Werner LEMBERG <w...@gnu.org> writes: >>> It is a matter of fact that triplets are either marked with a >>> single digit, or with a ratio like `4:3'. I think it is not too >>> far stretched to expect that lilypond should follow such >>> conventions even in the input. >> >> I disagree. [...] > > Good arguments, David! > >> Now where is the point in making a single command deviate from that >> convention, data structure, input syntax and general support inside >> of LilyPond? How does this make LilyPond easier to comprehend? > > Playing the advocatus diaboli: I wouldn't mind if we say > > \time 3:4 > > At least in Germany and Austria a division gets indicated by `3:4' or > `3/4'. But of course `:' is already in use for tremolos...
That's the point. The current design follows choices taken a long time ago. If the choices would have been different, we might have ended up with 3:4. I am not opposed to 3:4 based on its visual aesthetics viewed in isolation, whether we are talking about \time or \tuplet. And 3:4 would have less potential for confusion with #3/4 (not a number pair or fraction, but rather a rational number properly embedded into Guile's numeric stack). But in the design of LilyPond, a number of design decisions have been taken forming the language, and side-stepping this design is expensive. It would probably be less annoying for everybody if I stated flatly "this is impossible" in such cases. But of course, one can always bolt on a few exceptions and overrides before things start really breaking apart. So I start panicking whenever people make really expensive proposals. Part of the saving grace is, of course, that somebody has to actually implement things. But it is not rare that a 90% solution can be hacked up pretty fast, and then the pressure mounts: "somebody else did 90% of the work, why do you refuse to fill in the missing 10% if you are convinced that there is something missing? And don't you dare break any of the 90% with unrelated work." And it is not that this sort of thing does not happen. -- David Kastrup _______________________________________________ lilypond-devel mailing list lilypond-devel@gnu.org https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-devel