Re: Unbound variable GUILE error when no whitespace before closing brace

[David Kastrup]

James <address@hidden> writes:

> Hello,
>
> Just investigating some old Tracker issues I came across that
>
> \new Staff \with { \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #0.9 }
>  \relative {
>  \times 2/3 { d16[ d16 d16] }
> }
>
> compiles
>
> but
>
> \new Staff \with { \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #0.9}
>  \relative {
>  \times 2/3 { d16[ d16 d16] }
> }
>
> Doesn't.

Sure.

> --snip--
> GNU LilyPond 2.14.1
> Processing `test.ly'
> Parsing...
> test.ly:14:58: error: GUILE signaled an error for the expression beginning 
> here
> \new Staff \with { \override StaffSymbol #'staff-space = #
>                                                           0.9}
> Unbound variable: 0.9}
> test.ly:15:1: error: syntax error, unexpected \relative
>
> etc.
>
> --snip-
>
>
> Note the lack of white space after the '#0.9'

Sure.

> This occurs on 2.14.1 and 2.15.28.
>
> I guess I've been strict with my spacing or never had braces that
> close to an override to notice this before.
>
> I assume this is expected if not nice behaviour. I'm curious only
> because I am wondering how a '}' would be a variable and why it isn't
> ignored or just signalled (if that is the right term) as a close of
> the previous open brace?

The variable is not } but 0.9} instead.  Anything that can't be parsed
as a constant in Scheme is a variable.

This has nothing to do with Lilypond:

address@hidden:/usr/local/tmp/lilypond$ guile
guile> 0.9}
ERROR: Unbound variable: 0.9}
ABORT: (unbound-variable)
guile> address@hidden:/usr/local/tmp/lilypond$ 


You could likely say

#(define 0.9} 0.9)

and have the above work except for the missing closing brace.  There is
absolutely nothing that LilyPond could, or even _should_ be trying to
fix here.  Scheme is Scheme and outside of LilyPond's responsibility
regarding syntax and semantics.

-- 
David Kastrup