1 DOCUMENTATION FORMATTING
2 ------------------------
4 The language is called texinfo; you can see its manual here:
5 http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/
7 However, you don't need to read those docs. The most important
8 thing to notice is that text is text. If you see a mistake in the
9 text, you can fix it. If you want to change the order of
10 something, you can cut-and-paste that stuff into a new location.
13 %%%%% SECTIONING COMMANDS
15 Most of the manual operates at the
17 @unnumberedsubsubsec Foo
18 level. Sections are created with
23 * sectioning commands (@node and @section) must not appear inside
24 an @ignore. Separate those commands with a space, ie @n ode.
28 %%%%% LILYPOND FORMATTING
30 * Use two spaces for indentation in lilypond examples. (no tabs)
32 * If possible, only write one bar per line. The notes on each
33 line should be an independent line.
35 \override textscript #'padding = #3 c1^"hi"
37 \override textscript #'padding = #3
40 * LilyPond input should be produce via
41 @lilypond[verbatim,quote,ragged-right]
42 with `fragment' and `relative=2' optional.
44 Examples about page layout may alter the quote/ragged-right
45 options. Omitting `verbatim' is not allowed except for special
48 * Inspirational headwords are produced with
49 @lilypondfile[ragged-right,line-width=16\cm,staffsize=16,quote]
52 * Avoid long stretches of input code. Noone is going to read them
53 in print. Please create a smaller example. (the smaller
54 example does not need to be minimal, however)
56 * If you want to work on an example outside of the manual (for
57 easier/faster processing), use this header:
60 #(define dump-extents #t)
62 line-width = 160\mm - 2.0 * 0.4\in
64 force-assignment = #""
65 line-width = #(- line-width (* mm 3.000000))
71 You may not change any of these values. If you are making an
72 example demonstrating special \paper{} values, contact the
78 * Lines should be less than 72 characters long. (I personally
79 recommend writing with 66-char lines, but don't bother modifying
84 * Do not use spaces at the beginning of a line (except in @example
85 or @verbatim environments), and do not use more than a single
86 space between words. `makeinfo' copies the input lines verbatim
87 without removing those spaces.
89 * Use two spaces after a period.
91 * Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
92 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
93 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
95 The variable@tie{}@var{a} ...
97 * To get consistent indentation in the DVI output it is better to
98 avoid the @verbatim environment. Use the @example environment
99 instead if possible, but without extraneous indentation. For
108 should be replaced with
116 where `@example' starts the line (without leading spaces).
118 * Do not compress the input vertically; this is, do not use
120 Beginning of logical unit
124 continuation of logical unit
128 Beginning of logical unit
135 continuation of logical unit
137 This makes it easier to avoid forgetting the `@noindent'. Only
138 use @noindent if the material is discussing the same material;
139 new material should simply begin without anything special on the
142 * in @itemize use @item on a separate line like this:
150 Do not use @itemize @bullet.
155 @c - single line comments
156 @ignore ... @end ignore - multi-line comment
158 @cindex - General index. Please add as many as you can.
159 @funindex - is for a \lilycommand.
161 @example ... @end ignore - example text that should be set as a
162 blockquote. Any {} must be escaped with @{ }@
163 @itemize @item A @item B ... @end itemize - for bulleted lists.
164 Do not compress vertically like this.
166 @code{} - typeset in a tt-font. Use for actual lilypond code or
167 property/context names.
168 @notation{} - refers to pieces of notation, e.g.
169 "@notation{cres.}". Also use to specific lyrics ("the
170 @notation{A - men} is centered")
171 @q{} - Single quotes. Used for `vague' terms.
172 @qq{} - Double quotes. Used for actual quotes ("he said").
174 @warning{}: produces a "Note: " box. Use for important
177 @tie{} - Variables or numbers which consist of a single character
178 (probably followed by a punctuation mark) should be tied
179 properly, either to the previous or the next word. Example:
180 "The letter@tie{}@q{I} is skipped"
182 @var - Use for variables.
183 @warning{} - produces a "Note: " box.
184 Any `\' used inside this must be written as `\\'.
188 %%%%% OTHER TEXT CONCERNS
190 * References must occur at the end of a sentence, for more
191 information see @ref{the texinfo manual}. Ideally this should
192 also be the final sentence of a paragraph, but this is not
193 required. Any link in a doc section must be duplicated in the
194 @seealso section at the bottom.
196 * Introducing examples may be done with
197 . (ie finish the previous sentence/paragaph)
198 : (ie `in this example:')
199 , (ie `may add foo with the blah construct,')
201 * Abbrevs in caps, e.g., HTML, DVI, MIDI, etc.
205 1. To introduce lists
206 2. When beginning a quote: "So, he said,..."
207 This usage is rarer. Americans often just use a comma.
208 3. When adding a defining example at the end of a sentence.
210 * Non-ASCII characters which are in utf-8 should be directly used;
211 this is, don't say `Ba@ss{}tuba' but `Baßtuba'. This ensures that
212 all such characters appear in all output formats.
214 * Don't use a @ref{link to another section} in the middle of a
215 sentence. It looks ok in HTML, moderately bad in PDF, and
216 utterly horrible in INFO. Instead, reword the sentence so that
217 users are encouraged to see @ref{link to another section}.
218 (at the end of the sentence)