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 * Sectioning commands::
61 * LilyPond formatting::
64 * Other text concerns::
68 @node Texinfo introduction
69 @subsection Texinfo introduction
71 The language is called Texinfo; you can see its manual here:
73 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/}
75 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
76 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
77 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
78 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
80 @warning{Rule of thumb: follow the examples in the existing docs.
81 You can learn most of what you need to know from this; if you want
82 to do anything fancy, discuss it on @code{lilypond-devel} first.}
85 @subsection Sectioning commands
87 Most of the manual operates at the
95 level. Sections are created with
104 Please leave two blank lines above a @@node; this makes it
105 easier to find sections in texinfo.
108 Sectioning commands (@@node and @@section) must not appear
109 inside an @@ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @@n
116 @subsection LilyPond formatting
121 Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no
125 All text strings should be prefaced with #. LilyPond does
126 not strictly require this, but it is helpful to get users
127 accustomed to this scheme construct. ie @code{\set
128 Staff.instrumentName = #"cello"}
131 All engravers should have double-quotes around them:
134 \consists "Spans_arpeggio_engraver"
137 Again, LilyPond does not strictly require this, but it is a useful
141 Examples should end with a complete bar if possible.
144 If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
145 line should be an independent line -- tweaks should occur on their
146 own line if possible. Bad:
149 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
155 \override textscript #'padding = #3
160 Most LilyPond input should be produced with:
163 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=2]
170 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote,relative=1]
173 If you want to use \layout@{@} or define variables, use
176 @@lilypond[verbatim,quote]
179 In rare cases, other options may be used (or omitted), but ask first.
182 Inspirational headwords are produced with
185 @@lilypondfile[quote,ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16]
186 @{pitches-headword.ly@}
190 LSR snippets are linked with
193 @@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,ragged-right,texidoc,doctitle]
198 excepted in Templates, where `doctitle' may be omitted.
201 Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read
202 them in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
203 example does not need to be minimal, however)
206 Specify durations for at least the first note of every bar.
209 If possible, end with a complete bar.
212 Comments should go on their own line, and be placed before
213 the line(s) to which they refer.
216 Add extra spaces around @{ @} marks; ie
219 not: \chordmode @{c e g@}
220 but instead: \chordmode @{ c e g @}
224 If you only have one bar per line, omit bar checks. If you
225 put more than one bar per line (not recommended), then include bar
229 If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
230 easier/faster processing), use this header:
234 #(define dump-extents #t)
236 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
238 force-assignment = #""
239 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
246 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
247 example demonstrating special \paper@{@} values, contact the
248 Documentation Editor.
253 @subsection Text formatting
258 Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
259 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
266 Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in
267 @@example or @@verbatim environments), and do not use more than a
268 single space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines
269 verbatim without removing those spaces.
272 Use two spaces after a period.
275 In examples of syntax, use @@var@{musicexpr@} for a music
279 Don't use @@rinternals@{@} in the main text. If you're
280 tempted to do so, you're probably getting too close to "talking
281 through the code". If you really want to refer to a context, use
282 @@code@{@} in the main text and @@rinternals@{@} in the @@seealso.
285 Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
286 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied properly,
287 either to the previous or the next word. Example:
290 The variable@@tie@{@}@@var@{a@} ...
294 To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better
295 to avoid the @@verbatim environment. Use the @@example
296 environment instead if possible, but without extraneous
297 indentation. For example, this
308 should be replaced with
319 where `@@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
322 Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
325 Beginning of logical unit
329 continuation of logical unit
336 Beginning of logical unit
343 continuation of logical unit
346 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@@noindent'. Only
347 use @@noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
348 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
352 in @@itemize use @@item
353 on a separate line like this:
364 Do not use @@itemize @@bullet.
367 To get LilyPond version, use @@version@{@} (this does not work
368 inside LilyPond snippets). If you write "@@version@{@}" (enclosed
369 with quotes), or generally if @@version@{@} is not followed by a
370 space, tere will be an ugly line break in PDF output unless you
378 @@w@{"@@version@{@}"@}
384 @subsection Syntax survey
388 @@c - single line comments
389 "@@c NOTE:" is a comment which should remain in the final
390 version. (gp only command ;)
392 @@ignore ... @@end ignore - multi-line comment
395 @@cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can. Don't
396 capitalize the first word.
