Re: NIFF->Lilypond converter

[Guido Amoruso]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Han-Wen Nienhuys" <address@hidden>
To: "Guido Amoruso" <address@hidden>
Cc: <address@hidden>
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2001 12:40 AM
Subject: Re: NIFF->Lilypond converter


> address@hidden writes:
> >  Anyway, I take the opportunity to join this list, and to hear from you
> >  opinions about interchange music formats.
>
> <pompous arrogant opinion>
>
> music formats are not relevant. Anyone can design a musical format,
> and many have done so producing a lot of crap. It's much more
> difficult to write a software package that actually does something
> useful; the input format for the package can serve nicely as a
> format. That's the litmus test for a good format: it should contain
> enough information (and not more) to let a computer do something
> useful with it.
>
> </pompous arrogant opinion>

Yes, a bit.....;-))
I'm not a programmer, I'm an idiot end user....so, I'm not sure to
understand completely the difference between "format" and "input format".
Anyway, I speak as far as I can...
I do understand it's much more difficult to write a software package than a
musical format, and that is your main interest; but it is also inportant to
have interchange format, in order not to communicate with other
people....one problem of music notation has ever been that....Let's not go
on making the same errors! One beautiful feature of the Web (so far....) is
to let people exchange information, even if Html is sure not a "perfect"
format: sometimes, it is more wise to accept compromise solutions!

I think that for Lilypond and MusiXTeX  to have a common - intermadiate -
language one another and with other software/format could be useful "to
help" them to spread abroad.

There no need to invent new ones!
What about Guido, Niff and MusicXml (by Recordare)? Remember I'm a profan,
so I don't know their particular features -apart from Ascii, not-Ascii and
somethig more! :-(

Guido