procedure

What should I supply?

Our work is easiest when you specify precisely what you need. In most cases, it is best to be as concrete as possible. For example, the following items may help us to estimate and specify the work

A full bug-report, for bug-fixes
Scans or pictures from existing engravings, for glyph designs or formatting code
A working .ly file, whose typesetting tweaks or syntax you want simplified.

For invoicing, we need your name and address. If you're an EU based company, we need a VAT number too.

What is the procedure?

By email, we agree on the scope, price and delivery date of the code.
We add the code to CVS HEAD, the development branch of our version control system.
We send PNG or PDF samples of the new code, to get your approval.
We create a new release of the development branch, containing the sponsored code.
We invoice you for the price set
You pay us via bank transfer or PayPal. See the Payment FAQ for more information.

When will it be ready?

We strive to put out a release twice every week. This means that you can obtain the desired functionality within a few days. If you need the result quicker (e.g. in the case of an priority bugfix), we can make a release especially for you.

But I don't want to run an development release!

Although the 2.7 branch is called “development”, it is in fact very usable, and while problems pop up more often, they are also resolved more quickly than in the stable branch.

It is very important for us that the stable branch remains, well, stable. This means that every change must be verified not to break anything. This is why we prefer to work on the development branch.

What do I get?

We add to CVS HEAD the following:

The functionality requested.
A basic test file, which is included in our test suite.
If applicable, basic documentation within the user manual.
An entry in the NEWS file, describing the new feature. We will also include your name.
An entry with your name in the THANKS file.

In other words, you pay us for the work above. The feature becomes available with the next release of the development series, which you can download along with everyone else.

Is there “small print”?

Sponsoring a feature does not entitle you to any intellectual property rights for the work done. In particular, copyright of the new code remains with its authors, LilyPond Software Design.
A newly added feature is only "guaranteed" to work up to the next stable release.
Our complete code base is subject to continuous refactoring, improvement and consolidation. This means that we are sometimes forced to alter or remove functionality. Sponsored code is treated just like the rest of our code, and is therefore included in this process. Of course, we do our best to minimize the impact of changes.

How much does it cost?

See our Pricing FAQ