398 @@funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
401 @@example ... @@end ignore - example text that should be set as a
402 blockquote. Any @{@} must be escaped with @@@{ @}@@
406 B ... @@end itemize - for bulleted lists.
407 Do not compress vertically like this.
410 @@code@{@} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
411 property/context names. If the name contains a space, wrap
412 the entire thing inside @@w@{@@code@{ @}@}.
414 @@notation@{@} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
415 "@@notation@{cres.@}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
416 @@notation@{A - men@} is centered"). Only use once per subsection
419 @@q@{@} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
421 @@qq@{@} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said") or for
422 introducing special input modes.
425 @@tie@{@} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
426 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
427 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
428 "The letter@@tie@{@}@@q@{I@} is skipped"
431 @@var - Use for variables.
433 @@warning@{@} - produces a "Note: " box. Use for important messages.
436 @@bs - Generates a backslash inside @@warning.
437 Any `\' used inside @@warning (and @@q or @@qq) must be written as `@@bs@{@}'
438 (texinfo would also allow \\, but this breaks with PDF output).
444 @subsection Other text concerns
449 References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
450 information see @@ref@{the texinfo manual@}. Ideally this should
451 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
452 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
453 @@seealso section at the bottom.
456 Introducing examples must be done with
459 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
460 : (ie `in this example:')
461 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
464 The old "sentence runs directly into the example" method is not
468 Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
479 When beginning a quote: "So, he said,...".
481 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
484 When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
489 Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
490 this is, don't say `Ba@@ss@{@}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures
491 that all such characters appear in all output formats.
498 @node Documentation policy
499 @section Documentation policy
504 There are four parts to the documentation: the Learning Manual,
505 the Notation Reference, the Program Reference, and the Music
513 The LM is written in a tutorial style which introduces the most
514 important concepts, structure and syntax of the elements of a
515 LilyPond score in a carefully graded sequence of steps.
516 Explanations of all musical concepts used in the Manual can be
517 found in the Music Glossary, and readers are assumed to have no
518 prior knowledge of LilyPond. The objective is to take readers to
519 a level where the Notation Reference can be understood and
520 employed to both adapt the templates in the Appendix to their
521 needs and to begin to construct their own scores. Commonly used
522 tweaks are introduced and explained. Examples are provided
523 throughout which, while being focussed on the topic being
524 introduced, are long enough to seem real in order to retain the
525 readers' interest. Each example builds on the previous material,
526 and comments are used liberally. Every new aspect is thoroughly
527 explained before it is used.
529 Users are encouraged to read the complete Learning Manual from
534 Notation Reference: a (hopefully complete) description of LilyPond
535 input notation. Some material from here may be duplicated in the
536 Learning Manual (for teaching), but consider the NR to be the
537 "definitive" description of each notation element, with the LM
538 being an "extra". The goal is _not_ to provide a step-by-step
539 learning environment -- do not avoid using notation that has not
540 be introduced previously in the NR (for example, use \break if
541 appropriate). This section is written in formal technical writing
544 Avoid duplication. Although users are not expected to read this
545 manual from start to finish, they should be familiar with the
546 material in the Learning Manual (particularly ``Fundamental
547 Concepts''), so do not repeat that material in each section of
548 this book. Also watch out for common constructs, like ^ - _ for
549 directions -- those are explained in NR 3. In NR 1, you can
550 write: DYNAMICS may be manually placed above or below the staff,
551 see @@ref@{Controlling direction and placement@}.
553 Most tweaks should be added to LSR and not placed directly in the
554 .itely file. In some cases, tweaks may be placed in the main
555 text, but ask about this first.
557 Finally, you should assume that users know what the notation
558 means; explaining musical concepts happens in the Music Glossary.
562 Application Usage: information about using the program lilypond
563 with other programs (lilypond-book, operating systems, GUIs,
564 convert-ly, etc). This section is written in formal technical
567 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
571 Music Glossary: information about the music notation itself.
572 Explanations and translations about notation terms go here.
574 Users are not expected to read this manual from start to finish.
577 Internals Reference: not really a documentation book, since it is
578 automagically generated from the source, but this is its name.
583 @subsection Section organization
588 The order of headings inside documentation sections should
601 You @emph{must} include a @@seealso.
605 The order of items inside the @@seealso section is
614 @@rlearning@{foozle@}.
624 @@file@{path/to/dir/blahz@}.
