RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
- From: "Sina Bahram" <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:34:50 -0500
Unfortunately not, as far as a date goes, but I can give a tentative order
of operations schedule, I think.
I want to merge my group's work with Jay's various packages, and develop a
story that we can start to tell about how these tools can come together and
be useful. Often times, releasing something is only the most basic and
minimal of steps ... putting them together in a coherent way, such that they
are useful, visible, and accessible to all, in lots of different senses of
those words, makes for a much more comprehensive and, I humbly feel, better
user experience.
Next, I want to work with Mike Grace, the lead developer, to finish up a
release of the universal access bridge, which will include a plug-in that
will make the application self-voicing ... this plug-in will contain the
same technologies as used in the java screen reader I have written, and will
most likely get significantly expanded with Jay's assistance. We also have
some other features that are necessary for the Remote Access Bridge, such as
single sign-on support, API compliance with the Virtual Computing Lab's XML
RPC protocol at NC State University, and so on.
Finally, we want to all start working on putting things together in a
completely modular, package based way. Think of Eclipse's plug-in
infrastructure, but a bit easier to use, I dare say, and much more simple to
implement once our helper classes are complete, which will be happening
during this entire process. We already have this mechanism working quite
beautifully for the Remote Access Bridge, and I'd like to extend it to a
library based approach to offer SSIP services, speech recognition services,
screen reading services, remote desktop services, multiple voice TTS
services, and a lot more.
Take care,
Sina
-----Original Message-----
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal Mazrui
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 2:09 PM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
I understand. Can you give a time estimate on the first public beta
(explicitly designated as such)?
Jamal
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007, Sina Bahram wrote:
> Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:50:38 -0500
> From: Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
>
> It can do a lot more, at any case. You see, the java access bridge
> isn't the only thing that has access to such things, so sometimes,
> folks can gleam more information about objects.
>
> I'll want to do lots more integration on the screen reading component
> before releasing it. I've learned, and gotten burned by, releasing too
> soon, especially on this list, remember?
>
> So I really want to make sure things are up to snuff, some QA is done,
> and so on, before I dare even releasing a beta.
>
> Take care,
> Sina
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> Mazrui
> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 11:02 AM
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
>
> Are you saying that a Java screen reader you have written will enable
> Java applications that are currently not accessible with JAWS to
> become accessible? That would be major, so I look forward to any URLs
> you can post that show this capability.
>
> Jamal
> On Thu, 29 Nov 2007, Sina Bahram wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:48:54 -0500
> > From: Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
> > Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> >
> > Everything you said and a lot more is possible with the combination
> > of the screen reader I've written, the SSIP technologies a friend
> > and coworker of mine have worked on, and the use of the abstraction
> > layer that Jay has developed.
> >
> > Take care,
> > Sina
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> > Mazrui
> > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 10:31 PM
> > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> >
> > Hi Jay,
> > Are you saying that this would make a Java application self voicing
> > even if it was built without accessibility in mind, or that a
> > developer interested in accessibility could make an application
> > self-voicing by making calls to this server? If the latter, is the
> > idea similar to the extra speech messages I have implemented in my
> > applications? In other words, is this an API whereby a developer
> > can make an application generate speech using the screen reader
> > currently in use? Is the idea that the developer does not have to
> > know the particular screen reader API, but can write to a general
> > one and SSIP will determine what screen reader is in use and how to make
it talk?
> >
> > Jamal
> > On Wed, 28 Nov 2007, Macarty, Jay
> > {PBSG} wrote:
> >
> > > Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:43:39 -0600
> > > From: "Macarty, Jay {PBSG}" <Jay.Macarty@xxxxxxxx>
> > > Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > >
> > > Jamal,
> > > I'll let Sina respond to the Linux questions. But for the java
> > > questions you asked, here are the answers:
> > >
> > > 1. Yes, the sample SSIPClient jar, which will come with the server
> > > installation, could be used to self voice a java application.
> > >
> > > 2. To simply self voice a java application would not require
> > > knowledge or use of the accessibility framework. If one simply
> > > wished to self voice a particular event, such as a button being
> > > pressed or the content of a JTextArea, one would only need to
> > > create an instance of the SSIPClient object in the desired class
> > > and then call the sayString method to vocalize the desired text.
> > >
> > > While the use of swing and the accessibility framework are not
> > > required, certainly choosing to take advantage of the fact that
> > > the framework is there is a big plus in self voicing an application.
> > > also, if one wishes to create accessibility tools of a more
> > > general purpose, such as a java based screen reader solution, then
> > > utilizing the java accessibility API would be the best approach.
> > >
> > > 3. If one were simply wishing to self voice a specific java
> > > application, the only thing you would need to do is include the
> > > SSIPClient jar in your classpath. If you were executing multiple
> > > applications from the same JRE, you could place the jar in the
> > > jre\lib\ext directory so that it would be picked up automatically.
> > > However, if you were simply self voicing a single application, it
> > > would likely be preferable to include the SSIPClient jar in the
> > > classpath
> > definition for that application.
> > >
> > > NOTE: While you need only include the client jar to be able to
> > > gain connectivity to the SSIP server, you must, of course, make
> > > sure that the server executable is running to receive the
> > > connection prior to when the java application tried to establish a
> > > session. This could be handled as simply as placing the launch of
> > > SSIPVoiceServer.exe in your startup folder.
> > >
> > > Again, if your intention was to develop a general purpose
> > > accessibility technology, such as a java screen reader, the
> > > configuration of the SSIP client itself isn't any harder but you
> > > would likely have to define the accessibility application to the
> > > JVM thru the accessibility.properties file.
> > >
> > > In addition to the work Sina is doing, the SSIP server, by itself,
> > > will include the server executable and some client wrappers for
> > > various environments such as java, AutoIt, ruby, and a DotNet
> > > assembly dll to allow one to include a SSIPClient namespace in
> > > whatever DotNet environment they are using.
> > >
> > > Hope this helps.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> > > Mazrui
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11:47 AM
> > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > >
> > > Congratulations on your progress with this project, Jay! Like
> > > others, I confess having trouble understanding the full
> > > ramifications. Could you or Sina describe some vignettes from a
> > > user's
> perspective?
> > >
> > > I think I understand that this technology would allow someone on a
> > > Windows computer (e.g., running JAWS) to operate a remote Linux
> > > computer with Orca. Is that right? Would JAWS need to be running
> > > after the connection was made? If so, would there be key
> > > conflicts to manage between JAWS and Orca?
> > >
> > > Does this technology also allow Java applications to be self voicing?
> > > Do
> > > they have to implement the Swing API according to accessibility
> > > guidelines? If one has a Java app installed, how would the
> > > self-voicing part be added?
> > >
> > > I know from the quality of your skills and the time you have
> > > invested in this project that it is something with exciting
> > > potential. I'm just trying to get a better grasp of what it would
> > > and
> would not do.
> > > If there are any sample apps or audio demos that illustrate the
> > > possibilities, that would be great.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Jamal
> > >
> > >
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