Hi Saaqib,
There is actually nothing stopping you from simply using spaces and new lines
as you suggest, although as George points out you may need to do this in the
braille document as the translator will probably strip runs of spaces out. For
some short bilingual documents I code the BRF by hand and you do get used to
calculating the right number of spaces and so on.
Codes are useful, however, if you need to make adjustments to your table
because you can just adjust the tab rather than adding or taking away spaces
from every row of the table. Consider, for example, a two-column table with
fifty or so rows coded for a page which is 40 cells wide, where the second
column starts halfway across the page. In this instance, column 2 starts in
cell 21. Now, consider a situation where you need to emboss that document on a
page which is only 30 cells wide. Column 2 now needs to start in cell 16. It is
much quicker to adjust one tab at the start of the table than to delete five
spaces in fifty rows.
I don’t find the skip lines code so easy to justify, I must admit, except that
I (and I should think many others) find it easier to see one code – say [sk4] –
than to see four separate [l] codes. Technically, it makes the saved documents
a few bytes smaller because it only has to store one code rather than four, but
unless you have a document with literally hundreds of skipped lines, the size
difference is so negligible as to not be worth taking into account. It’s worth
keeping in the back of your mind, though, because logically smaller documents
should be easier for the computer to process than larger documents, so they
ought to open that little bit faster (although we might not notice this these
days because computer processors are so fast anyway).
I don’t think there are any DBT codes which are truly indispensable. However,
there are a few codes which are particularly useful. For instance, the [hds]
and [hde] codes for centering text – because it sets the distance from the left
margin dynamically based on the paper width, and will change that distance
automatically if the width changes. Similarly, the [fr] code to right justify
text.
However, your question about translation codes doesn’t quite make sense to me.
Which translation codes do you mean? Are you using DBT as a print to braille
translation program, or are you in fact using it simply as a braille entry
program – or perhaps as a braille to print translator? If you are not using
print to braille translation then you’re right – the translation codes (e.g.
[cb], [g1], [g2], [/] are not going to be much use to you!
If you’re using print to braille translation, the translation codes handle
situations which DBT can’t handle automatically, e.g. a [/] code in the
abbreviation IT (meaning Information Technology) will force DBT to use the
letters IT in the braille document, rather than translating it to the letter X
(the wordsign for it). Similarly, you can use [g1] to switch to grade 1 for,
say, a passage of Latin within an English text – although in this instance it
is better practice to create a style using that code and then use your style.
There might in fact already be a Latin style included.
I would argue that, wherever possible, it is better to use translation codes
rather than altering the braille document post-translation, because this allows
the print document to be easily re-translated using a different translation
table. For instance, I transcribe a number of school books for younger
children. Using DBT’s learning tables, I can use the same print document to
produce several braille versions for different children who are in the same
class, but at different stages of learning braille, and I know that I won’t
have to correct translation anomalies in all of the individual braille
documents because I have used the appropriate translation codes in the print.
I hope this answers your question – if this isn’t what you meant, please
elaborate further.
Best wishes,
Matthew
From: duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Saaqib Mahmuud
Sent: 07 October 2016 19:27
To: DBT Users Duxbury <duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; Duxsys Support
<support@xxxxxxxxxx>; Duxsys Support <info@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [duxuser] Why Do We Need DBT Codes? Can We Do Without Them?
I have a query.
What is the need for so many codes for setting tabs, for example, when one can
use multiple spaces to set the alignmen and positioning of text? Similarly,
what is the need for these codes for skipping lines when one can do the same
thing with the help of the ENTER key? Why use translation codes if one is able
to type in the braille manually (using something called "chording")?
Are there any situations where using the DBT codes is entirely indispensable?
If so, then please give as many examples as you can of those situations.
Hope you understand what I'm trying to ask.
Regards.
Saaqib
