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Syntax explanations


From: Carl D. Sorensen
Subject: Syntax explanations
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:22:44 -0600

On another thread, Reihnold Kainhofer wrote:


<quote>

What I'm missing anyway is a complete syntax overview for figured bass and for
chords. Something like:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A figured bass entry [TODO: enter correct term...] is of the form
   < //number//modifier(s) ...  >duration
where number is either a number or _ to indicate an empty number, which still
takes space and displays any modifiers attached to it.
Supported modifiers (multiple modifiers per number are possible):
       + ... Raises the corresponding step (a sharp is shown)
       - ... Lowers the corresponding step (a flat is shown)
       ! ... Forces a natural step (a cancel sign is shown)
       \+ ... Augmented step (a plus is shown)
       / ... Diminished step (a forward slash through the number)
       \! ... Forces a breaks of any extender assigned to that step
There is no modifier for placing a backward slash through the number
(typically used indicating a raised sixth step).
One or more of the figures can also be placed between square brackets, e.g.
[ //number//modifier(s) //number//modifier(s)], to print square brackets
around these numbers.
Instead of //number//modifier(s), one can also enter a full markup.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

</quote>

When I first started working on chords.itely I wrote something like this for 
chordmode chords.  However, by design we don't do this in the NR.

Although this would be a clear definition of the syntax, the syntax can change 
with future versions.  Therefore, we try to keep all of the syntax in the 
snippets, so convert-ly can update the documentation automatically.

In the past, there has been a call for a full syntax diagram for LilyPond.  
Such a diagram should come directly from the parser, IMO.  Are there current 
plans for developing one?  At one time, I wrote a Python routine that generated 
a BNF syntax diagram from the parser. 
<http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gnu.lilypond.devel/7431/focus=7443>

Do we want to include it (or some better version, rolled by somebody with more 
development capability than me) in the documentation?  It seems to me that such 
a diagram would be helpful as a place to find out what one could type where.

Carl

P.S.  Reinhold, the available chordmode modifiers are shown in a list in the 
GDP docs.  If the explanation isn't clear, please let me know.  Thanks.





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