1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
2 @node Documentation work
3 @chapter Documentation work
5 There are currently 11 manuals for LilyPond, not including the
6 translations. Each book is available in HTML, PDF, and info. The
7 documentation is written in a language called @code{texinfo} --
8 this allows us to generate different output formats from a single
11 To organize multiple authors working on the documentation, we use a
12 Version Control System (VCS) called git, previously discussed in
13 @ref{Starting with Git}.
16 * Introduction to documentation work::
17 * version in documentation files::
18 * Documentation suggestions::
19 * Texinfo introduction and usage policy::
20 * Documentation policy::
21 * Tips for writing docs::
22 * Scripts to ease doc work::
23 * Docstrings in scheme::
24 * Translating the documentation::
28 @node Introduction to documentation work
29 @section Introduction to documentation work
31 Our documentation tries to adhere to our @ref{Documentation
32 policy}. This policy contains a few items which may seem odd.
33 One policy in particular is often questioned by potential
34 contributors: we do not repeat material in the Notation Reference,
35 and instead provide links to the @qq{definitive} presentation of
36 that information. Some people point out, with good reason, that
37 this makes the documentation harder to read. If we repeated
38 certain information in relevant places, readers would be less
39 likely to miss that information.
41 That reasoning is sound, but we have two counter-arguments.
42 First, the Notation Reference -- one of @emph{five} manuals for
43 users to read -- is already over 500 pages long. If we repeated
44 material, we could easily exceed 1000 pages! Second, and much
45 more importantly, LilyPond is an evolving project. New features
46 are added, bugs are fixed, and bugs are discovered and documented.
47 If features are discussed in multiple places, the documentation
48 team must find every instance. Since the manual is so large, it
49 is impossible for one person to have the location of every piece
50 of information memorized, so any attempt to update the
51 documentation will invariably omit a few places. This second
52 concern is not at all theoretical; the documentation used to be
53 plagued with inconsistent information.
55 If the documentation were targeted for a specific version -- say,
56 LilyPond 2.10.5 -- and we had unlimited resources to spend on
57 documentation, then we could avoid this second problem. But since
58 LilyPond evolves (and that is a very good thing!), and since we
59 have quite limited resources, this policy remains in place.
61 A few other policies (such as not permitting the use of tweaks in
62 the main portion of NR 1+2) may also seem counter-intuitive, but
63 they also stem from attempting to find the most effective use of
64 limited documentation help.
66 Before undertaking any large documentation work, contributors are
67 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Documentation Meister}.
70 @node version in documentation files
71 @section @code{\version} in documentation files
73 Every documentation file which includes LilyPond code should begin
74 with a @code{\version} statement referencing a version of LilyPond
75 consistent with the syntax of the contained code.
77 The @code{\version} statement should be commented out to avoid
78 creating problems when building releases with GUB, like this:
84 So, if you are adding LilyPond code which is not consistent with the
85 current version header, you should
90 run convert-ly on the file using the latest version of LilyPond
91 (which should, if everybody has done proper maintenance, not change
98 modify the version number to match the new code.
103 @node Documentation suggestions
104 @section Documentation suggestions
106 @subheading Small additions
108 For additions to the documentation,
113 Tell us where the addition should be placed. Please include both
114 the section number and title (i.e. "LM 2.13 Printing lyrics").
117 Please write exact changes to the text.
120 A formal patch to the source code is @emph{not} required; we can
121 take care of the technical details.
124 Send the suggestions to the @code{bug-lilypond} mailing list as
125 discussed in @rweb{Contact}.
128 Here is an example of a perfect documentation report:
131 To: bug-lilypond@gnu.org
132 From: helpful-user@example.net
133 Subject: doc addition
135 In LM 2.13 (printing lyrics), above the last line ("More options,
136 like..."), please add:
139 To add lyrics to a divided part, use blah blah blah. For example,
142 \notes {blah <<blah>> }
143 \lyrics {blah <<blah>> }
148 In addition, the second sentence of the first paragraph is
149 confusing. Please delete that sentence (it begins "Users
150 often...") and replace it with this:
152 To align lyrics with something, do this thing.
162 @subheading Larger contributions
164 To replace large sections of the documentation, the guidelines are
165 stricter. We cannot remove parts of the current documentation
166 unless we are certain that the new version is an improvement.
171 Ask on the lilypond-devel mailing list if such a rewrite is necessary;
172 somebody else might already be working on this issue!
175 Split your work into small sections; this makes it much easier to
176 compare the new and old documentation.
179 Please prepare a formal git patch.
183 @subheading Contributions that contain examples using overrides
185 Examples that use overrides, tweaks, customer Scheme functions etc. are
186 (with very few exceptions) not included in the main text of the manuals;
187 as there would be far too many, equally useful, candidates.
189 The correct way is to submit your example, with appropriate explanatory
190 text and tags, to the LilyPond Snippet Repository (LSR). Snippets that
191 have the @qq{docs} tag can then be easily added as a
192 @emph{selected snippet} in the documentation. It will also appear
193 automatically in the Snippets lists. See @ref{Introduction to LSR}.
195 Snippets that @emph{don't} have the @qq{docs} tage will still be
196 searchable and viewable within the LSR, but will be not be included in
197 the Snippets list or be able to be included as part of the main
200 Generally, any new snippets that have the @qq{docs} tag are more
201 carefully checked for syntax and formatting.
203 @subheading Announcing your snippet
205 Once you have followed these guidelines, please send a message to
206 lilypond-devel with your documentation submissions. Unfortunately
207 there is a strict @q{no top-posting} check on the mailing list; to avoid
210 @code{> I'm not top posting}
212 (you must include the > ) to the top of your documentation addition.
214 We may edit your suggestion for spelling, grammar, or style, and we may
215 not place the material exactly where you suggested, but if you give us
216 some material to work with, we can improve the manual much faster.
