1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
6 * Introduction to documentation work::
7 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
8 * Documentation policy::
9 * Tips for writing docs::
10 * Updating docs with convert-ly::
11 * Translating the documentation::
15 @node Introduction to documentation work
16 @section Introduction to documentation work
18 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
19 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
20 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
21 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
22 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
23 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
24 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
25 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
26 likely to miss that information.
28 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
29 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
30 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
31 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
32 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
33 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
34 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
35 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
36 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
37 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
38 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
39 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
40 plagued with inconsistent information.
42 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
43 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
44 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
45 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
46 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
48 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
49 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
50 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
51 limited documentation help.
55 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
56 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
59 * Texinfo introduction::
60 * Documentation files::
61 * Sectioning commands::
62 * LilyPond formatting::
65 * Other text concerns::
69 @node Texinfo introduction
70 @subsection Texinfo introduction
72 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
74 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
76 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
77 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
78 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
79 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
81 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
82 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
83 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
86 @node Documentation files
87 @subsection Documentation files
89 The user manuals lives in @file{Documentation/user/}. In
90 particular, the files @file{lilypond-learning.ly} (LM),
91 @file{lilypond.itely} (NR), @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG), and
92 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a
93 separate file (ending in @file{.itely} for files containing
94 lilypond code, and @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code);
95 see the @qq{main} file for each manual to determine the filename
96 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
98 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/devel}. Currently
99 there is only one; @file{contrib-guide.texi}.
101 Although snippets are part of documentation, they are not
102 (directly) part of the manuals. For information about how to
103 modify them, see @ref{LSR work}.
106 @node Sectioning commands
107 @subsection Sectioning commands
109 Most of the manual operates at the
117 level. Sections are created with
126 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
127 easier to find sections in texinfo.
130 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
131 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
137 @node LilyPond formatting
138 @subsection LilyPond formatting
143 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
147 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
148 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
149 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
150 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
153 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
156 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
159 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
163 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
166 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
167 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
168 own line if possible. Bad:
171 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
177 \override textscript #'padding = #3
182 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
185 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
192 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
195 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
198 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
201 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
204 Inspirational headwords are produced with
207 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
208 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
212 LSR snippets are linked with
215 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
220 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
223 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
224 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
225 example does not need to be minimal, however)
228 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
231 If possible, end with a complete bar.
234 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
235 the line(s) to which they refer.
238 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
241 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
242 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
246 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
247 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
251 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
252 easier/faster processing), use this header:
256 #(define dump-extents #t)
258 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
260 force-assignment = #""
261 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
268 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
269 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
270 Documentation Editor.
275 @node Text formatting
276 @subsection Text formatting
281 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
282 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
289 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
290 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
291 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
292 verbatim without removing those spaces.
295 Use two spaces after a period.
298 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
302 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
303 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
304 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
305 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
308 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
309 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
310 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
313 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
317 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
318 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
319 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
320 indentation. For example, this
331 should be replaced with
342 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
345 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
348 Beginning of logical unit
352 continuation of logical unit
359 Beginning of logical unit
366 continuation of logical unit
369 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
370 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
371 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
375 in @@itemize use @@item
376 on a separate line like this:
387 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
390 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
391 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
392 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
393 space, tere will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
401 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
408 @subsection Syntax survey
412 @@c - single line comments
413 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
414 version. (gp only command ;)
416 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
419 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
420 capitalize the first word.
422 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
425 @@example ... @@end ignore - example text that should be set as a
426 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
430 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
431 Do not compress vertically like this.
434 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
435 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
436 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
438 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
439 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
440 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
443 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
445 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
446 introducing special input modes.
449 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
450 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
451 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
452 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
455 @@var - Use for variables.
457 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
460 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
461 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
462 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
465 @@ref@{@} - normal references (type the exact node name inside the
466 @{@}). @@ruser@{@} - link to the NR. @@rlearning@{@} - link to
467 the LM. @@rglos@{@} - link to the MG. @@rprogram@{@} - link to
468 the AU. @@rlsr@{@} - link to a Snippet section. @@rinternals@{@}
475 @node Other text concerns
476 @subsection Other text concerns
481 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
482 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
483 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
484 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
485 @@seealso section at the bottom.
488 Introducing examples must be done with
491 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
492 : (ie `in this example:')
493 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
496 The old "sentence runs directly into the example" method is not
500 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
511 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
513 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
516 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
521 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
522 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
523 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
530 @node Documentation policy
531 @section Documentation policy
535 * Section organization::
536 * Checking cross-references::
538 * Technical writing style::
544 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
545 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
553 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
554 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
555 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
556 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
557 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
558 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
559 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
560 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
561 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
562 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
563 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
564 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
565 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
566 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
567 explained before it is used.
569 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
574 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
575 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
576 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
577 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
578 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
579 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
580 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
581 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
584 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
585 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
586 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
587 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
588 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
589 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
590 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
591 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
593 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
594 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
595 text, but ask about this first.
