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+\input texinfo @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
+@ignore
+    Translation of GIT committish: FILL-IN-HEAD-COMMITTISH
+
+    When revising a translation, copy the HEAD committish of the
+    version that you are working on.  See TRANSLATION for details.
+@end ignore
+
+
+
+
+@node implementing-typography 
+
+
+@unnumberedsec Implementing typography
+
+How do we go about implementing typography?  Answering the "music
+notation" problem left us with a bunch of graphic objects
+representing note heads, the staff, stems, etc.
+
+If craftsmen need over ten years to become true masters, how could we
+simple hackers ever write a program to take over their jobs?
+
+The answer is: we cannot!  Since typography relies on human judgement
+of appearance, people cannot be replaced. However, much of their dull
+work can be automated: if LilyPond solves most of the common
+situations correctly, then this will be a huge improvement over
+existing software. The remaining cases can be tuned by hand.
+Over the course of years, the software can be refined to do
+more and more automatically, so manual overrides are necessary less
+and less.
+
+How do we go about building such a system?  When we started, we wrote
+the program in C++. Essentially, this means that the program
+functionality is set in stone by us developers. That proved to be
+unsatisfactory:
+
+@itemize
+@item
+ If things must be tuned by hand, then the user must access to the
+  formatting engine. Hence, rules and settings cannot be fixed at
+  compile time, but they must be accessible at run-time.
+
+
+@item
+ Engraving is a matter of visual judgement, and hence it is a
+  matter of taste. As knowledgeable as we are, users can disagree with
+  our personal decision. Therefore, the definitions of typographical
+  style must also be accessible to the user.
+
+
+@item
+ Finally, we continually refine the formatting algorithms, so we
+ need a flexible approach to rules.  The C++ language forces a certain
+ method of grouping rules that does not match how music notation works.
+
+
+@end itemize
+
+Clearly, there is a need for a flexible architecture. The architecture
+should encompass formatting rules, typographical style and individual
+formatting decisions.
+
+@divClass{float-right}
+@divEnd
+Next: @ref{formatting-architecture.html,Program architecture,
+your flexible friend}: tuning, tweaking and developing  typography
+rules.
+
+@bye
+