218 Thanks for your interest!
221 @node Texinfo introduction and usage policy
222 @section Texinfo introduction and usage policy
225 * Texinfo introduction::
226 * Documentation files::
227 * Sectioning commands::
228 * LilyPond formatting::
231 * Other text concerns::
235 @node Texinfo introduction
236 @subsection Texinfo introduction
238 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
240 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
242 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
243 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
244 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
245 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
247 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
248 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
249 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
252 @node Documentation files
253 @subsection Documentation files
255 All manuals live in @file{Documentation/}.
257 In particular, there are four user manuals, their respective master
258 source files are @file{learning.tely} (LM, Learning Manual),
259 @file{notation.tely} (NR, Notation Reference),
260 @file{music-glossary.tely} (MG, Music Glossary), and
261 @file{lilypond-program} (AU). Each chapter is written in a separate
262 file, ending in @file{.itely} for files containing lilypond code, and
263 @file{.itexi} for files without lilypond code, located in a subdirectory
264 associated to the manual (@file{learning/} for @file{learning.tely}, and
265 so on); list the subdirectory of each manual to determine the filename
266 of the specific chapter you wish to modify.
268 Developer manuals live in @file{Documentation/} too. Currently there is
269 only one: the Contributor's Guide @file{contrib-guide.texi} you are
272 Snippet files are part of documentation, and the Snippet List (SL) lives
273 in @file{Documentation/} just like the manuals. For information about
274 how to modify the snippet files and SL, see @ref{LSR work}.
277 @node Sectioning commands
278 @subsection Sectioning commands
280 The Notation Reference uses section headings at four, occasionally
285 @item Level 1: @@chapter
286 @item Level 2: @@section
287 @item Level 3: @@subsection
288 @item Level 4: @@unnumberedsubsubsec
289 @item Level 5: @@subsubsubheading
292 The first three levels are numbered in html, the last two are not.
293 Numbered sections correspond to a single html page in the split html
296 The first four levels always have accompanying nodes so they can be
297 referenced and are also included in the ToC in html.
299 Most of the manual is written at level 4 under headings created with
303 @@unnumberedsubsubsec Foo
306 Level 3 subsections are created with
313 Level 4 headings and menus must be preceded by level 3 headings and
314 menus, and so on for level 3 and level 2. If this is not what is
318 @@subsubsubheading Foo
321 Please leave two blank lines above a @code{@@node}; this makes it
322 easier to find sections in texinfo.
324 Do not use any @code{@@} commands for a @code{@@node}. They may be
325 used for any @code{@@sub...} sections or headings however.
329 @@node @@code@{Foo@} Bar
330 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
334 @@subsection @@code@{Foo@} Bar
337 No punctuation may be used in the node names. If the heading text
338 uses punctuation (in particular, colons and commas) simply leave
339 this out of the node name and menu.
347 @@subsection Foo: Bar
350 Backslashes must not be used in node names or section headings.
351 If the heading text should include a backslash simply leave this
352 out of the node name and menu and replace it with @code{@@bs@{@}}
360 @@node The set command
361 @@subsection The @@code@{@@bs@{@}set@} command
364 References to such a node may use the third argument of the
365 @code{@@ref} command to display the texually correct heading.
368 @@ref@{The set command,,The @@code@{@@bs@{@}set command@}
371 With the exception of @code{@@} commands, @code{\} commands and
372 punctuation, the section name should match the node name exactly.
374 Sectioning commands (@code{@@node} and @code{@@section}) must not appear
375 inside an @code{@@ignore}. Separate those commands with a space, ie
376 @code{@@n}@tie{}@code{ode}.
378 Nodes must be included inside a
388 construct. These can be constructed with scripts:
389 see @ref{Stripping whitespace and generating menus}.
392 @node LilyPond formatting
393 @subsection LilyPond formatting
398 Most LilyPond examples throughout the documentation can be produced
402 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
408 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
411 If using any combination of @code{\header@{@}}, @code{\score@{@}} or
412 @code{\layout@{@}} in your example, then you must omit the
413 @code{relative} variable and either use absolute entry mode or an
414 explicit @code{\relative@{@}} construction.
416 If using @code{\book@{@}} in your example then you must also omit the
417 @code{relative} variable and either use absolute entry mode or an
418 explicit @code{\relative@{@}} construction. However, you must also
419 include the @code{papersize=X} variable, where @code{X} is a defined
420 paper size from within @file{scm/paper.scm}. This is to avoid the
421 default @code{a4} paper size being used and leaving too much unnecessary
422 whitespace and potentially awkward page breaks in the PDFs.
424 The preferred @code{papersize}s are @code{a5}, @code{a6} or
427 @code{a8landscape} works best for a single measure with a single title
428 and/or single @code{tagline}:
431 @@lilypond[papersize=a8landscape,verbatim]
434 title = "A scale in LilyPond"
443 and can also be used to easily show features that require page breaks
444 (i.e. page numbers) without taking large amounts of space within the
445 documentation. Do not use the @code{quote} option with this paper size.
447 @code{a5} or @code{a6} paper sizes are best used for examples that have
448 more than two measures of music or require multiple staves (i.e. to
449 illustrate cross-staff features, RH and LH parts etc.) and where
450 @code{\book@{@}} constructions are required or where @code{a8landscape}
451 produces an example that is too cramped. Depending on the example the
452 @code{quote} option may need to be omitted.
454 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
457 Please avoid using extra spacing either after or within the
458 @code{@@lilypond} parameters.
461 not: @@lilypond [verbatim, quote, relative=1]
462 but instead: @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
466 Inspirational headwords are produced with:
469 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
470 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
474 LSR snippets are linked with:
477 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,quote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
482 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples (no tabs).
485 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
488 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
491 LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
492 convention to follow.
495 All context or layout object strings should be prefaced with @code{#}.
496 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is helpful
497 to get users accustomed to this scheme construct, i.e. @code{\set
498 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
501 Try to avoid using @code{#'} or @code{#`} within when describing
502 context or layout properties outside of an @code{@@example} or @code{@@lilypond}, unless
503 the description explicitly requires it.
505 i.e. @qq{...setting the @code{transparent} property leaves the object where it
506 is, but makes it invisible.}
509 If possible, only write one bar per line.
512 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
513 must put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
517 Tweaks should, if possible, also occur on their own line.
519 not: \override TextScript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
520 but instead: \override TextScript #'padding = #3
525 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
528 Avoid long stretches of input code. Nobody is going to read
529 them in print. Create small examples. However, this does not mean
533 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
536 If possible, end with a complete bar.
539 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
540 the line(s) to which they refer.