597 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
598 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
602 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
603 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
604 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
607 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
611 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
612 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
614 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
617 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
618 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
623 @node Section organization
624 @subsection Section organization
629 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
642 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
646 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
655 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
665 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
667 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
670 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
671 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
675 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
679 Always end with a period.
682 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
683 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
686 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
689 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
690 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
693 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
694 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
699 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
703 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
707 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
708 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
709 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
710 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
715 @node Checking cross-references
716 @subsection Checking cross-references
718 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
719 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
720 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
721 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
722 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
723 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
724 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
725 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
726 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
727 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
730 @node General writing
731 @subsection General writing
736 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
737 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
740 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
745 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
746 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
749 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
751 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
754 @@cindex time signature
758 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
759 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
761 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
764 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
766 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
775 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
776 property names use this spelling.
779 List of specific terms:
783 simultaneous NOT concurrent
784 measure: the unit of music
785 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
786 note head NOT notehead
787 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
795 @node Technical writing style
796 @subsection Technical writing style
798 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
804 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
805 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
808 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
809 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
812 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
813 besides the reader and the writer.
816 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
819 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
820 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
823 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
827 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
828 Say @q{invalid} instead.
833 @node Tips for writing docs
834 @section Tips for writing docs
836 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
837 time. For each subsection,
842 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
843 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
846 add any appropriate index entries.
849 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
850 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
851 concern. Check for potential additions.
854 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
855 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
858 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
859 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
860 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
863 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
866 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
867 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
868 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
869 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
873 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
874 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
875 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
876 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
877 harder than it looks.
880 @subsubheading TWEAKS
882 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
883 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
884 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
885 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
886 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
887 good example of this.
890 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
893 On the other side of this,
896 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
899 clearly belongs in LSR.
901 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
902 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
903 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
907 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
908 tweaks for users... but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
909 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
910 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
913 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
914 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
915 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
919 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
920 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
922 cd into Documentation and run
925 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
929 This also updates translated documentation.
933 @node Translating the documentation
934 @section Translating the documentation
937 * Getting started with documentation translation::
938 * Documentation translation details::
939 * Documentation translation maintenance::
940 * Translations management policies::
941 * Technical background::
944 @node Getting started with documentation translation
945 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
947 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
948 translations source code}.
951 * Translation requirements::
952 * Which documentation can be translated::
953 * Starting translation in a new language::
956 @node Translation requirements
957 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
959 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
960 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
963 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
968 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
969 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
970 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
971 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
972 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
977 @node Which documentation can be translated
978 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
980 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
981 of the following documentation:
984 @item documentation index (HTML);
985 @item user manual and program usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML
986 output; Info output might be added if there is enough demand for it;
987 @item the News document.
990 The following pieces of documentation should be added soon, by
991 descending order of priority:
994 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
995 predefined music functions;
996 @item the Snippets List;
997 @item the examples page;
998 @item the Internals Reference.
1002 @node Starting translation in a new language
1003 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1005 At top of the source directory, do
1012 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1015 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1019 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1020 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1021 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1022 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1024 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation} and run
1027 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1031 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1033 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1034 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1036 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
1037 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
1038 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
1042 @node Documentation translation details
1043 @subsection Documentation translation details
1045 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1047 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1050 * Files to be translated::
1051 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1052 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1053 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1056 @node Files to be translated
1057 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1059 @include doc-translation-list.itexi
1061 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1062 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1064 Any title which comes with one of the following commands must not be
1065 translated directly in the Texinfo source
1068 @@node @@majorheading
1069 @@chapter @@unnumbered @@appendix @@chapheading
1070 @@section @@unnumberedsec @@appendixsec @@heading
1071 @@subsection @@unnumberedsubsec @@appendixsubsec @@subheading
1072 @@subsubsection @@unnumberedsubsubsec @@appendixsubsubsec @@subsubheading
1073 @@ref @@rglos @@ruser @@rlearning @@rprogram @@rlsr
1076 The same applies to first argument of @code{@@r@var{manual}named}
1077 commands; however, the second argument @var{Bar baz} of
1078 @code{@@ref@{@var{Foo},@var{Bar baz},,@var{info-file}@}} and
1079 @code{@@r@var{manual}named@{@var{Foo},@var{Bar baz}@}} should be
1082 @code{@@uref}'s names are to be translated.
1084 In any section which looks like
1088 * @var{node1}:: @var{thing1}
1089 * @var{node2}:: @var{thing2}
1095 the node names @var{nodeN} are @emph{not} to be translated, whereas
1096 extra title information @var{thingN} is.
1098 Every node name or section title must from now on be translated
1099 separately in a @file{.po} file (just as well as LilyPond output
1100 messages) in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1101 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not
1102 managed through the Free Translation Project.
1105 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1106 @file{user/macros.itexi}.
