Needs educating: Message from Linux (fwd)

Amanda Lee amanda at shellworld.net
Tue Jan 22 20:00:44 EST 2002


So in broad terms, the features are equivalent to MSAA?  However, there's a
cleaner interface than what MSAA provides because of the overal
standardization of what is already standardized in Linux???


Amanda Lee

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <tward at bright.net>
To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: Needs educating: Message from Linux (fwd)


> Hi. Wo, hold on here!
>
> Ok, let me explain what we are doing with Gnome to clarify things. First,
> the gtk tool kit, from which Gnome is written in,  is being rewritten so
> that anyone using the standard controls, widgets, etc will build
accessible
> apps from the get go. Gnome has also been upgraded with speech hooks that
> will tell the screen reader what is being presented. Finally, Sun will be
> introducing something like the Java Access bridge so that Gnopernicus can
> handle Java applications under Linux. Does this clear things up?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Charles Crawford <ccrawford at acb.org>
> To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 2:27 PM
> Subject: Re: Needs educating: Message from Linux (fwd)
>
>
> >          Thanks.  I understand what you are saying.  Does this mean that
> > there would not be a fix for X-Windows like the MSAA in Windows?  Would
we
> > need some kind of major off-screen model?
> >
> > -- charlie Crawford.
> >
> > At 11:09 AM 1/22/02 -0700, you wrote:
> > >Actually, being familiar with X myself, I'll answer this one.
> > >
> > >Xwindows, is a misnomer, in reality, it's just an X server, and
clients.
> The
> > >server draws to the screen, and sends user input to the clients. The
> clients
> > >are the applications, the clients are usually on the same machine as
the
> > >server, but they don't have to be.
> > >
> > >X itself is nothing more than a network protocol for sending graphic
data
> to
> > >an X workstation, the X protocol has no provisions for button, text
box,
> or
> > >any widgets for that matter, it has: line, circle, filled circle,
> rectangle,
> > >filled rectangle, pixmap, etc...
> > >
> > >X also sends keyboard input and mouse click locations to the
applications
> > >that own the windows they occur in.  Beyond that, X's only other
> capability
> > >is to send text glyphs (rendered in a given font) back to applications
> that
> > >request them.
> > >
> > >As for widgets, and controls, and a nice unified API for writing
> programs,
> > >you need a "toolkit library". What's a toolkit library you ask? A
better
> > >question might be "what isn't a toolkit library?"
> > >First of all, there are a lot of toolkit libraries out there, some are
> very
> > >simple (Athena) while some have a full-blown callback API and can be
> adjusted
> > >with themes (GTK, GTK+) and some are object-oriented C++ based APIs
(QT).
> > >They all basically do the same thing, provide
> functions/objects/structures to
> > >the application to draw typical GUI widgets, and send draw requests to
> the X
> > >server. Here's the hairy part, each toolkit has its own look and feel,
> has
> > >its own API, has its own conventions, and basically has its own
> everything.
> > >
> > >There's also the seperate window manager, which is simply another X
> client
> > >which registers a few special functions with the X server so it can get
> the
> > >location and owner of each window and add decorations and task
switching
> > >behavior. Some (most) window managers do more than this, but they all
do
> at
> > >least this.
> > >
> > >Windows, on the other had, has the equivalent of the toolkit library
and
> > >window manager built into the kernel (sort of) and most applications
> either
> > >use that, or a custom one that is very similar to it.
> > >
> > >I'm sure this is incomplete, but I've already been wracking my brain
for
> an
> > >hour over it, so I'll close here, feel free to ask questions or tell me
> about
> > >parts that are unclear.
> > > >       Good to see you on this list.  I wonder if there are some
folks
> > > out there
> > > > familiar with XWindows to share the kind of navigation that goes on
> with
> > > > it?  I have no idea.  Is it the same icons and rdio buttons and all
of
> > > > tht?  How is it different than windows and how much more easy would
> access
> > > > be to develop in the XWindows environment?  These are important
> questions
> > > > to your point I imagine.
> > > >
> > >
> > >_______________________________________________
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> > >Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> > >http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
>
>
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