543 For clarity, always use @{ @} marks even if they are not technically
549 \context Voice \repeat unfold 2 \relative c' @{
565 Add a space around @{ @} marks; i.e.
568 not: \chordmode@{c e g@}
569 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
573 Use @{ @} marks for additional @code{\markup} format commands; i.e.
576 not: c^\markup \tiny\sharp
577 but instead: c^\markup @{ \tiny \sharp @}
581 Remove any space around @code{<} @code{>} marks; i.e.
585 but instead: <c e g>4
589 Beam, slur and tie marks should begin immediately after the first
590 note with beam and phrase marks ending immediately after the last.
593 a8\( ais16[ b cis( d] b) cis4~ b' cis,\)
597 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
598 easier/faster processing), use this header:
603 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
604 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
611 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
612 example demonstrating special @code{\paper@{@}} values, contact the
613 Documentation Editor.
618 @node Text formatting
619 @subsection Text formatting
623 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (We personally
624 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but do not bother modifying
625 existing material). Also see the recommendations for fixed-width
626 fonts in the @ref{Syntax survey}.
632 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
633 @code{@@example} or @code{@@verbatim} environments), and do not
634 use more than a single space between words. @q{makeinfo} copies
635 the input lines verbatim without removing those spaces.
638 Use two spaces after a period.
641 In examples of syntax, use @code{@@var@{@var{musicexpr}@}} for a
645 Don't use @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in the main text. If you're
646 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to @qq{talking
647 through the code}. If you really want to refer to a context, use
648 @code{@@code@{@}} in the main text and @code{@@rinternals@{@}} in
649 the @code{@@seealso}.
654 @subsection Syntax survey
664 * Special characters::
670 @unnumberedsubsubsec Comments
674 @code{@@c @dots{}} --- single line comment. @samp{@@c NOTE:} is a
675 comment which should remain in the final version. (gp only
679 @code{@@ignore} --- multi-line comment:
689 @node Cross references
690 @unnumberedsubsubsec Cross references
692 Enter the exact @code{@@node} name of the target reference between
693 the brackets (eg.@tie{}@w{@samp{@@ref@{Syntax survey@}}}). Do not
694 split a cross-reference across two lines -- this causes the
695 cross-reference to be rendered incorrectly in html documents.
699 @code{@@ref@{@dots{}@}} --- link within current manual.
702 @code{@@rchanges@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Changes.
705 @code{@@rcontrib@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Contributor's Guide.
708 @code{@@ressay@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Engraving Essay.
711 @code{@@rextend@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Extending LilyPond.
714 @code{@@rglos@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Music Glossary.
717 @code{@@rinternals@{@dots{}@}} --- link to the Internals Reference.
720 @code{@@rlearning@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Learning Manual.
723 @code{@@rlsr@{@dots{}@}} --- link to a Snippet section.
726 @code{@@rprogram@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Application Usage.
729 @code{@@ruser@{@dots{}@}} --- link to Notation Reference.
732 @code{@@rweb@{@dots{}@}} --- link to General Information.
737 @unnumberedsubsubsec External links
741 @code{@@email@{@dots{}@}} --- create a @code{mailto:} E-mail link.
744 @code{@@uref@{@var{URL}[, @var{link text}]@}} --- link to an
745 external url. Use within an @code{@@example ... @@end example}.
749 @@uref@{URL [, link text ]@}
755 @node Fixed-width font
756 @unnumberedsubsubsec Fixed-width font
760 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} ---
762 Use the @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} command when referring to
763 individual language-specific tokens (keywords, commands,
764 engravers, scheme symbols, etc.) in the text. Ideally, a single
765 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} block should fit within one line in the
768 Use the @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} command when you have a short
769 example of user input, unless it constitutes an entire
770 @code{@@item} by itself, in which case @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} is
771 preferable. Otherwise, both should only be used when part of a
772 larger sentence within a paragraph or @code{@@item}. Do not use
773 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} inside an
774 @code{@@example} block, and do not use either as a free-standing
775 paragraph; use @code{@@example} instead.
777 A single unindented line in the PDF has space for about 79
778 fixed-width characters (76 if indented). Within an @code{@@item}
779 there is space for about 75 fixed-width characters. Each
780 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
781 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
783 However, even short blocks of @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} and
784 @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} can run into the margin if the Texinfo
785 line-breaking algorithm gets confused. Additionally, blocks that
786 are longer than this may in fact print nicely; it all depends
787 where the line breaks end up. If you compile the docs yourself,
788 check the PDF output to make sure the line breaks are
791 The Texinfo setting @code{@@allowcodebreaks} is set to
792 @code{false} in the manuals, so lines within
793 @code{@@code@{@dots{}@}} or @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} blocks will
794 only break at spaces, not at hyphens or underscores. If the block
795 contains spaces, use @code{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}} or
796 @code{@@w@{@@samp@{@dots{}@}@}} to prevent unexpected line breaks.
798 The Texinfo settings @code{txicodequoteundirected} and
799 @code{txicodequotebacktick} are both set in the manuals, so
800 backticks (@code{`}) and apostrophes (@code{'}) placed within
801 blocks of @code{@@code}, @code{@@example}, or @code{@@verbatim}
802 are not converted to left- and right-angled quotes
803 (@code{@quoteleft{} @quoteright{}}) as they normally are within
804 the text, so the apostrophes in
805 @q{@w{@code{@@w@{@@code@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}}} will display
806 correctly. However, these settings do not affect the PDF output
807 for anything within a @code{@@samp} block (even if it includes a
808 nested @code{@@code} block), so entering
809 @q{@code{@@w@{@@samp@{@bs{}relative c''@}@}}} wrongly produces
810 @q{@w{@code{@bs{}relative c@quoteright{}@quoteright{}}}} in PDF.
811 Consequently, if you want to use a @code{@@samp@{@dots{}@}} block
812 which contains backticks or apostrophes, you should instead use
813 @q{@code{@@q@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}}} (or
814 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@dots{}@}@}@}}} if the block also
815 contains spaces). Note that backslashes within
816 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} blocks must be entered as @samp{@@bs@{@}},
817 so the example above would be coded as
818 @q{@code{@@q@{@@w@{@@code@{@@bs@{@}relative c''@}@}@}}}.
