Hi, I see. As for Gzip interpreter, I heard that it is mostly used for games. Also, since it is a virtual machine (from what I heard), it will not be useful to redirect CE function calls. As for SDK and BrailleNote, that's one of the reasons why Alex, myself and Ray Campbell have stressed about productivity. Cheers, Joseph P.S. as for Gzip interpreter, you might want to contact Alex Bec (a software engineer at HumanWare) at [email protected].
-----Original Message----- From: Richard Ehrler [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 7:53 PM To: [email protected]; Humanware Subject: re: SDK Article Hello Joseph, A friend sent me a message, copied below, that you posted to another list. I think much of what you said for that list could apply to the Humanware note taker also. I have a question though and my personal programming experience is too far out of date to be of much use to know for sure. I did programming on NCR Century series main frame computers back in the 1970s using NEAT_3 and Cobol. I programmed Apple 2 series computers in Applesoft floating point basic, integer basic, and even did some 6502 assembly. In a few cases of short machine language code subroutines I just used 6502 op codes and direct entry of hex addresses by hand and avoided even having to run it through the assembler. I only did a very few basic programs on MS-DOS years ago and nothing under windows. My question involves the game code interpreter in the Humanware note takers. Just how powerful is it? If it can run all of those add on games, could it be used as a cheap and dirty SDK for writing non game programs or is it too limited in function to be of much use? If it can be used this way, where would we look to get programming information about it? I would guess the best situation would be to have a fully implemented SDK but maybe some kind of run time basic interpreter would work in the short term to give us the access to programs we want to run on these note takers that are not on the table for Humanware to provide. Even the old Blazie Engineering Braille N Speak supported external add on programs. Dan Greene, among others, wrote several powerful programs for that device. Marc Mulcahy wrote a basic interpreter for it and several of us wrote small basic programs that ran fine on it. If the old Blazie note takers could have this kind of programming support, why not newer more powerful note takers? Richard Ehrler > ----- Original Message ----- >Subject: SDK Article >From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected] >Hi folks, >Sensible Potential: Braille Sense and Possibilities of SDK >Joseph Lee >University of California, Riverside >August 17, 2009 >Introduction >Once I was walking down the road leading from residence halls to campus, >reading a book on an assistive technology hardware. A friend of mine joins, >so we started chatting. At one point, while we were walking around the >engineering complex area, my friend, an engineering major, asked me what the >machine I am using was. "It's my computer," I replied. "So what can you do?" >he asked. "Well, I can do anything with it," I said. "I can write program >code, listen to FM radio, browse web wirelessly and so forth." Then my >friend asks, "Can you write programs and run on your machine?" "No," I >replied. "I cannot execute programs on it." >What does this scenario mean? It means that we have a functioning device, >but there is not way of expanding it to suit our needs. And this is where >the question of SDK (Software Development Kit) comes into our equation. >What is Software Development Kit? >Software Development Kit, or SDK, is a set of tools designed to allow >programmers to write programs for a device or an operating system. These >tools allow a software developer to create, debug and release a program in a >way that allows him or her to have flexible control as to what to write. >These tools include program code editor, compiler/interpreter, debugger and >so forth. >For instance, one can write a program for Windows using Windows API >(Application Programming Interface), such as screen readers, media players >and so forth. Or we can use an sDK to see if a software version that was >released for one OS is compatible with newer one or not via porting it. >So what does it have to do with Braille Sense family? >Absent in English builds of Braille Sense family is called "Contents," an >option available under Utility Menu that llows third-party programs to run >under Braille Sense. This allows various possibilities to happen e.g. >running a document converter, advanced calculator and so forth. As of 2009, >the only real implementation of this feature in south Korea is a Bible >reference software written by a Korean minister which turned out to be >popular among students and enthusiast users of Braille Sense. Another >example is a database add-on which lists programming codes and lyrics for >Karaoke machines in South Korea. >Is there possibilities for English users? >In my opinion, if SDK for Braille Sense is ported to English builds, we will >see massive demand for Braille Sense. This has marketing, economic and >productivity potentials for both HIMS and GW Micro. >In terms of marketing point of view, having a blindness PDA with advanced >media functions, coupled with ability to run user-written programs will >appeal to enthusiast users. For instance, as a computer science student with >interests in assistive hardware, having an SDK will allow me to "experiment" >with Braille Sense up to the point of publishing technical information as >well as useful programs such as Unit Converters, PdF support and so forth. >In economic perspective, this marketing strategy will ensure continued >financial success for both gW Micro and HIMS - to allow these two companies >to collaborate and develop innovative products in the future. >In terms of productivity, the inclusion of sDK will mean useful software. In >other words, the suggestions that we have been seeing on thist list will >come to reality (some of you may recall that I wrote the same sentence a >while ago on another list). For me, I can imagine tens of hundreds of >programs written for Braille Sense - some of them useful, while others >providing fun, such as games. >But be careful with SDK. >One of the research topics in computer science field is computer security. >Every computer system has at least one bug which, if exploited by hackers, >could lead to security outbreak. Braille Sense is not an exception to this >rule. Even though we say that Braille Sense is secure, the inclusion of sDK >will mean a slight possibility of malware appearing on the bS platform >(especially if written in C++ code, as bS is based on). Also, because >X-Scale processor is a 32-bit architecture, a range of scenarios may occur, >such as incompatible code, data misalignment and so forth. Also, some wrong >implementation of SDK-derived code could have serious implications, such as >memory leak (both physical and virtual), spaunning unneeded threads to clog >CPU usage, triggering unnecessary process allocation to use available >process space (up to process #31). As to all process limit and virtual >memory, I'll allow expert programmers to have a go with it. >Those are some of the side-effects of sDK release. However, if we want to >see massive adoption of Braille Sense, I view that the current SDK in Korean >should be ported to English builds as well. >Conclusion >One of the fascinating aspects of computers is the ability to tell the >silicon chip what to do according to what a user wants. This is the art and >science of programming, and an SDK makes this imagination spring to reality. >Currently, Braille Sense has an sDK in Korean, and few programs were written >specifically using this SDK for South Korean market. If the sDK is ported to >English builds, we will see so many possibilities materialize - all from our >brain. Thse include useful programs, fun games, and a few number of malware >which will turn out to be beneficial for gW Micro and HIMS developers to fix >bugs. >Some of my possibilities. >With the SDK, I imagine the following things will come into reality: >.. Ultimate Calculator (Calculus - single and multiple variables, >unit conversion, sequences and series, statistics and so forth) >.. Document converters (PDF, docx and so forth). >.. Spreadsheet (Excel). >.. Benchmarking tools (battery capacity, detailed hardware monitoring >tools and so forth). >.. Advanced config software (changing system sounds, screen >brightness, serial debugging and so on). >And so forth. >Hope the article was helpful here. >Cheers, >Joseph ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. 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