Hi Elaine,
> You're probably not going to appreciate this suggestion,
> because it does not aspire to the auto-magic you desire.
> However, it is clear to me that the best practice for all software dev is to use commit messages.
I do appreciate the detailed and considered response.
That being said… ;)
As with most of the programming I do — in Lilypond and otherwise — a primary goal of mine is to create things that are useful *for the largest number of people* (not just me).
I appreciate that sentiment.
I think it's fair to state that the vast majority of people using Lilypond don't use version control.
Sure, that may be the case.
On the other hand, do most lilypond users have this issue?
In any case, for anyone who does have this sort of a workflow task to accomplish,
I would suggest that it is in their interest to learn to use git.
You might as well also ask, do the majority of lilypond users back up their files regularly?
I'd guess most probably don't, or not regularly enough.
But if they decided to use git, they could get that for free.
Want to collaborate on projects? I mean the list goes on.
In addition to making my own workflow easier [than it would be if I had to micro-schedule my edits, micro-commit with flags/comments, *not* do other edits at the same time, etc.],
You only need to micro-schedule as much as suits your workflow.
A commit that says "cut m57-122 in Song X, and started fixing articulations in woodwinds in Song Y"
would be just as useful for the end purpose as having separate commits.
I'm hoping the tool might be useful for any Lilypond user [using version control or not] who wanted to compare the musical content of two score sources.
That does sound to me like version control.
We have 2 score sources that are mostly the same, so much so that you only want to know the differences.
But they are not versions of the same thing?
Sounds like version out-of-control.
But seriously, I get the intent.
The humourous slant on it would be to say that
It would provide a way for people who should learn how to use version control
to kick that can down the road a while longer.
I look forward to seeing how far I can get with the "automagic" solutions before compromising on a solution that requires version control at all (never mind highly-granular use of v.c.).
Thanks,
Kieren.
My curiosity in this would guess the next step in an automated approach would involve compiling each score to the lilypond model,
then printing that. Then comparing the two as text file diffs.
I'm not sure that would yield consumable results.
But it would be attempting to compare two semantic representations.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-