### 1.2.5 Object properties

Object properties are stored in LilyPond in the form of alist-chains, which are lists of alists. Properties are set by adding values at the beginning of the property list. Properties are read by retrieving values from the alists.

Setting a new value for a property requires assigning a value to the alist with both a key and a value. The LilyPond syntax for doing this is:

>     \override Stem.thickness = #2.6

This instruction adjusts the appearance of stems. An alist entry `'(thickness . 2.6)` is added to the property list of the `Stem` object. `thickness` is measured relative to the thickness of staff lines, so these stem lines will be `2.6` times the width of staff lines. This makes stems almost twice as thick as their normal size. To distinguish between variables defined in input files (like `twentyFour` in the example above) and variables of internal objects, we will call the latter ‘properties’ and the former ‘variables.’ So, the stem object has a `thickness` property, while `twentyFour` is a variable.

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About automatic language selection.

#### LilyPond — Extending v2.18.2 (稳定分支).