Re: A thought on Windows Experience

[David Kastrup]

James Harkins <address@hidden> writes:

> Carl's two-column approach is pretty much what I had in
> mind. Although, he suggests this would be only a slight improvement. I
> think it could be more than that. Suppose we introduce the downloads
> with a couple of paragraphs across the top:
>
> ~~
> IMPORTANT: A complete working environment for LilyPond consists of two
> components: LilyPond itself, and a music editor. If you have installed
> only one of these, then you're not experiencing LilyPond's full power.

That's nonsensical.  You'll be experiencing LilyPond's full power if and
only if you have LilyPond itself installed.

> NEW USERS: After installing LilyPond for your operating system, review
> the editors in the right-hand column and install one of them. Use the
> editor as your primary LilyPond interface.

Again: I think the graphical environments should cater for
downloading/installing LilyPond itself, and at least Denemo currently
seems to do this, while Frescobaldi is quite open to that.

As long as its developers are actively participating on this list and
interested in making things easier for the users, I'd lean towards
something like:

LilyPond is a _command_ _line_ application translating files written in
LilyPond's music description language [see text input] into complete
scores.  It does _not_ constitute a work environment.  What you will be
working with for entering your scores is either a text editor of your
choice, or a tool specialized for creating LilyPond files.

Denemo: this is a GUI application for writing music scores that uses
LilyPond internally for creating its output.  While working with it, you
will not be exposed to the LilyPond language at all, and the LilyPond
documentation will be mostly irrelevant.  Since it has a number of input
methods as well as Midi input, it may also be used as an input tool for
entering the bulk of your music material first and exporting it to
native LilyPond format for further editing.  If you employ it in this
manner, you will still need an editor suitable for working directly with
the LilyPond language.  Denemo already includes a version of LilyPond
and can be downloaded here [Download from external link].

Frescobaldi: this is a specialized editor with lots of support for
creating and maintaining scores in the LilyPond language itself.  As
opposed to Denemo, you'll be responsible for writing every bit, and your
main reference will be the LilyPond documentation which is also
accessible from within Frescobaldi.  Frescobaldi can download and
install any version of LilyPond itself via the .../... menu and is
available here [Download from external link].

LilyPond: command line driven compiler of the LilyPond language.  If you
want to install just LilyPond itself and will be working with an editor
of your choice, you can download it from here [Download]

Something like that.

-- 
David Kastrup