821 @code{@@command@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
822 commands within the text (eg. @samp{@@command@{convert-ly@}}). Do
823 not use inside an @code{@@example} block.
826 @code{@@example} --- Use for examples of program code. Do not add
827 extraneous indentation (i.e. don't start every line with
828 whitespace). Use the following layout (notice the use of blank
829 lines). Omit the @code{@@noindent} if the text following the
830 example starts a new paragraph:
833 @var{@dots{}text leading into the example@dots{}}
840 @var{continuation of the text@dots{}}
843 Individual lines within an @code{@@example} block should not
844 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
845 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@example} block
846 is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
847 @code{@@example} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
848 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
849 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
851 For long command line examples, if possible, use a trailing
852 backslash to break up a single line, indenting the next line with
853 2 spaces. If this isn't feasible, use @samp{@@smallexample
854 @dots{} @@end@tie{}smallexample} instead, which uses a smaller
855 fontsize. Use @code{@@example} whenever possible, but if needed,
856 @code{@@smallexample} can fit up to 90 characters per line before
857 running into the PDF margin. Each additional level of
858 @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate} shortens a
859 @code{@@smallexample} line by about 5 columns.
862 @code{@@file@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to filenames and
863 directories in the text. Do not use inside an @code{@@example}
867 @code{@@option@{@dots{}@}} --- Use when referring to command-line
868 options in the text (eg. @samp{@@option@{--format@}}). Do not use
869 inside an @code{@@example} block.
872 @code{@@verbatim} --- Prints the block exactly as it appears in
873 the source file (including whitespace, etc.). For program code
874 examples, use @code{@@example} instead. @code{@@verbatim} uses
875 the same format as @code{@@example}.
877 Individual lines within an @code{@@verbatim} block should not
878 exceed 74 characters; otherwise they will run into the margin in
879 the PDF output, and may get clipped. If an @code{@@verbatim}
880 block is part of an @code{@@item}, individual lines in the
881 @code{@@verbatim} block should not exceed 70 columns. Each
882 additional level of @code{@@itemize} or @code{@@enumerate}
883 shortens the line by about 4 columns.
888 @unnumberedsubsubsec Indexing
892 @code{@@cindex @dots{}} --- General index. Please add as many as you can.
893 Don't capitalize the first word.
896 @code{@@funindex @dots{}} --- is for a \lilycommand.
901 @unnumberedsubsubsec Lists
905 @code{@@enumerate} --- Create an ordered list (with numbers).
906 Always put @samp{@@item} on its own line. As an exception, if all
907 the items in the list are short enough to fit on single lines, placing
908 them on the @samp{@@item} lines is also permissible. @samp{@@item}
909 and @samp{@@end@tie{}enumerate} should always be preceded by a blank
916 A long multi-line item like this one must begin
917 on a line of its own and all the other items in
918 the list must do so too.
937 @code{@@itemize} --- Create an unordered list (with bullets). Use
938 the same format as @code{@@enumerate}. Do not use
939 @samp{@@itemize@tie{}@@bullet}.
943 @node Special characters
944 @unnumberedsubsubsec Special characters
948 @code{--}, @code{---} --- Create an en dash (--) or an em dash
949 (---) in the text. To print two or three literal hyphens in a
950 row, wrap one of them in a @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} (eg.
954 @code{@@@@}, @code{@@@{}, @code{@@@}} --- Create an at-sign (@@),
955 a left curly bracket (@{), or a right curly bracket (@}).
958 @code{@@bs@{@}} --- Create a backslash within a
959 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}}, @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}}, or
960 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} block. This is a custom LilyPond
961 macro, not a builtin @@-command in Texinfo. Texinfo would also
962 allow @samp{\\}, but this breaks the PDF output.
965 @code{@@tie@{@}} --- Create a @emph{variable-width} non-breaking
966 space in the text (use @w{@samp{@@w@{ @}}} for a single
967 @emph{fixed-width} non-breaking space). Variables or numbers
968 which consist of a single character (probably followed by a
969 punctuation mark) should be tied properly, either to the previous
970 or the next word. Example: @samp{The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is
976 @unnumberedsubsubsec Miscellany
980 @code{@@notation@{@dots{}@}} --- refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
981 @samp{@@notation@{clef@}}. Also use for specific lyrics
982 (@samp{the @@notation@{A@tie{}-@tie{}men@} is centered}).
983 Only use once per subsection per term.
986 @code{@@q@{@dots{}@}} --- Single quotes. Used for
987 @quoteleft{}vague@quoteright{} terms. To get a backslash
988 (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
991 @code{@@qq@{@dots{}@}} --- Double quotes. Used for actual quotes
992 (@qq{he said}) or for introducing special input modes. To get a
993 backslash (\), you must use @samp{@@bs@{@}}.
996 @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} --- Use for metasyntactic variables (such
997 as @code{@var{foo}}, @code{@var{bar}}, @code{@var{arg1}}, etc.).
998 In most cases, when the @code{@@var@{@dots{}@}} command appears in
999 the text (and not in an @code{@@example} block) it should be
1000 wrapped with an appropriate texinfo code-highlighting command
1001 (such as @code{@@code}, @code{@@samp}, @code{@@file},
1002 @code{@@command}, etc.). For example:
1003 @samp{@@code@{@@var@{foo@}@}},
1004 @samp{@@file@{@@var@{myfile.ly@}@}},
1005 @w{@samp{@@samp@{git checkout @@var@{branch@}@}}}, etc. This
1006 improves readability in the PDF and HTML output.
1009 @code{@@version@{@}} --- Return the current LilyPond version
1010 string. Use @samp{@@w@{@@version@{@}@}} if it's at the end of a
1011 line (to prevent an ugly line break in PDF); use
1012 @samp{@@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}} if you need it in quotes.
1015 @code{@@w@{@dots{}@}} --- Do not allow any line breaks.
1018 @code{@@warning@{@dots{}@}} --- produces a @qq{Note:@tie{}} box.
