Re: how to make decisions?

[David Kastrup]

Keith OHara <address@hidden> writes:

> David Kastrup <dak <at> gnu.org> writes:
>
>> I proposed already at one point of time to require writing 4.0 rather
>> than 4. for the floating point number.  This will not cure a lot of use
>> cases, and we still have the ambiguity between 4 the duration and 4 the
>> integer, and -4 the fingering and -4 the integer.
>> 
>> Some of those can be resolved in context, but this does not help for
>> conversions, and we also have largely context-free situations, like in
>> #{ ... #} or on the right side of assignments.  At the current point of
>> time, I can't write things like #{ 4.0\cm #} in appropriate contexts
>> because 4.0 is not recognized in notemode as a real number.  Writing
>> #{ $4.0 \cm #} would work but it does not exactly win a prize for
>> beauty.
>> 
> This is interesting.  LilyPond has used context to know that in
>    \paper {line-width = 16.\cm}
> the '-' is part of the variable name, the '16.' a decimal number, and the 
> \cm a predefined dimension -- as opposed to
>     cm = {c16. d64 e_- } \new Voice \cm
>
> We have been required to use Scheme to write decimal numbers, everywhere 
> outside of \paper{} and other headers
>    midiMaximumVolume = #0.7
>
> Is this why you let '-' and '_' in identifiers out of their previous 
> confines?  I thought you wanted them in music identifiers. (Others have 
> requested the '_' at least.)

I am not interested in using them in music identifiers (and the entry in
changes.tely clearly says so:

    Staying with established conventions (like not using dashes or
    underlines for command names intended to be used inside of music)
    remains advisable.  The reason for this change is more robust
    recognition of LilyPond's lexical units for LilyPond itself as well as
    external tools interpreting its syntax.

The principal reason was to be able to unify command/word syntax across
modes to allow scanning of a lookahead token over a lexer mode switching
border.

> How far do you foresee merging the syntax in \paper {} with that in
> note-entry mode?

One token far.  Syntax is more than token syntax.  I'd definitely like
fewer lexer modes, though.

>> > I've seen complaints in non-Lilypond forums that LilyPond pitch
>> > entry is not relative to key signature.  We could accommodate this
>> > ...
>
>> My personal take on this is "no".  Reason 1 ... 2 ...
>
> Absolutely.  I'll just point out where one person who tried out Lilypond
> was innocently transparent in his bewilderment that anyone would call 
> out fis in the key of D, and quietly denote the unusual F-natural as f.

http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/15/typesetting-music-in-latex-and-lilypond/

The comments are almost more depressing than the blog post itself.

-- 
David Kastrup