Perhaps my 'wonder' was a bit ill considered. I wasn't considering those who want to include abc 'inline' in messages. I was kindof thinking of a perfect world, where, if a non-ascii format were to exist, and a mime type written for it, that all email clients and browsers/servers, ftp clients/servers, etc would recognize it and treat it accordingly. Sorry for such an assanine (sp?) suggestion.
I know this sounds like it might be a sarcastic retraction. It's not. It's genuine. I can see when I've gone and said sommat stupid (sometimes). I know some ftp programs out there (fetch) and archive/unarchive programs out there, can have very strange effects on linefeeds. I've known some to essentially replace the \r\l with \n\n, which, in a format where a blank line sentinals the end of a tune, would be disastrous. I do wish there were a 'simple' answer this one. We'll be taking the long road on this one. Thanks to all who've offered feedback in this thread. //Christian On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, John Chambers wrote: > Christian Marcus Cepel wonders: > | > | I wonder, if at some point in the future, the committe who establishes > the > | abc standard might not consider an alternative to ascii text as a file > | format. I know on first glance there are those who will shudder and > | scream, but why not. If a standard was created that could not be > edited > | in a text editor, these problems go away. Filesize could still be > kept > | down. The only concession would be that all editing would have to be > done > | inside an 'abc' editor. Just a brain-hiccup. I know it will never > | happen, but it is _one_ possible solution, that could be implemented > if > | implemented correctly. > > This ignores the fact that one of abc's major roles is as a > way of exchanging music via email and the web. If you come > up with an abc editor that is incompatible with these uses, > it simply won't be used. > > We do have a lot of (commercial) music packages that use a > private format. They have their uses. But they can't be > used to communicate music with others, unless you have > first made certain that the others have exactly the same > software that you have. ABC has been successful mostly > because it allows us to eschange tunes with others without > (much) concern for what sort of software they're using. > > You are certainly free to make your own notation, as > similar to or different from abc as you like. But if it > isn't plain text, it won't compete with abc. If you have > enough good features, you may compete with the commercial > packages, and you may even make some money. > > To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: > http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html > -- + Christian Marcus Cepel ("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._ + | [EMAIL PROTECTED] `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) | | 5812 Square Circle, Columbia 65203 (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' | | Work: 882.8309 Home: 573.443.8676 _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' | | ICQ: 12384980 Cell/Page 268.7533 (il),-'' (li),' ((!.-' | | Computer Support Specialist, Sr. School of Info Sci & Learn Tech UM-C | | WebM: www.coe.missouri.edu/~vrcbd/ *And the wrens have returned & are | | nesting *In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been *And | + he lifts his arms in a blessing *For being born again. --Rich Mullins + To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