1019 Use for important messages. To get a backslash (\), you must use
1024 @node Other text concerns
1025 @subsection Other text concerns
1029 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
1031 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/,texinfo
1032 manual}. Ideally this should also be the final sentence of a
1033 paragraph, but this is not required. Any link in a doc section
1034 must be duplicated in the @code{@@seealso} section at the bottom.
1037 Introducing examples must be done with
1040 . (i.e. finish the previous sentence/paragraph)
1041 : (i.e. `in this example:')
1042 , (i.e. `may add foo with the blah construct,')
1045 The old @qq{sentence runs directly into the example} method is not
1049 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
1059 When beginning a quote: @qq{So, he said,...}.
1061 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
1064 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
1068 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
1069 this is, don't say @samp{Ba@@ss@{@}tuba} but @samp{Baßtuba}. This
1070 ensures that all such characters appear in all output formats.
1074 @node Documentation policy
1075 @section Documentation policy
1079 * Section organization::
1080 * Checking cross-references::
1082 * Technical writing style::
1088 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
1089 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
1097 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
1098 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
1099 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
1100 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
1101 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
1102 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
1103 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
1104 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
1105 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
1106 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
1107 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
1108 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
1109 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
1110 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
1111 explained before it is used.
1113 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
1118 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
1119 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
1120 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
1121 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
1122 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
1123 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
1124 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
1125 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
1128 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
1129 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
1130 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
1131 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
1132 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
1133 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
1134 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
1135 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
1137 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
1138 @file{.itely} file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
1139 text, but ask about this first.
1141 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
1142 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
1146 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
1147 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
1148 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
1151 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1155 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
1156 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
1158 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
1161 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
1162 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
1167 @node Section organization
1168 @subsection Section organization
1173 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
1186 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
1190 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
1199 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
1208 Essay on automated music engraving:
1215 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
1217 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
1219 Internals Reference:
1220 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
1221 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
1225 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
1229 Always end with a period.
1232 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
1233 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
1236 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
1239 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
1240 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
1243 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
1244 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
1249 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
1253 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in
1257 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (i.e. 1.1
1258 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
1259 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
1260 (i.e. 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
1263 The @@knownissues should not discuss any issues that are in the
1264 tracker, unless the issue is Priority-Postponed. The goal is to
1265 discuss any overall architecture or syntax decisions which may be
1266 interpreted as bugs. Normal bugs should not be discussed here,
1267 because we have so many bugs that it would be a huge task to keep
1268 the @@knownissues current and accurate all the time.
1273 @node Checking cross-references
1274 @subsection Checking cross-references
1276 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
1277 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
1278 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
1279 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
1280 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
1281 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and run:
1288 Note that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
1289 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
1290 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
1292 @c temporary? how long will kainhofer be used? -gp
1293 Also of interest may be the linkdoc checks on kainhofer.com. Be
1294 warned that these docs are not completely rebuilt every day, so it
1295 might not accurately reflect the current state of the docs.
1298 @uref{http://kainhofer.com/~lilypond/linkdoc/}
1302 @node General writing
1303 @subsection General writing
1308 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
1309 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
1312 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
1313 @@funindex \relative
1317 Do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
1318 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
1319 index. Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
1322 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, i.e.
1325 @@cindex time signature
1329 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}. Only use capital
1330 letters for musical terms which demand them, e.g.
1334 For scheme function index entries, only include the final part, i.e.
1337 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
1339 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
1343 Use American spelling. LilyPond's internal property
1344 names use this convention.
1347 Here is a list of preferred terms to be used:
1351 @emph{Simultaneous} NOT concurrent.
1354 @emph{Measure}: the unit of music.
1357 @emph{Bar line}: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline.
1360 @emph{Note head} NOT notehead.
1363 @emph{Chord construct} NOT just chord (when referring to < ... >)
1366 @emph{Staff} NOT stave.
1369 @emph{Staves} NOT Staffs:
1371 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@}s}
1372 should be rephrased to
1373 @q{multiple @@internalsref@{Staff@} contexts}.
1381 @node Technical writing style
1382 @subsection Technical writing style
1384 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
1390 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
1391 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
1394 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
1395 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
1398 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
1399 besides the reader and the writer.
1402 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
1405 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
1406 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
1409 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
1413 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
1414 Say @q{invalid} instead.
1419 @node Tips for writing docs
1420 @section Tips for writing docs
1422 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
1423 time. For each subsection,
1428 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
1429 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
1432 add any appropriate index entries.
1435 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
1436 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
1437 concern. Check for potential additions.
1440 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
1441 material from the @file{.itely} file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
1444 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
1445 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
1446 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
1449 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
1452 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
1453 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
1454 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
1455 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
1459 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
1460 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
1461 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
1462 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
1463 harder than it looks.
1466 @subsubheading Tweaks
1468 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
1469 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
1470 LSR and not the @file{.itely} file. For some cases, the command
1471 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
1472 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
1473 good example of this.
1476 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
1479 On the other side of this,
1482 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
1485 clearly belongs in LSR.
1487 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
1488 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
1489 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
1490 possible into there.
1493 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
1494 tweaks for users@dots{} but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
1495 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
1496 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
1499 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
1500 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
1501 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
1505 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
1508 @node Scripts to ease doc work
1509 @section Scripts to ease doc work
1512 * Scripts to test the documentation::
1513 * Scripts to create documentation::
1516 @node Scripts to test the documentation
1517 @subsection Scripts to test the documentation
1520 * Building only one section of the documentation::
1523 @node Building only one section of the documentation
1524 @unnumberedsubsubsec Building only one section of the documentation
1526 In order to save build time, a script is available to build only
1527 one section of the documentation in English with a default html
1530 You can build a section of the documentation with:
1533 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh MANUAL SECTION
1537 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the section
1538 to be built, and @code{MANUAL} is replaced by the name of the directory
1539 containing the section. So, for example, to build section 1.1 of the
1540 Notation Reference, use the command:
1543 scripts/auxiliar/doc-section.sh notation pitches
1546 You can then see the generated document for the section at
1549 tempdocs/pitches/out/pitches.html
1553 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=1236,Lilypond issue 1236},
1554 the location of the lilypond git tree is taken from @code{$LILYPOND_GIT}
1555 if specified, otherwise it is auto-detected.