626 Snippets: @@rlsr@{section@}.
629 @@rinternals@{fazzle@},
630 @@rinternals@{booar@}.
634 If there are multiple entries, separate them by commas but do not
638 Always end with a period.
641 Place each link on a new line as above; this makes it much easier
642 to add or remove links. In the output, they appear on a single
645 ("Snippets" is REQUIRED; the others are optional)
648 Any new concepts or links which require an explanation should go
649 as a full sentence(s) in the main text.
652 Don't insert an empty line between @@seealso and the first entry!
653 Otherwise there is excessive vertical space in the PDF output.
658 To create links, use @@ref@{@} if the link is within the same
662 @@predefined ... @@endpredefined is for commands in ly/*-init.ly
666 Do not include any real info in second-level sections (ie 1.1
667 Pitches). A first-level section may have introductory material,
668 but other than that all material goes into third-level sections
669 (ie 1.1.1 Writing Pitches).
674 @subsection Checking cross-references
676 Cross-references between different manuals are heavily used in the
677 documentation, but they are not checked during compilation.
678 However, if you compile the documentation, a script called
679 check_texi_refs can help you with checking and fixing these
680 cross-references; for information on usage, cd into a source tree
681 where documentation has been built, cd into Documentation and look
682 for check-xrefs and fix-xrefs targets in 'make help' output. Note
683 that you have to find yourself the source files to fix
684 cross-references in the generated documentation such as the
685 Internals Reference; e.g. you can grep scm/ and lily/.
688 @subsection General writing
693 Do not forget to create @@cindex entries for new sections of text.
694 Enter commands with @@funindex, i.e.
697 @@cindex pitches, writing in different octaves
702 do not bother with the @@code@{@} (they are added automatically).
703 These items are added to both the command index and the unified
706 Both index commands should go in front of the actual material.
708 @@cindex entries should not be capitalized, ie
711 @@cindex time signature
715 is preferred instead of @qq{Time signature}, Only use capital
716 letters for musical terms which demand them, like D.S. al Fine.
718 For scheme functions, only include the final part, i.e.,
721 @@funindex modern-voice-cautionary
723 @@funindex #(set-accidental-style modern-voice-cautionary)
732 In general, use the American spellings. The internal lilypond
733 property names use this spelling.
736 List of specific terms:
740 simultaneous NOT concurrent
741 measure: the unit of music
742 bar line: the symbol delimiting a measure NOT barline
743 note head NOT notehead
744 chord construct NOT chord (when referring to <>)
752 @subsection Technical writing style
754 These refer to the NR. The LM uses a more gentle, colloquial
760 Do not refer to LilyPond in the text. The reader knows what the
761 manual is about. If you do, capitalization is LilyPond.
764 If you explicitly refer to @q{lilypond} the program (or any other
765 command to be executed), write @code{@@command@{lilypond@}}.
768 Do not explicitly refer to the reader/user. There is no one else
769 besides the reader and the writer.
772 Avoid contractions (don't, won't, etc.). Spell the words out completely.
775 Avoid abbreviations, except for commonly used abbreviations of foreign
776 language terms such as etc. and i.e.
779 Avoid fluff (@qq{Notice that,} @qq{as you can see,}
783 The use of the word @q{illegal} is inappropriate in most cases.
784 Say @q{invalid} instead.
789 @node Tips for writing docs
790 @section Tips for writing docs
792 In the NR, I highly recommend focusing on one subsection at a
793 time. For each subsection,
798 check the mundane formatting. Are the headings (@@predefined,
799 @@seealso, etc.) in the right order?
802 add any appropriate index entries.
805 check the links in the @@seealso section -- links to music
806 glossary, internal references, and other NR sections are the main
807 concern. Check for potential additions.
810 move LSR-worthy material into LSR. Add the snippet, delete the
811 material from the .itely file, and add a @@lilypondfile command.
814 check the examples and descriptions. Do they still work?
815 @strong{Do not} assume that the existing text is
816 accurate/complete; some of the manual is highly out of date.
819 is the material in the @@knownissues still accurate?
822 can the examples be improved (made more explanatory), or is there
823 any missing info? (feel free to ask specific questions on -user;
824 a couple of people claimed to be interesting in being
825 @qq{consultants} who would help with such questions)
829 In general, I favor short text explanations with good examples --
830 @qq{an example is worth a thousand words}. When I worked on the
831 docs, I spent about half my time just working on those tiny
832 lilypond examples. Making easily-understandable examples is much
833 harder than it looks.
