Re: Google Summer of Code 2015

[Urs Liska]

Am 05.03.2015 10:57, schrieb David Kastrup:
> "Phil Holmes" <address@hidden> writes:
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "David Kastrup" <address@hidden>
> > To: "David Garfinkle" <address@hidden>
> > Cc: <address@hidden>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2015 9:01 AM
> > Subject: Re: Google Summer of Code 2015
> >
> >
> > > Actually anything.  LilyPond does neither export nor import MusicXML.
> > It does import it, albeit probably not perfectly:
> >
> > http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.19/Documentation/usage/invoking-musicxml2ly
> No, as I said, that is not LilyPond importing MusicXML but rather a
> Python utility producing a LilyPond file (one with older syntax if I am
> not mistaken).  LilyPond itself is not even called.
>
> Ok, conversion into a LilyPond file is likely what "importing" is
> sort-of about.  But what would be nicer in my book is if LilyPond read
> and _interpreted_ MusicXML, bypassing the conversion into whatever
> LilyPond input language dialect altogether.  That would be quite more
> robust and long-term dependable.
>
> Sort of like how GhostScript these days gets to _interpret_ rather more
> PDF files than PostScript files.  It does not really bother converting
> them into PostScript form first.  The xpdf and/or poppler suite may have
> a "true" pdftops program that isn't a PostScript interpreter supporting
> a different input syntax.  Which also has its place.
>
> But in our case I think we'd be better off by focusing on teaching
> MusicXML straight to LilyPond.

One thing to keep in mind with this is not to be too focused on MusicXML.
MusicXML is _one_ XML format, and not the best.
I think the first step should be a generic XML representation, so 
LilyPond could read XML files - and also write to them. MusicXML or MEI 
or whatever other XML format one might come up with should then be 
transformed to that generic LilyXML.

Maybe this functionality could be implemented in Scheme in a way that it 
can be used from within LilyPond but also from standalone tools.

--
Urs Liska
address@hidden