1557 It is assumed that compilation takes place in the @file{build/}
1558 subdirectory, but this can be overridden by setting the environment
1559 variable @code{LILYPOND_BUILD_DIR}.
1561 Similarly, output defaults to @file{build/tempdocs/} but this can be
1562 overridden by setting the environment variable
1563 @code{LILYPOND_TEMPDOCS}.
1565 This script will not work for building sections of the
1566 Contributors' guide. For building sections of the Contributors'
1570 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh SECTION
1574 where @code{SECTION} is the name of the file containing the sections
1575 to be built. For example, to build section 4 of the Contributors' guide,
1579 scripts/auxiliar/cg-section.sh doc-work
1582 @code{cg-section.sh} uses the same environment variables and
1583 corresponding default values as @code{doc-section.sh}.
1585 @node Scripts to create documentation
1586 @subsection Scripts to create documentation
1589 * Stripping whitespace and generating menus::
1590 * Stripping whitespace only::
1591 * Updating doc with convert-ly::
1594 @node Stripping whitespace and generating menus
1595 @unnumberedsubsubsec Stripping whitespace and generating menus
1597 @warning{This script assumes that the file conforms to our doc
1598 policy, in particular with regard to @ref{Sectioning commands};
1599 a few files still need work in this regard.}
1601 To automatically regenerate @code{@@menu} portions and strip
1605 scripts/auxiliar/node-menuify.py @var{FILENAME}
1608 If you are adding documentation that requires new menus,
1609 you will need to add a blank @code{@@menu} section:
1616 @node Stripping whitespace only
1617 @unnumberedsubsubsec Stripping whitespace only
1619 @c TODO: should this be documented elsewhere? It's useful for
1620 @c more than just docs.
1621 To remove extra whitespace from the ends of lines, run
1624 scripts/auxiliar/strip-whitespace.py @var{FILENAME}
1628 @node Updating doc with convert-ly
1629 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
1631 Don't. This should be done by programmers when they add new
1632 features. If you notice that it hasn't been done, complain to
1633 @code{lilypond-devel}.
1636 @node Docstrings in scheme
1637 @section Docstrings in scheme
1639 Material in the Internals reference is generated automatically
1640 from our source code. Any doc work on Internals therefore
1641 requires modifying files in @file{scm/*.scm}. Texinfo is allowed
1642 in these docstrings.
1644 Most documentation writers never touch these, though. If you want
1645 to work on them, please ask for help.
1648 @node Translating the documentation
1649 @section Translating the documentation
1651 The mailing list @code{translations@@lilynet.net} is dedicated to
1652 LilyPond web site and documentation translation; on this list, you will
1653 get support from the Translations Meister and experienced translators,
1654 and we regularly discuss translation issues common to all languages.
1655 All people interested in LilyPond translations are invited to subscribe
1656 to this list regardless of the amount of their contribution, by sending
1657 an email to @code{translations-request@@lilynet.net} with subject
1658 @code{subscribe} and an empty message body. Unless mentioned explicitly,
1659 or except if a translations coordinator contacts you privately, you
1660 should send questions, remarks and patches to the list
1661 @code{translations@@lilynet.net}. Please note that traffic is high
1662 on the English-speaking list @code{lilypond-user@@gnu.org}, so it may
1663 take some time before your request or contribution is handled.
1666 * Getting started with documentation translation::
1667 * Documentation translation details::
1668 * Documentation translation maintenance::
1669 * Translations management policies::
1670 * Technical background::
1673 @node Getting started with documentation translation
1674 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
1676 First, get the sources of branch @code{translation} from the
1677 Git repository, see @ref{Starting with Git}.
1680 * Translation requirements::
1681 * Which documentation can be translated::
1682 * Starting translation in a new language::
1685 @node Translation requirements
1686 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
1688 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
1689 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
1692 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
1698 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
1699 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
1700 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
1701 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
1702 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling}.
1704 Before undertaking any large translation work, contributors are
1705 encouraged to contact the @ref{Meisters, Translation Meister}.
1708 @node Which documentation can be translated
1709 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
1711 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
1712 of the following documentation:
1715 @item the web site, the Learning Manual, the Notation Reference and
1716 Application Usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML output; Info output
1717 might be added if there is enough demand for it;
1718 @item the Changes document.
1721 Support for translating the following pieces of documentation should be
1722 added soon, by decreasing order of priority:
1725 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
1726 predefined music functions;
1727 @item the Snippets List;
1728 @item the Internals Reference.
1732 @node Starting translation in a new language
1733 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
1735 At top of the source directory, do
1742 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
1745 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
1749 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
1750 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
1751 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
1752 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
1754 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation/} and run
1757 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
1761 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
1763 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
1764 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
1767 @node Documentation translation details
1768 @subsection Documentation translation details
1770 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1772 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1775 * Files to be translated::
1776 * Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation::
1777 * Adding a Texinfo manual::
1780 @node Files to be translated
1781 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1783 @include contributor/doc-translation-list.itexi
1785 In addition, not listed above, Snippets' titles and descriptions
1786 should be translated; they are a part of the Notation Reference and
1787 therefore their priority is 5.
1789 @node Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1790 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Web site and other Texinfo documentation
1792 Every piece of text should be translated in the source file, except
1793 Texinfo comments, text in @code{@@lilypond} blocks and a few cases
1796 Node names are translated, but the original node name in English should
1797 be kept as the argument of @code{@@translationof} put after the section
1798 title; that is, every piece in the original file like
1802 @@@var{section_command} Bar baz
1806 should be translated as
1809 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1810 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1811 @@translationof Foo bar
1814 The argument of @code{@@rglos} commands and the first argument of
1815 @code{@@rglosnamed} commands must not be translated, as it is the node
1816 name of an entry in Music Glossary.