836 @subsubheading TWEAKS
838 In general, any \set or \override commands should go in the
839 @qq{select snippets} section, which means that they should go in
840 LSR and not the .itely file. For some cases, the command
841 obviously belongs in the @qq{main text} (i.e. not inside
842 @@predefined or @@seealso or whatever) -- instrument names are a
843 good example of this.
846 \set Staff.instrumentName = #"foo"
849 On the other side of this,
852 \override Score.Hairpin #'after-line-breaking = ##t
855 clearly belongs in LSR.
857 I'm quite willing to discuss specific cases if you think that a
858 tweaks needs to be in the main text. But items that can go into
859 LSR are easier to maintain, so I'd like to move as much as
863 It would be @qq{nice} if you spent a lot of time crafting nice
864 tweaks for users... but my recommendation is @strong{not} to do
865 this. There's a lot of doc work to do without adding examples of
866 tweaks. Tweak examples can easily be added by normal users by adding
869 One place where a documentation writer can profitably spend time writing
870 or upgrading tweaks is creating tweaks to deal with known issues. It
871 would be ideal if every significant known issue had a workaround to avoid
875 @node Updating docs with convert-ly
876 @section Updating doc with @command{convert-ly}
878 cd into Documentation and run
881 find . -name '*.itely' | xargs convert-ly -e
885 This also updates translated documentation.
889 @node Translating the documentation
890 @section Translating the documentation
893 * Getting started with documentation translation::
894 * Documentation translation details::
895 * Documentation translation maintenance::
896 * Translations management policies::
897 * Technical background::
900 @node Getting started with documentation translation
901 @subsection Getting started with documentation translation
903 First, get the sources from the Git repository, see @ref{Documentation
904 translations source code}.
907 * Translation requirements::
908 * Which documentation can be translated::
909 * Starting translation in a new language::
912 @node Translation requirements
913 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translation requirements
915 Working on LilyPond documentation translations requires the following
916 pieces of software, in order to make use of dedicated helper tools:
919 @item Python 2.4 or higher,
924 It is not required to build LilyPond and the documentation to
925 translate the documentation. However, if you have enough time and
926 motivation and a suitable system, it can be very useful to build at
927 least the documentation so that you can check the output yourself and
928 more quickly; if you are interested, see @ref{Compiling from source}.
933 @node Which documentation can be translated
934 @unnumberedsubsubsec Which documentation can be translated
936 The makefiles and scripts infrastructure currently supports translation
937 of the following documentation:
940 @item documentation index (HTML);
941 @item user manual and program usage -- Texinfo source, PDF and HTML
942 output; Info output might be added if there is enough demand for it;
943 @item the News document.
946 The following pieces of documentation should be added soon, by
947 descending order of priority:
950 @item automatically generated documentation: markup commands,
951 predefined music functions;
952 @item the Snippets List;
953 @item the examples page;
954 @item the Internals Reference.
958 @node Starting translation in a new language
959 @unnumberedsubsubsec Starting translation in a new language
961 At top of the source directory, do
968 or (if you want to install your self-compiled LilyPond locally)
971 ./autogen.sh --prefix=$HOME
975 If you want to compile LilyPond -- which is almost required to build
976 the documentation, but is not required to do translation only -- fix
977 all dependencies and rerun @command{./configure} (with the same
978 options as for @command{autogen.sh}).
980 Then @command{cd} into @file{Documentation} and run
983 make ISOLANG=@var{MY-LANGUAGE} new-lang
987 where @var{MY-LANGUAGE} is the ISO 639 language code.
989 Finally, add a language definition for your language in
990 @file{python/langdefs.py}.
