On 4/13/06, Bertalan Fodor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello, > > what is the difference between backend and format (-b and -f switches). > I see confusion.
This is not the clearest part of the interface. Each backend knows how to convert LilyPond's internal engraving representations (called stencils) into a different basic output language. The format controls what exactly is done with that basic output. PNG, for example, could be produced by the PostScript backend by first producing a PostScript version and then running it through GhostScript to produce the PNG. I'm not too clear on how the -b settings correspond to the actual backends. As I understand it, there are five backends: GNOME: I haven't looked into this one yet, but it's apparently not being actively maintained at the moment. PS: The default--it knows how to produce .ps and .eps files, which can be converted into PNG or PDF. TeX: Produces a TeX file of one sort or another, which can then be converted into all the things the PostScript can be converted to. A bit confusingly, the TeX backend actually uses a good bit of PostScript directly, because TeX is no good at drawing things. SVG: Produces an SVG (scalable vector graphics) file. scm/stream: Mostly useful for developers -- dumps out the Scheme code LilyPond would normally have used to produce output. David _______________________________________________ lilypond-user mailing list lilypond-user@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/lilypond-user
