Re: Footnote documentation error

[James]

Hello,

On 23 April 2012 07:59, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> 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.
>

http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=2505

Thanks for all our input.

james