992 Before starting the real translation work, it is recommended to commit
993 changes you made so far to Git, so e.g. you are able to get back to
994 this state of the sources easily if needed; see @ref{Sharing your
998 @node Documentation translation details
999 @subsection Documentation translation details
1001 Please follow all the instructions with care to ensure quality work.
1003 All files should be encoded in UTF-8.
1006 * Files to be translated::
1007 * Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation::
1008 * Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage::
1009 * Translating the Documentation index index.html.in::
1012 @node Files to be translated
1013 @unnumberedsubsubsec Files to be translated
1015 @include doc-translation-list.itexi
1017 @node Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1018 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Learning Manual and other Texinfo documentation
1020 Any title which comes with one of the following commands must not be
1021 translated directly in the Texinfo source
1024 @@node @@majorheading
1025 @@chapter @@unnumbered @@appendix @@chapheading
1026 @@section @@unnumberedsec @@appendixsec @@heading
1027 @@subsection @@unnumberedsubsec @@appendixsubsec @@subheading
1028 @@subsubsection @@unnumberedsubsubsec @@appendixsubsubsec @@subsubheading
1032 As a notable exception, the second argument @var{Bar baz} of
1033 @code{@@ref@{@var{Foo},@var{Bar baz},,@var{info-file}@}} should be
1036 @code{@@uref}'s names are to be translated.
1038 In any section which looks like
1042 * @var{node1}:: @var{thing1}
1043 * @var{node2}:: @var{thing2}
1049 the node names @var{nodeN} are @emph{not} to be translated, whereas
1050 extra title information @var{thingN} is.
1052 Every node name or section title must from now on be translated
1053 separately in a @file{.po} file (just as well as LilyPond output
1054 messages) in @file{Documentation/po}. The Gettext domain is named
1055 @code{lilypond-doc}, and unlike @code{lilypond} domain it is not
1056 managed through the Free Translation Project.
1059 Take care of using typographic rules for your language, especially in
1060 @file{user/macros.itexi}.
1063 Please keep verbatim copies of music snippets (in @code{@@lilypond}
1064 blocs). However, some music snippets containing text that shows in
1065 the rendered music, and sometimes translating this text really helps
1066 the user to understand the documentation; in this case, and only in
1067 this case, you may as an exception translate text in the music
1068 snippet, and then you must add a line immediately before the
1069 @code{@@lilypond} block, starting with
1076 Otherwise the music snippet would be reset to the same content as the
1077 English version at next @command{make snippet-update} run -- see
1078 @ref{Updating documentation translation}.
1083 @@lilypondfile[<number of fragment options>,texidoc]@{@var{filename.ly}@}
1087 in the source, open @file{input/lsr/@var{filename}.ly}, translate the
1088 @code{texidoc} header field it contains, enclose it with
1089 @code{texidoc@var{MY-LANGUAGE} = "} and @code{"}, and write it into
1090 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} -- please keep possibly
1091 existing translations in other languages! Additionnally, you may
1092 translate the snippet's title in @code{doctitle} header field, in case
1093 @code{doctitle} is a fragment option used in @code{@@lilypondfile};
1094 you can do this exactly the same way as @code{texidoc}. For instance,
1095 @file{input/texidocs/@var{filename}.texidoc} may contain
1098 doctitlees = "Spanish title baz"
1100 Spanish translation blah
1102 doctitlede = "German title bar"
1103 texidocde = "German translation foo
1107 @code{@@example} blocs need not be verbatim copies, e.g. variable
1108 names, file names and comments should be translated.
1110 Index entries (@code{@@cindex} and so on) should be translated.
1112 Finally, please carefully apply every rule exposed in @ref{Texinfo
1113 introduction and usage policy}, and @ref{Documentation policy}. If
1114 one of these rules conflicts with a rule specific to your language,
1115 please ask the Translation meister and/or the Documentation Editors on
1116 @email{lilypond-devel@@gnu.org}.
1119 @node Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1120 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Notation Reference and Application Usage
1122 Copy @file{user/lilypond.tely} (or @file{user/lilypond-program.tely},
1123 respectively) into @file{@var{MY-LANGUAGE}/user}, then translate this
1124 file and run @code{skeleton-update} -- see @ref{Updating documentation
1125 translation}. Your are now ready to translate the Notation Reference
1126 (Application Usage, respectively) exactly like the Learning Manual.
1129 @node Translating the Documentation index index.html.in
1130 @unnumberedsubsubsec Translating the Documentation index @file{index.html.in}
1132 Unlike almost all HTML pages in this documentation, links in this page
1133 are not tweaked by @file{postprocess_html.py}, so links should be
1134 manually edited to link to existing translations.
1137 @node Documentation translation maintenance
1138 @subsection Documentation translation maintenance
1140 Several tools have been developed to make translations maintenance
1141 easier. These helper scripts make use of the power of Git, the
1142 version control system used for LilyPond development.
