Re: [abcusers] dynamics (again)

[Bryancreer]

Funny how a thread subject can drift so far from the original and yet still remain appropriate.

Frank Nordberg said -

>BarFly follows the standard (ABC 1.6) pretty well, but all abc
>applications differs when it comes to various extensions.

Yes, I think it does.  (If it's only a text editor why does it need to conform to an abc standard?). However, it is the extensions, which hold the future of abc, that are important.  If each implemetation follows its own path then abc will fragment and be the poorer for it.  You have been known to post separate versions of tunes for BarFly and the rest.

>abc2ps seems to be the dominating application here in the abcusers community
>(though not necessarily among abc-users in general!) so people tend to regard
>that program's use of extensions as the "standard".

That is precisely what I am trying to argue against.  This is the abcusers' list, not the abc2ps users' list.  One software implementation should not be allowed to dominate the standard.  Phil Taylor (BarFly), Laurie Griffiths (Muse) and my humble self (abc2nwc) are active participants in this list and one person (who used to be high profile but doesn't seem to have been heard of for a while) even argued that compatibility with abc2win was the main criterion for new extensions.  Jim Vint (abc2win) doesn't participate in the debate but given the bad press he gets here, who can blame him.

Bryan Creer