Thanks, and I agree. Feel free to forward the initial FAQ to anyone who can help provide additional info for Linux and Mac development.
Jamal On 5/18/2010 3:49 PM, Bill Cox wrote:
Nice FAQ for Windows. It would be nice to enhance it for Gnu/Linux and Mac OS X. There a lot's of amazing blind programmers over in Linux land. Bill On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 3:08 PM, Jamal Mazrui<empower@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:Nonvisual Development FAQ This is a set of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the subject of software development by people who are blind or visually impaired (blind programmers). The initial version is by Jamal Mazrui, who may be reached at the address mailto://jamal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Corrections, modifications, and new topics are solicited for inclusion in the FAQ. Indicate the question and answer being addressed. Your name and email address will be listed as a contributor unless you specify otherwise. The current version was posted on May 18, 2010 at http://EmpowermentZone.com/NonvisualDevelopmentFAQ.htm ---------- Contents Where can I find introductory examples for programming in a particular language? Are screen reader configuration sets available for the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE)? Is a free version of Visual Studio available? Are there tips for using Visual Studio with a screen reader? Are other IDEs available for .NET development besides Visual Studio? Is it possible to build .NET programs without Visual Studio? What accessible text editors may be used for programming? What tools are recommended for developing with the Java language? What tools are recommended for developing with the Python language? Is a simpler language available, e.g., one that does not involve object oriented programming (OOP)? Is there an IDE designed with screen reader support? What screen readers may be customized for applications via scripting languages? Is there job training specifically for blind programmers? What mailing lists exist for blind programmers? What web sites have resources for blind programmers? ---------- Where can I find introductory examples for programming in a particular language? Blind programmers have contributed to a project intended for this purpose. Specifications and samples of a "fruit basket program" are at the web site http://FruitBasket.QuantumMyst.com A fruit basket program is intended as a simple but nontrivial graphical user interface (GUI), exhibiting how a developer may employ a particular programming language and platform, and how a user may experience the result. The length and complexity of code may be considered from a developer standpoint; the accessibility and performance of the program may be considered from a user standpoint. Basically, the user interface contains an edit box for entering a fruit name (e.g, apple), a listbox for collecting the fruit (the basket), and buttons to add or delete items. Obviously, such a program is not inherently useful, but it does offer an informative example of a development approach, with comparisons possible to other programs meeting the same criteria. Fruit basket samples are available for many development approaches. ---------- Are screen reader configuration sets available for the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE)? Blind programmers have developed a set of JAWS scripts for Visual Studio (VS), which work with either VS 2005 or VS 2008. They do not work with VS 2010, which uses Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) controls rather than Windows Forms controls. The executable installer for the scripts works with 64-bit Windows and Windows 7, as well as earlier versions of Windows. It is available at http://EmpowermentZone.com/msenv2005.exe Pick your JAWS version in the installer dialog -- the default is the latest version found on your computer. Otherwise, just press Enter to accept all defaults of that dialog. A zip archive is also available for a manual install at http://EmpowermentZone.com/msenv2005.zip Documentation for the scripts is in the file msenv2005.htm. It gives steps for manual installation. It also includes a list of hotkeys and a tutorial on developing a fruit basket program with C# and VS. ---------- Is a free version of Visual Studio available? VS comes in various versions with increasing amounts of developer tools and corresponding costs. The "Express Editions" may be freely downloaded and used, even in commercial projects. Each Express Edition is oriented to a particular language or platform: C#, Visual Basic, Visual C++, or Visual Web Developer (for developing web sites with ASP.NET). These are available at http://www.microsoft.com/express/Windows/ ---------- Are there tips for using Visual Studio with a screen reader? A collection of tips has been gathered from blind programming lists, called "Nonvisual Development with .NET," posted at http://EmpowermentZone.com/ndn.htm ---------- Are other IDEs available for .NET development besides Visual Studio? Sharp Develop is an open source, cross platform IDE for .NET languages, available at http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sd/ Eclipse is an open source, cross-platform IDE for Java and other languages, available at http://eclipse.org A plug in for C# development with Eclipse is called Emonic, available at