1145 * Check state of translation::
1146 * Updating documentation translation::
1149 @node Check state of translation
1150 @unnumberedsubsubsec Check state of translation
1152 First pull from Git, then cd into @file{Documentation/} (or at top of
1153 the source tree, replace @command{make} with @command{make -C
1154 Documentation}) and run
1157 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation
1161 This presents a diff of the original files since the most recent
1162 revision of the translation. To check a single file, cd into
1163 @file{Documentation/} and run
1166 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} check-translation
1169 To see only which files need to be updated, do
1172 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} check-translation | grep 'diff --git'
1175 To avoid printing terminal colors control characters, which is often
1176 desirable when you redirect output to a file, run
1179 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} NO_COLOR=1 check-translation
1182 Global state of the translation is recorded in
1183 @file{Documentation/translations.html.in}, which is used to generate
1184 Translations status page. To update that page, do from
1185 @file{Documentation/}
1188 make translation-status
1191 This will also leave @file{out/translations-status.txt}, which contains
1192 up-to-dateness percentages for each translated file, and update word
1193 counts of documentation files in this Guide.
1197 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1200 @node Updating documentation translation
1201 @unnumberedsubsubsec Updating documentation translation
1203 Instead of running @code{check-translation}, you may want to run
1204 @code{update-translation}, which will run your favorite text editor to
1205 update files. First, make sure environment variable @code{EDITOR} is
1206 set to a text editor command, then run from @file{Documentation/}
1209 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} update-translation
1212 or to update a single file
1215 make CHECKED_FILES=@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/foo.itely} update-translation
1218 For each file to be udpated, update-translation will open your text
1219 editor with this file and a diff of the file in English; if the diff
1220 cannot be generated or is bigger than the file in English itself, the
1221 full file in English will be opened instead.
1223 Texinfo skeleton files, i.e. @file{.itely} files not yet translated,
1224 containing only the Texinfo structure can be updated automatically:
1225 whenever @command{make check-translation} shows that such files should
1226 be updated, run from @file{Documentation/}
1229 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} skeleton-update
1232 @file{.po} message catalogs in @file{Documentation/po/} may be updated
1233 by issuing from @file{Documentation/} or @file{Documentation/po/}
1239 @warning{if you run po-update and somebody else does the same and
1240 pushes before you push or send a patch to be applied, there will be a
1241 conflict when you pull. Therefore, it is better that only the
1242 Translation meister runs this command.}
1244 Updating music snippets can quickly become cumbersome, as most
1245 snippets should be identical in all languages. Fortunately, there is
1246 a script that can do this odd job for you (run from
1247 @file{Documentation/}):
1250 make ISOLANG=@var{MY_LANGUAGE} snippet-update
1253 This script overwrites music snippets in
1254 @file{@var{MY_LANGUAGE/user/every.itely}} with music snippets from
1255 @file{@var{user/every.itely}}. It ignores skeleton files, and keeps
1256 intact music snippets preceded with a line starting with @code{@@c
1257 KEEP LY}; it reports an error for each @file{.itely} that has not the
1258 same music snippet count in both languages. Always use this script
1259 with a lot of care, i.e. run it on a clean Git working tree, and check
1260 the changes it made with @command{git diff} before committing; if you
1261 don't do so, some @code{@@lilypond} snippets might be broken or make
1262 no sense in their context.
1264 Finally, a command runs the three update processes above for all
1265 enabled languages (from @file{Documentation/}):
1268 make all-translations-update
1271 Use this command with caution, and keep in mind it will not be really
1272 useful until translations are stabilized after the end of GDP.
1276 @ref{Maintaining without updating translations}.
1279 @node Translations management policies
1280 @subsection Translations management policies
1282 These policies show the general intent of how the translations should
1283 be managed, they aim at helping translators, developers and
1284 coordinators work efficiently.
1287 * Maintaining without updating translations::
1288 * Managing documentation translation with Git::
1291 @node Maintaining without updating translations
1292 @unnumberedsubsubsec Maintaining without updating translations
1294 Keeping translations up to date under heavy changes in the
1295 documentation in English may be almost impossible, especially as
1296 during the former Grand Documentation Project (GDP) or the Grand
1297 Organization Project (GOP) when a lot of contributors brings changes.
1298 In addition, transloators may be (and that) involved in these porjects too.
1300 it is possible -- and even recommended -- to
1301 perform some maintaining that keeps translated documentation usable
1302 and eases future translation updating. The rationale below the tasks
1303 list motivates this plan. The rationale below the tasks
1304 list motivates this plan.
