Re: [docbook] Suggestion to the next DocBook schema release

[Richard Hamilton <hamilton@xmlpress.net>]

Lee,

To answer your specific question, it's never too much to ask, and you're welcome to file a request for enhancement (RFE). You can file an RFE on the DocBook SourceForge site:

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=21935   (select "RFEs", then "Add new" on the RFE page)

One thing to consider when filing an RFE is to be as explicit as possible about what you want, so if you have specific elements or attributes that you'd like to add or change, go ahead and describe them in the RFE.

Since I've always been interested in music and music markup, I've included below a couple of thoughts on the topic that might be useful:

The closest analogy to what you're requesting is math markup. DocBook provides a <mathphrase> element that identifies a string of text as a mathematical equation. However, there is no special processing identified or expected in the standard, and as far as I know, the current stylesheets provide no special handling.

You can also use MathML code in equation or inlineequation, but in a separate namespace and you need to use a MathML schema module.

Given that a "musicphrase" element that contained ABC music notation would require special processing to be useful -- unlike mathphrase, which could contain useful math equations in purely textual form -- I don't think you would get much support for adding such an element to DocBook.

But, as an alternative you could use the role attribute to identify a phrase as a music phrase, for example: <phrase role="abcmusic">some ABC notation</phrase> and then process it in your stylesheets. That would require no change to the standard (the role attribute is specifically set aside for this kind of use).

You could also add MusicXML in a similar way to MathML. That probably wouldn't require a change to the standard, though the TC might choose to adopt it in the same way as MathML.

I hope that's not too much detail:-).

Best Regards,
Dick Hamilton
-------
XML Press
XML for Technical Communicators
http://xmlpress.net
hamilton@xmlpress.net



On Jul 30, 2011, at 11:22 AM, Lee Savide wrote:

> Hi. I'm wondering if it'd be too much to ask if the next DocBook release could include ABC music notation as part of its markup. I've looked far and wide for an XML based solution to music notation markup, but the best I could find was MusicXML, and I'd much rather not muck up DocBook's markup, which is free of formatting directives, with another markup that is entirely dependant on formatting directives. ABC music notation came to be the next best solution because its text based, and its formatting directives are entirely optional within its syntax. Also, its header fields for metadata can be replaced with a customized <info> content model. These are only suggestions, and I'd very much like an answer to them. I want to see DocBook flourish, and I personally believe that a means for music notation isn't out of the question. Thank you for your time, and please get back to me as soon as you can.