http://emonic.sourceforge.net/ ---------- Is it possible to build .NET programs without Visual Studio? C#, Visual Basic, and JScript .NET command-line compilers are part of the .NET Framework 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK), which is freely available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa731542.aspx Later versions of the .NET Framework include these command-line compilers in the distribution of the Framework, itself. Usually, a shortcut is put on the Windows Start Menu for opening a command prompt with PATH and other environment variables set so that these tools are found when run. You could also search your hard disk for the C# compiler, csc.exe, and then add its directory to your search path. ---------- What accessible text editors may be used for programming? Boxer http://TextEditor.com EdSharp http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe NoteTab Pro http://NoteTab.com TextPad http://TextPad.com ---------- What tools are recommended for developing with the Java language? Install the Java Development Kit (JDK) from http://JavaSoft.com Also there is the Java Access Bridge (JAB), which should be installed for each Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on your computer. A direct download URL for the JAB is http://www.renovation-software.com/files/tgsdk/accessbridge-2_0_1.exe Eclipse is an accessible IDE especially tailored for Java development. It is available from http://eclipse.org Also there is the Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT), a Java package that produces accessible GUIs on Windows and Linux. ---------- What tools are recommended for developing with the Python language? Install Python from http://python.org Install the wxPython package for creating accessible GUIs from http://wxPython.org For Windows development, install the Python for Windows extensions at http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/ Also install py2exe, a package for building stand-alone executables from http://py2exe.org In Python, code indentation is syntactically required rather than stylistically optional. The EdSharp editor includes features that help screen reader users manage indentation efficiently, available at http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe ---------- Is a simpler language available, e.g., one that does not involve object oriented programming (OOP)? AutoIt is a Visual Basic-like language that is freely available from http://AutoItScript.com ---------- Is there an IDE designed with screen reader support? Sodbeans is being developed at http://sodbeans.sourceforge.net/ ---------- What screen readers may be customized for applications via scripting languages? HAL http://YourDolphin.com JAWS http://FreedomScientific.com Nonvisual Desktop Access http://www.nvda-project.org/ Window-Eyes http://GWMicro.com ---------- Is there job training specifically for blind programmers? Lion's World Services For the Blind has a curriculum called Enterprise Solutions Programming -- a 10-month course which prepares clients to work in a wide range of programming environments including .NET and others. Exams for Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) are offered through the program. http://www.lwsb.org/enterprise_solutions_programming.asp ---------- What mailing lists exist for blind programmers? Blind Geeks -- Where Blind People Learn Programming http://BlindGeeks.org BlindWebbers -- List for blind and visually impaired web authors http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/blindwebbers/ dev-accessibility -- Accessibility of Mozilla products to those with disabilities https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-accessibility GW-Scripting -- Discussion list for information regarding the development and use of Window-Eyes scripts http://www.gwmicro.com/Support/Email_Lists/ Java Accessibility http://archives.java.sun.com/cgi-bin/wa?A0=java-access JAWSScripts -- For scripting and configuring JAWS //www.freelists.org/list/jawsscripts LibLouis and LibLouisXML -- List for the discussion and development of the liblouis and liblouisxml braille translation, back-translation, and formatting software //www.freelists.org/list/liblouis-liblouisxml NVDA Developers -- List for development of the Nonvisual Desktop Access screen reader http://www.nvda-project.org/wiki/Community Open A11y of the Linux Foundation http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/accessibility/email program-l -- Discussion group for visually impaired computer programmers //www.freelists.org/list/program-l ProgrammingBlind -- Programming while blind //www.freelists.org/list/programmingblind ---------- What web sites have resources for blind programmers? AbilitiesSoft -- Developing software for people with disabilities http://www.AbilitiesSoft.com/ Blind Geeks -- Where Blind People Learn Programming http://BlindGeeks.org Inthane's Grab Bag -- Blind programming assistance http://GrabBag.AlacornComputer.com NonvisualDevelopment -- promoting software development without visual dependencies http://NonvisualDevelopment.org __________ View the list's information and change your settings at //www.freelists.org/list/programmingblind__________ View the list's information and change your settings at //www.freelists.org/list/programmingblind
__________View the list's information and change your settings at //www.freelists.org/list/programmingblind
