Current Features
At this point Jambu development is focussed on an initial release of the core framework as a deliverable to Mozilla that controls Firefox. Previous phases looked into using the Mozilla XULRunner and IBM's LSR project for a platform. Development is now focused on a simple standalone system with minimal dependencies on Operating System, a11y API or software packages.
Work is underway to create a framework that in addition to controlling applications such as Firefox will allow flexible UI's such as general OSK's or AAC's to be created with minimal programming skills (equiv to basic web development). W3C's SVG open standard for vector graphics is used for visuals and the plan is to extend Jambu to embrace flexibility in input devices. Whilst hand-coding SVG is quite complex editors such as Inkscape allow graphis designers to create highly attractive visuals. Libraries of SVG images are available and work is in hand to create open symbol sets with links to work on concept coding.
The main features of this cycle are:
- SVG declaration of visuals for attractive, scalable graphics.
- XML extensions to SVG for behavior using a restricted virtual machine model and expression syntax to give simple declarative behaviour.
- Extending functionality by implementing 'methods' in Python that are usable from the document. Thus complexity is in python plugin modules while exposing a simple model for creating the OSKs. For example scan methods, application control via a11y API, multimedia or TTS.
- Written in Python with minimal additional dependencies; currently pygtk, librsvg and pyatspi. Eases portability to other platforms
- Unit tests for TDD and regression
This is a small start in order to evaluate the approach in the broad sense as well as specific details such as suitability of the expression syntax. An initial 'selection set' is being created to allow basic control of Firefox with a simple step scan from keyboard.
Previously a primitive prototype of the SVG rendering and basic scanning was made available
