RE: Evolutionary User Strategery

[Fairchild]

Kieren -

With all due respect - and you are due a lot.  The work you did on my score
is impressive, especially that you did it so quickly.

My "home made" header was for two overwhelming reasons.  First, \header code
could only be used once.  Second, I found no way to override the default
vertical positioning and font.  When I started, \header didn't allow
embedded \markup.  This is a good example where newer capabilities are
welcome, but old code should survive.

As a learning experiment, I've set about to code Stances in the your style
for 2.4.6, then see what needs to change for 2.8.5.  I've spent about an
hour just trying to convert the title line, not succeeding yet.

                             - Bruce 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kieren MacMillan [mailto:address@hidden 
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 10:51 AM
To: Fairchild
Cc: address@hidden; address@hidden
Subject: Re: Evolutionary User Strategery


Bruce:

> Older scores that have been carefully tuned, compensating for
> earlier bugs

With all due respect, this implies something about Lilypond that  
simply isn't true.

"Carefully tuned" is one thing. My scores are also carefully tuned;  
from your work I've seen so far, I dare say I'm far more obsessive- 
compulsive than you in my engraving standards. Nothing personal, mind  
you: I'm the most OC engraver I've ever met!  ;-)

That being said, I spent over an hour cleaning up your "bug- 
compensating code" yesterday, as an instructional example. What you  
were (are) doing -- e.g., adding title information directly to  
skipped notes in a \partial bar before the music actually begins, and  
then filling the \markup code with offset and spacing tweaks to move  
it back where it really belongs (i.e., in the header and not attached  
to the music) -- does not "[compensate] for earlier bugs". It's poor  
coding, plain and simple.

Are there bugs in older (and current) versions of Lilypond?  
Absolutely. Will many be fixed in upcoming versions? I sure hope so.

Ironically, the way that the header block acts as a music system is  
one of the things I hope changes in a future version... but the fact  
that my titles are all *in* headers already (instead of counter- 
intuitively attached to invisible notes between the key signature and  
the first visible note of my score) will make the migration very easy  
for me, if and when it happens.

Based on the example of your work I helped you with, my conservative  
estimate is that 90% of your migration woes would disappear if you  
just wrote proper Lilypond code. I think it's quite telling that,  
like most on this list, I've had essentially no problems moving  
forward with Lilypond as it evolves and improves (n.b., I started  
with v1.8), and you apparently have had nothing but headaches.

Ultimately, I would feel it a great loss if HW et al. decided to  
allow Lilypond to become bloatware in some vain quest for the  
Backwards Compatibility Grail.

Fortunately, I know they're too smart to do that.  =)

Regards,
Kieren.

p.s. When Microsoft ruined Word for Mac v5.1 by "improving it" (v6.0  
and beyond), I didn't upgrade -- perhaps you might consider taking  
the same approach with Lilypond?