[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> With the 1.3.x series of Lilypond, Han-Wen and Jan are trying to
> make an even more flexible tool that can handle all our strange
> wishes on music notation. However, I'm a bit worried about how
> this will affect ordinary use of Lilypond.
> When I see syntax changes like
>
> - \property Voice.beamAutoEnd = "1/4"
> + \property Voice.beamAutoEnd = #(make-moment 1 4)
>
> or
>
> - \property Score.beamquantisation = \none
> + \property Score.beamQuantisation = #'none
>
> I have two major objections. First of all, I have to press
> more keys on the computer when I enter the Mudela code.
> secondly, I fear that this will raise the threshold for
> a new user. On the other hand, I might be too idealistic,
> maybe the reality already today is that Lilypond is a tool
> for hobby musicians with a M.Sc. in computer science (like
> me). If this is the desired target group, then I guess I
> shouldn't complain.
>
> Dont' misunderstand me, I think it's great to be able to use
> a flexible scripting language like Guile to be able to
> implement or change certain features, but I'm not sure I
> want it in the ``everyday'' Mudela code.
I envision that the # constructions will be in `non-everyday' code,
and everyday code. Second, the new design beats the old: the old
design was a kludge that had the potential for lots of bugs. The
verbose #(make-moment 1 4) is a little unfortunate: GUILE does not
(yet) have support for rational numbers, so #1/4 is converted to
0.25000000000000 internally.
GUILE gives us a clearly defined syntax and semantics for both easy
and complicated constructions, and I'll go on record for maintaning
that this is actually *easier* to use than what we used to have. And
if you don't want advanced features, you don't need the complicated
syntax.
--
Han-Wen Nienhuys, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ** GNU LilyPond - The Music Typesetter
http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond/index.html
