Re: Footnote documentation error

[David Kastrup]

James <address@hidden> writes:

> Hello,
>
> On 20 April 2012 00:40, Nick Payne <address@hidden> wrote:
>> The documentation at
>> http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.15/Documentation/notation/creating-footnotes for
>> both automatic and manual footnotes says that the \footnote command must
>> come *before* the grob to which the footnote is being attached. This doesn't
>> seem to be the case. Here the \footnote commands are after the notes to
>> which they are attached, and they work fine:
>>
>> \version "2.15.37"
>>
>> \paper {
>>     #(set-paper-size "a7")
>> }
>>
>> \header {
>>         tagline = ##f
>> }
>>
>> \relative c'' {
>>     c4 c-\footnote #'(0.7 . 2) #'NoteHead \markup\teeny { Automatic footnote
>> }
>>     c c-\footnote "a)" #'(0.7 . 2) #'NoteHead \markup\teeny { \concat {
>> \lower #0.8 \super { a) } "Manual footnote" } }
>> }
>
> Actually on a technical point here, the \footnote comes after a '-'
> after the note which while, I grant you, is not 'before' the note is
> not actually after the note either.
>
> Is this significant?

I have no idea.  -\footnote introduces the footnote as an event and/or
articulation.  \footnote on its own just places it as an event running
at the same time as material that follows.

The question is what one wants

c4\footnote ...

to do.  If the footnote should be an event/articulation on c4, then we
should define it as an event function, and it will in general act like a
post event (unless there is nothing before it to which it could attach).
If it should _follow_ the c4, then it needs to stay a music function.

I repeat: I have _no_ _clue_ _whatsoever_ how \footnote is intended to
be used.  Most music functions can be tacked onto notes as an
articulation by writing
c4-\somefunction
without this implying that anything sensible will actually happen, or
that this is the preferred form of usage.

Unless somebody who actually has an idea how footnotes are _supposed_ to
be used steps up, I have _no_ _idea_ what usage to prefer, what usage to
support, and what usage to document.

-- 
David Kastrup