Re: A working MusicXML engraver?

I think it should be the responsibility of the W3C group to specify and/or
create an open source MusicXML engraver as a reference
implementation. Software like Noteflight or Soundslice would make great
reference implementations, but they are commercial projects, and I feel
that this group should promote open source software first. I have started a
nascent implementation that would also combine SMuFL, but haven't had time
to make progress on it. I would like the support of others in the group (or
the group as a whole) to continue this effort.

Alternatively, we could choose an already existing open source project and
use or fork this project as a reference implementation. The limitation with
this is that few run client-side in the browser (like Vexflow), and none
currently use SMuFL, so there would be a development cost to integrate that.

On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 7:09 AM, Adrian Holovaty <adrian@holovaty.com>
wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 6:12 AM, L Peter Deutsch <aemusic@major2nd.com>
> wrote:
>
>> In addition to a specification for MusicXML, it would be really nice to
>> have
>> a reasonably good engraver, preferably free / Open Source.
>>
>
> May I suggest the free MusicXML viewer I made at Soundslice:
>
> https://www.soundslice.com/musicxml-viewer/
>
> Upload a MusicXML file and we'll render it immediately in your web browser.
>
> Note that our MusicXML importer practically bends over backward to handle
> dozens of broken MusicXML cases, following the "be liberal in what you
> accept" principle. We also do a little bit of heuristics to add semantics
> to MusicXML that has no semantics (i.e., <words> elements). If you're
> looking for a strict validator that breaks for improper input, this isn't
> for you.
>
> Another thing I should mention is that we deliberately throw out all
> positioning info -- including margins and line/page breaks -- because our
> engraving engine is "responsive," wrapping the notation to fit whatever
> device size and zoom settings you have.
>
> But aside from these caveats, one big advantage is: if you find rendering
> problems, chances are I'll be able to fix them reasonably quickly --
> certainly more quickly than the big desktop apps like Sibelius and Finale.
> We improve Soundslice several times a day, and fixes are rolled out
> immediately thanks to the web.
>
> Soundslice is closed-source, but if you want an open-source solution I'd
> suggest checking out these usual suspects:
>
> * MuseScore
> * Lilypond
> * VexFlow
>
> Best wishes,
> Adrian
>
> --
> Adrian Holovaty
> Soundslice: https://www.soundslice.com/
> Personal: http://www.holovaty.com/
>