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.
One relevant comparison could be LaTeX, which has lots of
users who only know the basic ideas and a small group of
people who implement style files with new layout features.
/Mats
