation index (HTML);
1091 @item user manual and program usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML
1092 output; Info output might be added if there is enough demand for it;
1093 @item the News document.
1096 The following pieces of documentation should be added soon, by
1097 descending order of priority:
1100 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1101 predefined music functions;
1102 @item the Snippets List;
1103 @item the examples page;
1104 @item the Internals Reference.
1108 @node Starting translation in a new language
1109 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1111 At top of the source directory, do
1118 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1121 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1125 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1126 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1127 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1128 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1130 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation} and run
1133 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1137 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1139 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1140 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1142 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1143 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1144 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1148 @node Documentation translation details
1149 @subsection Documentation translation details
1151 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1153 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1156 * Files to be translated::
1157 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1158 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1159 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1162 @node Files to be translated
1163 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1165 @include doc-translation-list.itexi
1167 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1168 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1170 Any title which comes with one of the following commands must not be
1171 translated directly in the Texinfo source
1174 @@node @@majorheading
1175 @@chapter @@unnumbered @@appendix @@chapheading
1176 @@section @@unnumberedsec @@appendixsec @@heading
1177 @@subsection @@unnumberedsubsec @@appendixsubsec @@subheading
1178 @@subsubsection @@unnumberedsubsubsec @@appendixsubsubsec @@subsubheading
1179 @@ref @@rglos @@ruser @@rlearning @@rprogram @@rlsr
1182 The same applies to first argument of @code{@@r@var{manual}named}
1183 commands; however, the second argument @var{Bar baz} of
1184 @code{@@ref@{@var{Foo},@var{Bar baz},,@var{info-file}@}} and
1185 @code{@@r@var{manual}named@{@var{Foo},@var{Bar baz}@}} should be
1188 @code{@@uref}'s names are to be translated.
1190 In any section which looks like
1194 * @var{node1}:: @var{thing1}
1195 * @var{node2}:: @var{thing2}
1201 the node names @var{nodeN} are @emph{not} to be translated, whereas
1202 extra title information @var{thingN} is.
1204 Every node name or section title must from now on be translated
1205 separately in a @file{.po} file (just as well as LilyPond output
1206 messages) in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1207 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not
1208 managed through the Free Translation Project.
1211 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1212 @file{user/macros.itexi}.
1215 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1216 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1217 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1218 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1219 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1220 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1221 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1228 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1229 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1230 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1235 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1239 in the source, open @file{input/lsr/@var{filename}.ly}, translate the
1240 @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1241 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1242 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} -- please keep possibly
1243 existing translations in other languages! Additionnally, you may
1244 translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle} header field, in case
1245 @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in @code{@@lilypondfile};
1246 you can do this exactly the same way as @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1247 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} may contain
1250 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1252 Spanish translation blah
1254 doctitlede = "German title bar"
1255 texidocde = "German translation foo
1259 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1260 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1262 Index entries (@code{@@cindex} and so on) should be translated.
1264 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1265 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If
1266 one of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language,
1267 please ask the Translation meister and/or the Documentation Editors on
1268 @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}.
1271 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1272 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1274 Copy @file{user/lilypond.tely} (or @file{user/lilypond-program.tely},
1275 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/user}, then translate this
1276 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1277 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1278 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1281 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1282 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1284 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1285 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1286 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1289 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1290 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1292 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1293 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1294 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1297 * Check state of translation::
1298 * Updating documentation translation::
1301 @node Check state of translation
1302 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1304 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1305 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1306 Documentation}) and run
1309 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1313 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1314 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1315 @file{Documentation/} and run
1318 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} check-translation
1321 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1324 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1327 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1328 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1331 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1334 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1335 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1336 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1337 @file{Documentation/}
1340 make translation-status
1343 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1344 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1345 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1349 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1352 @node Updating documentation translation
1353 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1355 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1356 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1357 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1358 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1361 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1364 or to update a single file
1367 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} update-translation
1370 For each file to be udpated, update-translation will open your text
1371 editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the diff
1372 cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself, the
1373 full file in English will be opened instead.
1375 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1376 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1377 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1378 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1381 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1384 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1385 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1391 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1392 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1393 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1394 Translation meister runs this command.}
1396 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1397 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1398 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1399 @file{Documentation/}):
1402 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1405 This script overwrites music snippets in
1406 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1407 @file{@var{user/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1408 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1409 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1410 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1411 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1412 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1413 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1414 no sense in their context.
1416 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1417 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1420 make all-translations-update
1423 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1424 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP.
1428 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1431 @node Translations management policies
1432 @subsection Translations management policies
1434 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1435 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1436 coordinators work efficiently.
1439 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1440 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1443 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1444 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1446 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the
1447 documentation in English may be almost impossible, especially as
1448 during the former Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand
1449 Organization Project (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes.
1450 In addition, transloators may be (and that) involved in these porjects too.
1452 it is possible -- and even recommended -- to
1453 perform some maintaining that keeps translated documentation usable
1454 and eases future translation updating. The rationale below the tasks
1455 list motivates this plan. The rationale below the tasks
1456 list motivates this plan.
1458 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1461 @item Update macros.itexi.
1462 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1463 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1464 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1465 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1466 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1467 no longer uses this macro.
1469 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1470 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1471 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1472 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1474 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1475 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1476 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1477 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1478 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there
1479 may be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1480 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1481 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1482 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1483 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in
1484 this case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking
1485 them with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1487 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1490 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1491 Texinfo file in a new buffer *Occur*; to show structure of two files
1492 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1493 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1494 (e.g. the translated file), copy *Occur* contents into *Scratch*, then
1495 press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1497 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1498 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1499 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1502 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1504 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1505 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1509 and then obtain the structure in the *Occur* buffer with @key{C-c s}.
1511 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1512 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} ("update all menus") when you have
1513 updated all the rest of the file.
1515 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1516 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1517 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1518 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1519 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1520 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1521 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1524 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1525 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1526 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1527 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1528 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1529 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1532 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1534 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1536 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1537 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1538 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1540 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1543 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1547 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1548 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1549 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1550 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1551 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1552 existing page of documentation in English.
1555 @subsubheading Rationale
1557 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1558 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1559 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1562 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1563 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1564 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1565 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1566 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1567 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1570 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1571 organization, which is better than the old one.
1573 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1574 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1575 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1576 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1578 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1579 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1580 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1581 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1582 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1583 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1584 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1589 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1590 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1592 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1593 translations to Git.
1596 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1597 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1598 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1599 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1600 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1601 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1602 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1604 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into
1605 master only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation
1606 (@command{make doc}) compile succesfully.
1608 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1609 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1610 doc} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1611 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1612 documentation in English in master branch.
1614 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1615 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1616 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1617 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1618 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1619 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1620 without updating translations}.
1624 @node Technical background
1625 @subsection Technical background
1627 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1628 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1629 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1632 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1633 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1634 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1635 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1636 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1638 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1639 counts in the file you are reading,
1640 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1641 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1642 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1645 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1648 @item @file{html-gettext.py} -- translate node names, section titles and cross
1649 references in HTML files generated by @command{makeinfo},
1650 @item @file{texi-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1651 before calling @command{texi2pdf},
1652 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1653 and documentation in other languages.
1656 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1657 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1659 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1660 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1661 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1662 of a shell command, use Git),
1663 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1664 tweak links in HTML pages.
1669 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module
1673 @node Translation status
1674 @subsection Translation status