[abcusers] Re: %%ABC 2.0 identifier

[Bryancreer]

Irwin Oppenheim wrote -

>Applications which extract separate tunes from a file,
>must insert the fields of the original file header,
>into the header of the extracted tune.

>Software that exports ABC tunes conforming to this
>standard, must include a version field.

>Software that exports ABC tunes conforming to this
>standard, must include a creator field.

Must?  What are you going to do if they don't?  What about the existing abc files?  One of the strengths of abc is that you don't need any specialist software at all; you can write it using a simple text editor (or pen and paper for that matter).  How are you going to get Microsoft Notepad to conform to this standard?  If I Copy and Paste a tune from an abc file into an email how is the operating system supposed to extract data from the file header?

Surely an abc standard shouldn't be about software, it should be about abc.  It should define what abc is.  What software does is up to the developer under pressure from their users. As Guido said a while ago -

>That said, programs don't necessarily have to comply to 1.7.6 or 2.0.0 or
>3.1415. Many users are happy with single-voice ABC, so programs targeting
>these users may be left untouched. But what about we classical musicians,
>who need more? What's more important, so-called standards or people's
>needs?

No application is likely to be a complete implementation of any version of the standard.  It is up to the developer to make it clear what subset of the standard they do implement then the user can make their choice and pester for the things they want.

Bryan Creer