About MNX

Hello,

I wanted to get your opinion on the MNX format: is it intended to replace MusicXML in the years to come?

Yours,
ChB

What is it and what does it do?
Does it have advantages over MusicXML, or features that make it attractive?

… hence my question.

Dr Google returned:

MNX is a file extension commonly associated with FoxPro Menu files . MNX file format is compatible with software that can be installed on Windows system platform. Files with MNX extension are categorized as Misc Files files. The Misc Files subset comprises 5951 various file formats.

and

MNX files mostly belong to AutoCAD by Autodesk, Inc.

No mention of music that I could find.

As I understand it, it is indeed intended to supersede XML eventually, at least for music applications. The specification is still being fleshed out (as you can see based on the recent video above). It’s analogue to midi 2.0 but it hasn’t been adopted just yet.

A small subset of Dorico users/techies just might be interested in following the on-going development of MNX, even if the implementation won’t be for years into the future. As he has noted in some older forum posts, Daniel has been a key contributor to the working group. MNX, when delivered, will offer an improved way to exchange data describing music notation, primarily between different softwares.

My interest skyrocketed when I became aware of the recent proposal to adopt JSON as the format for MNX instead of MusicXML. There is a robust and thoughtful discussion of the pros and cons on the w3c/mnx pages on GitHub. Most recently comments have been added to a discussion here, and the initial comments were made on an issue page here. The documentation link in GitHub has an excellent intro to MNX as well.

I have worked with both JSON and XML I have come to appreciate the efficiencies of JSON and the ease of working with it. But what really excites me is the potential for MNX files to interact with many other programs and databases, based on a robust set of APIs and web services. I would much prefer MNX to adopt JSON instead of attempting to enhance MusicXML. My mind is racing with maybe-not-so-far-fetched ideas on how I might one day store, render and modify my exported Dorico scores.

I wonder if the Dorico development team shares my excitement? (Probably should be a rhetorical question.)

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