1306 The following tasks are listed in decreasing priority order.
1309 @item Update macros.itexi.
1310 For each obsolete macro definition, if it is possible to update macro
1311 usage in documentation with an automatic text or regexp substitution,
1312 do it and delete the macro definition from macros.itexi; otherwise,
1313 mark this macro definition as obsolete with a comment, and keep it in
1314 macros.itexi until the documentation translation has been updated and
1315 no longer uses this macro.
1317 @item Update @file{*.tely} files completely with
1318 @command{make check-translation} -- you may want to redirect ouptput
1319 to a file because of overwhelming output, or call check-translation.py
1320 on individual files, see @ref{Check state of translation}.
1322 @item In @file{.itelys}, match sections and .itely file names with those from
1323 English docs, which possibly involves moving nodes contents in block
1324 between files, without updating contents itself. In other words, the
1325 game is catching where has gone each section. In Learning manual, and
1326 in Notation Reference sections which have been revised in GDP, there
1327 may be completely new sections: in this case, copy @code{@@node} and
1328 @code{@@section}-command from English docs, and add the marker for
1329 untranslated status @code{@@untranslated} on a single line. Note that
1330 it is not possible to exactly match subsections or subsubsections of
1331 documentation in English, when contents has been deeply revised; in
1332 this case, keep obsolete (sub)subsections in the translation, marking
1333 them with a line @code{@@c obsolete} just before the node.
1335 Emacs with Texinfo mode makes this step easier:
1338 @item without Emacs AucTeX installed, @key{C-c C-s} shows structure of current
1339 Texinfo file in a new buffer *Occur*; to show structure of two files
1340 simultaneously, first split Emacs window in 4 tiles (with @key{C-x 1}
1341 and @key{C-x 2}), press @key{C-c C-s} to show structure of one file
1342 (e.g. the translated file), copy *Occur* contents into *Scratch*, then
1343 press @key{C-c C-s} for the other file.
1345 If you happen to have installed AucTeX, you can either call the macro
1346 by doing @key{M-x texinfo-show-structure} or create a key binding in your
1347 @file{~/.emacs}, by adding the four following lines:
1350 (add-hook 'Texinfo-mode-hook
1352 (define-key Texinfo-mode-map "\C-cs"
1353 'texinfo-show-structure)))
1357 and then obtain the structure in the *Occur* buffer with @key{C-c s}.
1359 @item Do not bother updating @code{@@menu}s when all menu entries are in the same
1360 file, just do @key{C-c C-u C-a} ("update all menus") when you have
1361 updated all the rest of the file.
1363 @item Moving to next or previous node using incremental search: press
1364 @key{C-s} and type @code{node} (or @key{C-s @@node} if the text
1365 contains the word @q{node}) then press @key{C-s} to move to next node
1366 or @key{C-r} to move to previous node. Similar operation can be used
1367 to move to the next/previous section. Note that every cursor move
1368 exits incremental search, and hitting @key{C-s} twice starts
1369 incremental search with the text entered in previous incremental
1372 @item Moving a whole node (or even a sequence of nodes): jump to beginning
1373 of the node (quit incremental search by pressing an arrow), press
1374 @key{C-SPACE}, press @key{C-s node} and repeat @key{C-s} until you
1375 have selected enough text, cut it with @key{C-w} or @key{C-x}, jump to
1376 the right place (moving between nodes with the previous hint is often
1377 useful) and paste with @key{C-y} or @key{C-v}.
1380 @item Update sections finished in the English documentation; check
1382 @uref{http://lilypondwiki.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Documentation_coordination}.
1384 @item Update documentation PO. It is recommended not to update
1385 strings which come from documentation that is currently deeply revised
1386 in English, to avoid doing the work more than once.
1388 @item Fix broken cross-references by running (from @file{Documentation/})
1391 make ISOLANG=@var{YOUR-LANGUAGE} fix-xrefs
1395 This step requires a sucessful documentation build (with @command{make
1396 web}). Some cross-references are broken because they point to a node
1397 that exists in the documentation in English, which has not been added
1398 to the translation; in this case, do not fix the cross-reference but
1399 keep it "broken", so that the resulting HTML link will point to an
1400 existing page of documentation in English.
1403 @subsubheading Rationale
1405 You may wonder if it would not be better to leave translations as-is
1406 until you can really start updating translations. There are several
1407 reasons to do these maintenance tasks right now.