1818 Every time you translate a node name in a cross-reference, i.e. the
1819 argument of commands @code{@@ref, @@rprogram, @@rlearning, @@rlsr,
1820 @@ruser} or the first argument of their @code{@var{*}named} variants,
1821 you should make sure the target node is defined in the correct source
1822 file; if you do not intend to translate the target node right now, you
1823 should at least write the node definition (that is, the @code{@@node
1824 @@@var{section_commmand} @@translationof} trio mentioned above) in the
1825 expected source file and define all its parent nodes; for each node you
1826 have defined this way but have not translated, insert a line that
1827 contains @code{@@untranslated}. That is, you should end up
1828 for each untranslated node with something like
1831 @@node @var{translation of Foo bar}
1832 @@@var{section_command} @var{translation of Bar baz}
1833 @@translationof Foo bar
1838 @warning{you do not have to translate the node name of a cross-reference
1839 to a node that you do not have translated. If you do, you must define
1840 an @qq{empty} node like explained just above; this will produce a
1841 cross-reference with the translated node name in output, although the
1842 target node will still be in English. On the opposite, if all
1843 cross-references that refer to an untranslated node use the node name in
1844 English, then you do not have to define such an @qq{empty} node, and the
1845 cross-reference text will appear in English in the output. The choice
1846 between these two strategies implies its particular maintenance
1847 requirements and is left to the translators, although the opinion of the
1848 Translation meister leans towards not translating these
1851 Please think of the fact that it may not make sense translating
1852 everything in some Texinfo files, and you may take distance from the
1853 original text; for instance, in the translation of the web site section
1854 Community, you may take this into account depending on what you know the
1855 community in your language is willing to support, which is possible only
1856 if you personally assume this support, or there exists a public forum
1857 or mailing list listed in Community for LilyPond in your language:
1860 @item @rweb{Bug reports}: this page should be translated only if you
1861 know that every bug report sent on your language's mailing list or forum
1862 will be handled by someone who will translate it to English and send it
1863 on bug-lilypond or add an issue in the tracker, then translate back the
1864 reply from developers.
1866 @item @rweb{Help us}: this page should be translated very freely,
1867 and possibly not at all: ask help for contributing to LilyPond for tasks
1868 that LilyPond community in your language is able and going to handle.
1872 In any case, please mark in your work the sections which do not result
1873 from the direct translation of a piece of English translation, using
1874 comments i.e. lines starting with @q{@code{@@c}}.
1876 Finally, press in Emacs @key{C-c C-u C-a} to update or generate
1877 menus. This process should be made easier in the future, when the helper
1878 script @command{texi-langutils.py} and the makefile target are updated.
1880 Some pieces of text manipulated by build scripts that appear in the
1881 output are translated in a @file{.po} file -- just like LilyPond output
1882 messages -- in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1883 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not managed
1884 through the Free Translation Project.
1887 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1888 @file{macros.itexi}.
1890 If you wonder whether a word, phrase or larger piece of text should be
1891 translated, whether it is an argument of a Texinfo command or a small
1892 piece sandwiched between two Texinfo commands, try to track whether and
1893 where it appears in PDF and/or HTML output as visible text. This piece
1894 of advice is especially useful for translating @file{macros.itexi}.
1896 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1897 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1898 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1899 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1900 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1901 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1902 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1909 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1910 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1911 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1916 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1920 in the source, open @file{Documentation/snippets/@var{filename}.ly},
1921 translate the @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1922 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1923 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}.
1924 Additionally, you may translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle}
1925 header field, in case @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in
1926 @code{@@lilypondfile}; you can do this exactly the same way as
1927 @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1928 @file{Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/texidocs/@/@var{filename}.texidoc}
1932 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1934 Spanish translation blah
1938 @code{@@example} blocks need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1939 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1941 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1942 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If one
1943 of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language, please
1944 ask the Translation meister on @email{translations@@lilynet.net} list
1945 and/or the Documentation Editors on @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}
1949 @node Adding a Texinfo manual
1950 @unnumberedsubsubsec Adding a Texinfo manual
1952 In order to start translating a new manual whose basename is @var{FOO},
1956 cd Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}
1957 cp ../@var{FOO}.tely .
1959 cp web/GNUmakefile @var{FOO}
1963 then append @var{FOO} to variable @code{SUBDIRS} in
1964 Documentation/@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/GNUmakefile, then translate file
1965 @var{MY-LANGUAGE}/@var{FOO}.tely and run @code{skeleton-update}:
1969 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} TEXI_LANGUTIL_FLAGS=--head-only skeleton-update
1973 Your are now ready to translate the new manual exactly like the web site
1974 or the Learning Manual.
1977 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1978 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1980 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1981 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1982 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1984 You should use them whenever you would like to update the translation in
1985 your language, which you may do at the frequency that fits your and your
1986 cotranslators' respective available times. In the case your translation
1987 is up-do-date (which you can discover in the first subsection below), it
1988 is enough to check its state every one or two weeks. If you feel
1989 overwhelmed by the quantity of documentation to be updated, see
1990 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1993 * Check state of translation::
1994 * Updating documentation translation::
1995 * Updating translation committishes::
1998 @macro seeCommittishesUpdate{}
1999 @warning{do not forget to update the committish in each file you have
2000 completely updated, see @ref{Updating translation committishes}.}
2003 @node Check state of translation
2004 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
2006 First pull from Git -- see @ref{Pulling and rebasing}, but DO NOT rebase
2007 unless you are sure to master the translation state checking and
2008 updating system -- then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of the
2009 source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
2010 Documentation}) and run
2013 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
2017 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
2018 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
2019 @file{Documentation/} and run
2022 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@var{manual}/@var{foo}.itely check-translation
2026 In case this file has been renamed since you last updated the
2027 translation, you should specify both old and new file names, e.g.
2028 @code{CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE}/@{@var{manual},user@}/@var{foo}.itely}.
2030 To see only which files need to be updated, do
2033 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
2036 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
2037 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
2040 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
2043 You can see the diffs generated by the commands above as changes that
2044 you should make in your language to the existing translation, in order
2045 to make your translation up to date.
2047 @seeCommittishesUpdate
2049 Global state of the translation is recorded in
2050 @file{Documentation/translations.itexi}, which is used to generate
2051 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
2052 @file{Documentation/}
2055 make translation-status
2058 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
2059 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
2060 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
2063 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
2065 @node Updating documentation translation
2066 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
2068 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
2069 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
2070 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
2071 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
2074 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
2078 or to update a single file
2081 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/@var{manual}/foo.itely} update-translation
2084 For each file to be updated, @code{update-translation} will open your
2085 text editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the
2086 diff cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself,
2087 the full file in English will be opened instead.