1109 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1110 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1111 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1112 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1113 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1114 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1115 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1122 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1123 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1124 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1129 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1133 in the source, open @file{input/lsr/@var{filename}.ly}, translate the
1134 @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1135 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1136 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} -- please keep possibly
1137 existing translations in other languages! Additionnally, you may
1138 translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle} header field, in case
1139 @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in @code{@@lilypondfile};
1140 you can do this exactly the same way as @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1141 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} may contain
1144 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1146 Spanish translation blah
1148 doctitlede = "German title bar"
1149 texidocde = "German translation foo
1153 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1154 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1156 Index entries (@code{@@cindex} and so on) should be translated.
1158 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1159 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If
1160 one of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language,
1161 please ask the Translation meister and/or the Documentation Editors on
1162 @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}.
1165 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1166 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1168 Copy @file{user/lilypond.tely} (or @file{user/lilypond-program.tely},
1169 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/user}, then translate this
1170 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1171 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1172 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1175 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1176 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1178 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1179 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1180 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1183 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1184 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1186 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1187 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1188 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1191 * Check state of translation::
1192 * Updating documentation translation::
1195 @node Check state of translation
1196 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1198 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1199 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1200 Documentation}) and run
1203 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1207 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1208 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1209 @file{Documentation/} and run
1212 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} check-translation
1215 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1218 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1221 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1222 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1225 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1228 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1229 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1230 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1231 @file{Documentation/}
1234 make translation-status
1237 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1238 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1239 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1243 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1246 @node Updating documentation translation
1247 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1249 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1250 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1251 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1252 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1255 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1258 or to update a single file
1261 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} update-translation
1264 For each file to be udpated, update-translation will open your text
1265 editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the diff
1266 cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself, the
1267 full file in English will be opened instead.
1269 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1270 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1271 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1272 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1275 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1278 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1279 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1285 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1286 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1287 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1288 Translation meister runs this command.}
1290 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1291 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1292 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1293 @file{Documentation/}):
1296 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1299 This script overwrites music snippets in
1300 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1301 @file{@var{user/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1302 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1303 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1304 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1305 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1306 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1307 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1308 no sense in their context.
1310 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1311 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1314 make all-translations-update
1317 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1318 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP.
1322 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1325 @node Translations management policies
1326 @subsection Translations management policies
1328 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1329 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1330 coordinators work efficiently.
1333 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1334 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1337 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1338 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1340 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the
1341 documentation in English may be almost impossible, especially as
1342 during the former Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand
1343 Organization Project (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes.
1344 In addition, transloators may be (and that) involved in these porjects too.
1346 it is possible -- and even recommended -- to
1347 perform some maintaining that keeps translated documentation usable
1348 and eases future translation updating. The rationale below the tasks
1349 list motivates this plan. The rationale below the tasks
1350 list motivates this plan.
1352 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1355 @item Update macros.itexi.
1356 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1357 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1358 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1359 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1360 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1361 no longer uses this macro.
1363 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1364 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1365 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1366 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1368 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1369 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1370 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1371 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1372 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there
1373 may be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1374 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1375 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1376 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1377 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in
1378 this case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking
1379 them with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1381 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1384 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1385 Texinfo file in a new buffer *Occur*; to show structure of two files
1386 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1387 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1388 (e.g. the translated file), copy *Occur* contents into *Scratch*, then
1389 press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1391 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1392 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1393 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1396 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1398 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1399 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1403 and then obtain the structure in the *Occur* buffer with @key{C-c s}.
1405 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1406 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} ("update all menus") when you have
1407 updated all the rest of the file.
1409 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1410 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1411 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1412 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1413 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1414 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1415 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1418 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1419 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1420 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1421 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1422 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1423 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1426 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1428 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1430 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1431 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1432 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1434 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1437 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1441 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1442 web}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1443 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1444 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1445 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1446 existing page of documentation in English.
1449 @subsubheading Rationale
1451 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1452 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1453 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1456 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1457 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1458 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1459 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1460 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1461 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1464 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1465 organization, which is better than the old one.
1467 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1468 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1469 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1470 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1472 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1473 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1474 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1475 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1476 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1477 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1478 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1483 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1484 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1486 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1487 translations to Git.
1490 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1491 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1492 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1493 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1494 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1495 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1496 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1498 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into master only if
1499 LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation (@command{make web}) compile
1502 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1503 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1504 web} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1505 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1506 documentation in English in master branch.
1508 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1509 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1510 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1511 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1512 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1513 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1514 without updating translations}.
1518 @node Technical background
1519 @subsection Technical background
1521 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1522 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1523 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1526 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1527 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1528 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1529 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1530 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1532 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1533 counts in the file you are reading,
1534 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1535 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1536 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1539 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1542 @item @file{html-gettext.py} -- translate node names, section titles and cross
1543 references in HTML files generated by @command{makeinfo},
1544 @item @file{texi-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1545 before calling @command{texi2pdf},
1546 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1547 and documentation in other languages.
1550 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1551 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1553 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1554 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1555 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1556 of a shell command, use Git),
1557 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1558 tweak links in HTML pages.
1563 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module