Re: The importance of a graphical interface.

[Rick Hansen (aka RickH)]

César Penagos wrote:
> 
> Dears Lilyponders:
> I'm a very in-love user of Lilypond, actually I have installed the 2.9.26 
> version. I'm attend to update my preferred music score program.
> For many times i sow  in the user archives, people asking for a graphical 
> interface. I thing there is a powerful reason.
> When you are "copying" a score, no matter with the instruments, or
> instrument 
> colors in your orchestral score. Every musician knows what instrument will
> be 
> the  most appropriate for the voice that is writing. As the case as the 
> composers that can try every instrument they want.
> The very real problems comes when you want to arrange a piece; and you
> need to 
> see the balance of the instrumentation in your score. Every body knows
> that the 
> simple way is to assign the first and second voices to the violins I and
> II, 
> the third or tenor voice to the violas and the basses to cellos and
> contrabass. 
> It is Ok for very small arrange using the strings, but when you add
> woods,and 
> winds you must be carefully what you are doing if don't want undesirable
> result.
> If you don't take care of the balance in the use of instruments your score
> will 
> sound recharged, very dense. 
> For this reason you have to be alert whit your instrumentation, and I hope
> that 
> in the very close future some of the very smart people in Lilypond team
> takes 
> the time to construct an a graphical interface for your great program.
> When this happens Finale, Sibelius etc, etc, etc. Will have to close their 
> companies, because nobody will buy their expensiveness programs.
> I don't know if is the nature of the program that can't permit  an
> interface, 
> but I'm taking the voice of all the people that really needs an interface
> to 
> properly works in a score.
> An example would be the ABCedit editor from Prof.Coolgeem, is very nice
> and 
> usable
> Please!! consider this.
> 
> Cheer's
> 
> César Penagos.
> 
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> address@hidden
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user
> 
> 


I like the non GUI interface and find that I get greater consistency across
many songs due to a templated approach, as opposed to re-working each song
individually on a screen.  

BUT I think many smaller GUI based "helper applications" would be nice,
whereby small GUI screens can pop up to aid you in doing more complicated
tweaks, then just output a snipped of lily source to the clipboard so you
can paste it into your score.  Kind of like a "plug ins" approach, where the
GUI main application just hosts hundreds of helper plug ins that surround a
fine tabbed lily text editor that also has lily/scheme syntax hilighting.

I would think this is a better way to start a GUI project as opposed to
trying to duplicate another "Finale", (I also find the Finale UI to be
difficult).  I think in the very long run, lily should provide a dedicated
text editor with a standardized plug in API that programmers can use to
develop GUI helper plug-ins in ANY language they code in, then new end-users
just minimally download the lily text editor and later decide what GUI plug
ins they need or want to bother with.  This approach also bridges the gap
between a user base wishing to stay text-based and a new user base wanting
to go GUI.

But overall I am happy to see the development resources going into the
current approach, and would hate to see a GUI dev thrust steal development
resources from advancing "core" lily.  (just my 2 cents :)


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