Jskad/source/overview.html

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Copyright 2001-2002 Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library
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Provides facilities for manipulating text in Tibetan and for working
with bibliographies of Tibetan texts.
<p>
Here's some info from the THDL Tools project's
<a href="http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=214100">
News</a> archive.&nbsp; <em>Note that Savant and QuillDriver have
moved; they're no longer located in this codebase.</em>
<pre>
Posted By: eg3p
Date: 2002-09-26 12:14
Summary:THDL Projects and Goals
</pre>
<p>
Hello. You'll see that we at the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library
have been developing several Tibetan language and culture related
software tools, all of which take advantage of Tony Duff's free
cross-platform TibetanMachineWeb fonts. We think these tools have
reached a level of development that they now need the active
participation of the larger programming community in order to
progress.
</p>
<p>
On the one hand, we've developed Java-based tools for inputting and
displaying Tibetan script (Jskad), as well as for the transcription of
Tibetan-language videos (QuillDriver), and the synchronized playback
of videos along with their associated transcripts (Savant).
</p>
<p>
On the other hand, recognizing the ubiquity of Word, we've also
developed Visual Basic macros for inputting Tibetan script (WylieWord)
and diacritics useful for Asian studies (DiacriticsForWord,
DiacriticsForWin2k) into Microsoft Word.
</p>
<p>
The Java side of our project has several goals. First, we'd like to
create a high quality cross-platform word processor/display engine
optimized for Tibetan script input and display. This probably means
embedding Jskad in an established open source text editor.
</p>
<p>
Second, we are developing educational and research-oriented software
that takes advantage of these basic Tibetan display
capabilities. QuillDriver, designed for transcription of videos, and
Savant, an integrated tool for learning language from digital video,
are examples of this. Here, several tasks are on the horizon: merging
QuillDriver and Savant into the same tool, which has both edit
(QuillDriver) and display (Savant) modes; and integrating both with
Tibetan dictionary, grammar and pedagogy modules also being developed
at the THDL. Finally, note that unlike Jskad, both QuillDriver and
Savant are meant to be truly multilingual, and not just specialized
Tibetan software.
</p>
<p>
Still, we know that no matter what the open source community does,
Microsoft Word will still remain the most dominant (and arguably the
best) word-processor. There will always be people, and always
occasions, to type Tibetan into Word. Therefore, we are also pushing
our Visual Basic macros for Tibetan and diacritic input. Our main
goals with these tools is to make them as bug-free and user-friendly
as possible, and to develop stable Mac versions. Another possible goal
would be to extend these tools to work with other Office applications,
such as Excel or Access.
</p>
<p>
Given the various projects, we are setting up several forums for
specialized discussion:
</p>
<p>
1) General
2) Jskad
3) QuillDriver/Savant
4) WylieWord
5) Diacritics
</p>
<p>
Please occasionally consult those forums of interest to you. Also,
please take a look at the mailing lists and subscribe to those you
want to follow.
</p>
<p>
Spread the word: THDL Tools are on SourceForge!
</p>
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