X-Git-Url: https://git.donarmstrong.com/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=Documentation%2Fweb%2Fintroduction.itexi;h=5d2f8c629d039c7d04a02404a8c0773d89fb65fc;hb=82d7e304c689d27cdcce1f471bf2c7ad642cedc9;hp=8fd6aaa73999cf33b4893e1a086bcff1f4e9633a;hpb=64e41db323e125dd6365e69d27c0d50112a744f9;p=lilypond.git diff --git a/Documentation/web/introduction.itexi b/Documentation/web/introduction.itexi index 8fd6aaa739..5d2f8c629d 100644 --- a/Documentation/web/introduction.itexi +++ b/Documentation/web/introduction.itexi @@ -116,30 +116,49 @@ best-engraved classical scores. This is further explained in our @divEnd -@divClass{color2} +@divClass{column-center-top} @subheading Text input -@imageFloat{lilypond-book,png,right} - @subsubheading Everything is explicit -LilyPond takes ASCII input, which you can produce in your favorite -text editor, quickly and comfortably. The input contains all the -information, so there is no need to remember complex command sequences: -simply save a file for later reference. +LilyPond processes text input, which contains all information +about the @emph{content} of your score and can easily be read +by any human or another program. There are no obscure +settings hidden behind menu items and binary file storage. + +Read more about this concept on @ref{Text input}. + @subsubheading Tweaks are robust and traceable -@subsubheading Text files are robust +If you have to change anything in the layout this tweak will +also be explicitly visible in the input file in human-readable +form, so you will always be able to retrace what you've done. +If you should accidentally break anything you can easily revert +or modify any decision without being at the mercy of an +@emph{Undo} function. + + +@subsubheading Text files are failure- and future-proof + +Text files are very robust against file corruption. And as they are +human-readable, you will always be able to interpret them even if +you don't have access to the programs that created them. + @subsubheading Manage your scores with version control +Text files are applicable to be managed by version control. Go +for it and experience infinite and selective undo/redo mechanisms +and the full development history of your scores. Version control +may also open up new (collaborative) workflows for you. + @divEnd -@divClass{color2} +@divClass{column-center-top} @subheading Usability -@imageFloat{frescobaldi-lilypond-editor-small,png,right} +@imageFloat{lilypond-book,png,right} @subsubheading Effective layout choices @@ -154,8 +173,8 @@ and slurs and beams are sloped, automatically! @subsubheading Mix music and text Put fragments of music into texts without cutting and pasting -pictures. Integrate music into @LaTeX{} and HTML seamlessly, or add -music to OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice with OOoLilyPond. Plugins are +pictures. Integrate music into @LaTeX{} or HTML seamlessly, or add +music to OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice with OOoLilyPond. Plugins are also available to allow LilyPond code in various blogs and wikis, making online collaboration possible. @@ -169,45 +188,74 @@ speech-recognition software to edit LilyPond files. Even users who are totally blind can use screen-reading software to write LilyPond files -- an impossible task in graphical-based score-writing programs. +You can see a spectacular score on @ref{Examples}. -@subsubheading Enhanced editors +@subsubheading Editor diversity -Several developers, themselves active LilyPond users, have also -written tools specifically aimed at making the process of editing -LilyPond files faster and more effective. For some examples, see -@ref{Easier editing}. +Several developers, themselves active LilyPond users, +have written tools specifically aimed at making the process of editing +LilyPond files faster and more effective; you are not tied to +a single user interface but can use different tools for different tasks. +You can even use a full-fledged LilyPond editor at home and use your +mobile phone's notepad app to edit the files on the go. For some examples, +see @ref{Easier editing}. +@c TODO: Change this when the new pages have been written and pushed @divEnd -@divClass{color2} +@divClass{column-center-top} @subheading Extensible design @subsubheading Easy management of style sheets +All layout settings can be changed to suit your personal typographical +taste. So you can easily write style sheets that change every aspect of +LilyPond scores' default appearance. As these are also written as text +and can be stored in separate files you can simply switch between two +stylesheets to produce scores with a completely different appearance or +layout. +You want to print a score on A4 paper and project it with a beamer, +one system per page? LilyPond's layout engine will effortlessly produce +both from the same input. + @subsubheading Add your own functions -All settings can be changed to suit your personal typographical -taste. If that still is not enough, there is always the built-in -scripting language Scheme, a dialect of the powerful language -LISP. Settings, variables and functions are all documented in the +If that still is not enough, there is always the built-in +scripting language Scheme, which can access LilyPond's layout +engine at the same level as LilyPond itself does, making it +a @emph{very} powerful tool. +Settings, variables and functions are all documented in the comprehensive program reference manual. +@subsubheading Process scores programmatically -@subsubheading Create new frontends for LilyPond +LilyPond input files can fully be edited or even generated by programs +and scripts. This can for example be used for algorithmical composition. +But you can also access the musical content for analysis, or manage +input fragments in a database. There are no limitations except your +imagination. -E.g. web applications -(Link to productions or similar page). +@subsubheading Create new tools using LilyPond + +As LilyPond isn't a monolithic GUI program but a command line tool it +can be used from within other applications too. This way it is possible +to equip tools like e.g. web applications with LilyPond's engraving +power. There already exist several online tools using LilyPond. + +@c (TBD: Add a link to the new @ref{Applications} page. @divEnd -@divClass{color3} +@divClass{column-center-top} @subheading Environment +@imageFloat{frescobaldi-lilypond-editor-small,png,right} + @subsubheading Excellent support @@ -215,8 +263,12 @@ E.g. web applications LilyPond runs on all popular platforms: GNU/Linux, MacOS X, and Windows. LilyPond comes with extensive documentation and hundreds of example files. There is an active user community answering -questions on the lilypond-user mailing list, while the development -team makes sure that problems are solved quickly. +questions on the lilypond-user mailing list, offering you friendly +help. The response time is usually very short, and often brillant +solutions to reported problems are developed. Thanks to the close +interaction with the development team such solutions are regularly +included in LilyPond itself. +Read more in @ref{Community}. @subsubheading Free software @@ -228,6 +280,7 @@ It's also free (as in @qq{speech}) software. It comes with source code, and permission to change and copy it. So, are you irritated by a bug, or yearning for a feature? Simply add it yourself, or pay someone else to do it. +Read more on @ref{Freedom}. @divEnd @divClass{column-center-bottom}