Re: Lilypond error behaviour

[Sharon Rosner]

If compiling the file has failed to such a degree that we are choosing
to call it a "fatal error," that means the PDF is *not* suitable for
further use.  Conversely, if you think the generated PDF is still
useful, then don't call what happened a "fatal error" - it must have
really been a warning.

With that definition, any error that does not terminally destroy the
computer is not a fatal error since otherwise you can still debug the
problem.

I for one happen to think that the way lilypond handles syntax errors is totally reasonable and actually beneficial to users, but I still don’t get the usage of the term “fatal”. Consider the following lilypond input file:

{ a }

b

{ c }

Lilypond would expectedly complain about line 2, then proceed to put together the PDF file and finally exit with a “fatal error”. The PDF File would include 2 scores, so that means right after encountering the syntax error on line 2, it continued to correctly process line 3. So what was it that was fatal about this? Is this a matter of some internal implementation details we don’t understand or what? And again, how is this any different than a non-fatal error?

Sharon