Re: [GLISS] non-timed or non-musical events "z" "y"

[David Kastrup]

Werner LEMBERG <address@hidden> writes:

>> \tempo does not have "optional arguments" but rather several quite
>> different forms of argument lists, and then some rather weird form
>> of numeric range echoed nowhere else in the syntax.
>
> BTW, could you suggest a better syntax for \tempo which looks
> similar to the current definition, but avoiding the problems?

The markup-only variant could just be

    \tempoMarkup markup

The Midi variant could likely be

    \tempo [optional markup] duration number-or-number-pair

This is a syntax that should work fine currently.  A number-pair can be
entered as #'(50 . 56) or 50/56 currently.  I don't fancy 50~56 just for
the sake of \tempo.

I am not proposing a current change since "supporting functions that can
be used to the left of an equals sign" is a change that I have scheduled
for implementation, and it _might_ offer itself for

    \tempo [optional markup] duration = number-or-number-pair

syntax.  This would, however, not relieve the necessity for a separate
markup-only function, and it would be a somewhat awkward use for the
feature since a standalone

    \tempo [optional markup] duration

would not make independent sense.

-- 
David Kastrup