2089 @seeCommittishesUpdate
2091 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
2092 containing only the first node of the original file in English can be
2093 updated automatically: whenever @command{make check-translation} shows
2094 that such files should be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
2097 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
2100 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
2101 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
2107 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
2108 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
2109 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
2110 Translation meister runs this command.}
2112 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
2113 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
2114 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
2115 @file{Documentation/}):
2118 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
2121 This script overwrites music snippets in
2122 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/foo/every.itely}} with music snippets from
2123 @file{@var{foo/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
2124 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
2125 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
2126 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
2127 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
2128 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
2129 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
2130 no sense in their context.
2132 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
2133 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
2136 make all-translations-update
2139 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
2140 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP and GOP.
2143 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations},
2144 @ref{Adding and editing snippets}.
2147 @node Updating translation committishes
2148 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating translation committishes
2150 At the beginning of each translated file except PO files, there is a
2151 committish which represents the revision of the sources which you have
2152 used to translate this file from the file in English.
2154 When you have pulled and updated a translation, it is very important to
2155 update this committish in the files you have completely updated (and
2156 only these); to do this, first commit possible changes to any
2157 documentation in English which you are sure to have done in your
2158 translation as well, then replace in the up-to-date translated files the
2159 old committish by the committish of latest commit, which can be obtained
2163 git rev-list HEAD |head -1
2166 @c http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-01/msg00245.html
2167 @c contains a helper script which could be used to perform massive
2168 @c committish updates.
2170 Most of the changes in the LSR snippets included in the documentation concern
2171 the syntax, not the description inside @code{texidoc=""}. This implies that
2172 quite often you will have to update only the committish of the matching
2173 .texidoc file. This can be a tedious work if there are many snippets to be
2174 marked as up do date. You can use the following command to update the
2175 committishes at once:
2178 cd Documentation/LANG/texidocs
2179 sed -i -r 's/[0-9a-z]@{40@}/NEW-COMMITTISH/' *.texidoc
2185 @node Translations management policies
2186 @subsection Translations management policies
2188 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
2189 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
2190 coordinators work efficiently.
2193 * Maintaining without updating translations::
2194 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
2197 @node Maintaining without updating translations
2198 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
2200 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the documentation
2201 in English may be almost impossible, especially as during the former
2202 Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand Organization Project
2203 (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes. In addition,
2204 translators may be --- and that is a very good thing --- involved in
2207 it is possible --- and even recommended --- to perform some maintenance
2208 that keeps translated documentation usable and eases future translation
2209 updating. The rationale below the tasks list motivates this plan.
2211 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
2214 @item Update macros.itexi.
2215 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
2216 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
2217 do it and delete the macro definition from @file{macros.itexi}; otherwise,
2218 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
2219 @file{macros.itexi} until the documentation translation has been updated and
2220 no longer uses this macro.
2222 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
2223 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect output
2224 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
2225 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
2227 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
2228 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
2229 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
2230 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
2231 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there may
2232 be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
2233 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
2234 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
2235 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
2236 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in this
2237 case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking them
2238 with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
2240 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
2243 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
2244 Texinfo file in a new buffer @code{*Occur*}; to show structure of two files
2245 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
2246 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
2247 (e.g. the translated file), copy @code{*Occur*} contents into
2248 @code{*Scratch*}, then press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
2250 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
2251 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
2252 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
2255 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
2257 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
2258 'texinfo-show-structure)))
2262 and then obtain the structure in the @code{*Occur*} buffer with @key{C-c
2265 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
2266 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} (@qq{update all menus}) when you have
2267 updated all the rest of the file.
2269 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
2270 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
2271 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
2272 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
2273 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
2274 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
2275 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
2278 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
2279 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
2280 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
2281 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
2282 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
2283 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
2286 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
2289 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
2292 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
2293 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
2294 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
2296 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
2299 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
2303 This step requires a successful documentation build (with @command{make
2304 doc}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
2305 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
2306 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
2307 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
2308 existing page of documentation in English.
2311 @subsubheading Rationale
2313 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
2314 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
2315 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
2318 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
2319 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
2320 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
2321 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
2322 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
2323 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
2326 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
2327 organization, which is better than the old one.
2329 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
2330 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
2331 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
2332 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
2334 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
2335 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
2336 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
2337 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
2338 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
2339 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
2340 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
2345 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
2346 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
2348 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
2349 translations to Git.
2352 @item Translation work is made on
2353 @code{translation} branch. This branch is merged on
2354 @code{staging} once a week, approximately. Then,
2355 @code{master} branch is merged on
2356 @code{translation}, where the check-translation script (see
2357 @ref{Check state of translation}) shows changes in English docs which
2358 should be translated, and the cycle starts again.
2360 @item Translations may be pushed directly to
2361 @code{staging} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
2362 its documentation. Those changes could be pushed to
2363 @code{translation} too, or alternatively translators could wait until
2365 @code{master} the next time it is merged on
2366 @code{translation}. Similarly, changes matching
2367 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
2368 @code{X.Ytranslation}.
2370 @item @code{translation} Git branch may be merged into
2371 @code{staging} branch only if LilyPond (@command{make all}) and
2372 documentation (@command{make doc}) compile successfully.
2374 @item @command{make} and @command{make doc} are usually successful in
2375 @code{master} Git branch because those tests should have already
2377 @code{staging} branch before merging.
2378 @code{master} branch may be merged into
2379 @code{translation} when significant changes had been made in
2380 documentation in English in
2381 @code{master} branch.
2383 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
2384 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
2385 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
2386 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
2387 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
2388 cross-references, and operations described in
2389 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
2393 @node Technical background
2394 @subsection Technical background
2396 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
2397 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
2398 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
2401 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
2402 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
2403 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
2404 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
2405 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
2407 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
2408 counts in the file you are reading,
2409 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
2410 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
2411 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
2414 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
2417 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
2418 and documentation in other languages.
2421 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
2422 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
2424 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
2425 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
2426 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
2427 of a shell command, use Git),
2428 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
2429 tweak links in HTML pages.
2434 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module