Christian Cepel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote : >Right now, the idea is based mostly on writing new file format which will >implement the current standard of ABC. We want to write our program to >implement fully, and not expand at all on or deviate at all from the >specifications of the current standard. However, we wish to develop a new >file format which will contain standard abc notation _plus_ layout >information generated by our program. Speculatively, we would call it >something like abl (abc with layout), but we've not gone far as of yet to >discover what registered existing filetypes are out there.
Yeah go ahead, whatever. To play the game properly just make damn sure that every additional symbol you choose is already in use to mean something else by one of the other 'developments'. Let's face it there's only three (or is it four) parallel groups all looking at extending the abc specification, eg this list the sub-committee of this list set up last year abctf / abc+ / abc 2.0 (I forget are they distinct or all the same?) sourceforge, let alone any sub-groups that could said to be represented by the various implementations of abc*2ps, so what difference is yet another one going to make? The abc 'community' abandoned any pretence of working together towards a single common standard some time ago, so why not add on a student project and throw yet another incompatible assignment of symbols and codifications into the mix? At this rate it'll only be about two years before every bit of 'abc' on the web will need a URL in it pointing to the single specific bit of software that reads it, and we'll all have been so clever with all the variations of the specification that there won't BE any common specification any more: just loads of different and mutually incompatible ways of representing music in ASCII text, most of which have the string 'abc' somewhere in their title, and most of them will agree on some simple things like G representing the note G unless it's Tuesday in which case it's not a G note but a macro for a particular thickness and length of crescendo sign. Yeah go ahead, whatever. -- Steve Mansfield [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.lesession.demon.co.uk - abc music notation tutorial, the uk.music.folk newsgroup FAQ, and other goodies To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