1410 @item This will have to be done sooner or later anyway, before updating
1411 translation of documentation contents, and this can already be done
1412 without needing to be redone later, as sections of documentation in
1413 English are mostly revised once. However, note that not all
1414 documentation sectioning has been revised in one go, so all this
1415 maintenance plan has to be repeated whenever a big reorganization is
1418 @item This just makes translated documentation take advantage of the new
1419 organization, which is better than the old one.
1421 @item Moving and renaming sections to match sectioning of documentation in
1422 English simplify future updating work: it allows updating the
1423 translation by side-by-side comparison, without bothering whether
1424 cross-reference names already exist in the translation.
1426 @item Each maintenance task except @q{Updating PO files} can be done by
1427 the same person for all languages, which saves overall time spent by
1428 translators to achieve this task: the node names and section titles
1429 are in English, so you can do. It is important to take advantage of
1430 this now, as it will be more complicated (but still possible) to do
1431 step 3 in all languages when documentation is compiled with
1432 @command{texi2html} and node names are directly translated in source
1437 @node Managing documentation translation with Git
1438 @unnumberedsubsubsec Managing documentation translation with Git
1440 This policy explains how to manage Git branches and commit
1441 translations to Git.
1444 @item Translation changes matching master branch are preferably made on
1445 @code{lilypond/translation} branch; they may be pushed directly to
1446 @code{master} only if they do not break compilation of LilyPond and
1447 its documentation, and in this case they should be pushed to
1448 @code{lilypond/translation} too. Similarly, changes matching
1449 @code{stable/X.Y} are preferably made on
1450 @code{lilypond/X.Ytranslation}.
1452 @item @code{lilypond/translation} Git branch may be merged into master only if
1453 LilyPond (@command{make all}) and documentation (@command{make web}) compile
1456 @item @code{master} Git branch may be merged into
1457 @code{lilypond/translation} whenever @command{make} and @command{make
1458 web} are succesful (in order to ease documentation compilation by
1459 translators), or when significant changes had been made in
1460 documentation in English in master branch.
1462 @item General maintenance may be done by anybody who knows what he does
1463 in documentation in all languages, without informing translators
1464 first. General maintenance include simple text substitutions
1465 (e.g. automated by sed), compilation fixes, updating Texinfo or
1466 lilypond-book commands, updating macros, updating ly code, fixing
1467 cross-references, and operations described in @ref{Maintaining
1468 without updating translations}.
1472 @node Technical background
1473 @subsection Technical background
1475 A number of Python scripts handle a part of the documentation
1476 translation process. All scripts used to maintain the translations
1477 are located in @file{scripts/auxiliar/}.
1480 @item @file{check_translation.py} -- show diff to update a translation,
1481 @item @file{texi-langutils.py} -- quickly and dirtily parse Texinfo files to
1482 make message catalogs and Texinfo skeleton files,
1483 @item @file{texi-skeleton-update.py} -- update Texinfo skeleton files,
1484 @item @file{update-snippets.py} -- synchronize ly snippets with those
1486 @item @file{translations-status.py} -- update translations status pages and word
1487 counts in the file you are reading,
1488 @item @file{tely-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1489 in the sources; WARNING only use this script once for each file, when support for
1490 "makeinfo --html" has been dropped.
1493 Other scripts are used in the build process, in @file{scripts/build/}:
1496 @item @file{html-gettext.py} -- translate node names, section titles and cross
1497 references in HTML files generated by @command{makeinfo},
1498 @item @file{texi-gettext.py} -- gettext node names, section titles and references
1499 before calling @command{texi2pdf},
1500 @item @file{mass-link.py} -- link or symlink files between English documentation
1501 and documentation in other languages.
1504 Python modules used by scripts in @file{scripts/auxiliar/} or @file{scripts/build/} (but
1505 not by installed Python scripts) are located in @file{python/auxiliar/}:
1507 @item @file{manuals_definitions.py} -- define manual names and name of
1508 cross-reference Texinfo macros,
1509 @item @file{buildlib.py} -- common functions (read piped output
1510 of a shell command, use Git),
1511 @item @file{postprocess_html.py} (module imported by @file{www_post.py}) -- add footer and
1512 tweak links in HTML pages.
1517 @item @file{python/langdefs.py} -- language definitions module