Re: Wish: Syntax of text spanners

[Andrew Bernard]

Well, text spanners are pressed into service for dozens of things.
Here's a random example from my scores:

  % text spanner for repeat
  \once \override TextSpanner.style = #'line
  \once \override TextSpanner.thickness = #2
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.text =
  \markup {
    \path #0.25 #leftBracketPath
    \general-align #Y #CENTER \sans \upright " repeat + "
  }
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.text =
  \markup {
    \path #0.25 #rightBracketPath
  }
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left-broken.text = ##f
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right-broken.text = ##f
  \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right-broken.padding = ##f
  \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.padding = #8
  \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.padding = #-4

I have no trouble with that personally, and I require all the fine detail.

I can see your objections, but removing this capability from lilypond
would never get up as a suggestion. Furthermore, there is nothing
stopping your creating your own music functions and so do to achieve
what you have described,

Here's an example of that, for doing things like SP-----> NAT for violin.

% use with startTextSpan and stopTextSpan

stringTechnique =
#(define-music-function
  (left right)
  (markup? markup?)
  "string technique markup"
  #{
  \once \override TextSpanner.font-name = "Libertinus Sans Bold"
  \once \override TextSpanner.font-size = #-4
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-padding = #1.0
  \once \override TextSpanner.style = #'line
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.arrow = ##t
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.text = #left
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.text = #right
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.padding = #0.6
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right.stencil-align-dir-y = #CENTER
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left.stencil-align-dir-y = #CENTER
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.left-broken.text = ##f
  \once \override TextSpanner.bound-details.right-broken.text = ##f
#})

Given the enormous flexibility in defining lilypond functions and the
use of Scheme for extensions and customisations, I don't think rushing
to change syntax is a good idea, apart from the fact that you would
have huge problems with backwards compatibility.


Andrew



On Wed, 22 Jul 2020 at 07:28, Martín Rincón Botero
<martinrinconbotero@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hey all,
>
> this is a feature request. I'm sorry, if this is already being discussed or 
> if a solution is coming behind the scenes. I couldn't find any message other 
> than a mention to https://code.google.com/archive/p/lilypond/issues/3176. I 
> find the lack of a proper text spanner syntax uncomfortable.