Orca (screen reader)
| Orca
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| Basic data
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| developer | Community based |
| Current version |
3.34.0 ( September 9, 2019 ) |
| operating system | GNU / Linux , openSolaris |
| programming language | python |
| category | Screen reader |
| License | LGPL |
| German speaking | Yes |
| https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Orca | |
Orca is an open-source - screen reader for the desktop environment Gnome . It is included in most GNU / Linux distributions such as openSUSE , Ubuntu , Fedora , but also under openSolaris . Even if Orca is not the first screen reader for one of the graphical interfaces under Linux, it has established itself as the only one and has appeared with every release of GNOME since 2005.
Orca uses the Braille display control program BrlTTY together to serial, USB and Bluetooth - Braille be able to control. Orca gets its data from the Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI). It therefore basically interacts with all applications that make their surface accessible via AT-SPI, such as Adobe Reader , Eclipse , Mozilla Thunderbird or OpenOffice.org . The current stable version of Orca always depends on the current GNOME version.
The name of Orca refers to the popular proprietary competitor JAWS : Jaws is the original title of the film Jaws ; there Orca is the name of the boat used to hunt the shark, named after the great white shark's only natural enemy, the killer whale . Other important screen readers or their manufacturers are similarly named after sea creatures such as Flipper or Dolphin.
history
The first version of Orca was officially launched in November 2005. Sun Microsystems had previously decided to expand its involvement in the Gnome project and to develop a free screen reader for GNOME. Marc Mulcahy, a blind programmer at Sun, developed the first working prototype. In January 2010, Sun Microsystems was taken over by Oracle . In the course of the company's internal restructuring, the development of Orca was also stopped. Oracle did not respond to open letters from the community. Orca eventually became a community project managed, developed and translated by volunteers.
Functionality and functionality
Speech output
Orca uses a free speech output, eSpeak , by default . Speech outputs are controlled under Orca with speech modules, so-called backends .
Orca uses three different modules to control speech output:
- Emacspeak
- Gnome Speech (obsolete)
- Speech dispatcher
You can also use paid synthesizers with Orca, such as IBM ViaVoice . Such external speech outputs are then usually controlled with the Speech Dispatcher .
Braille output
Orca can be controlled via the BrlTTY screen reader. BrlTTY acts as a control program for the Braille displays, i.e. H. it provides the drivers. BrlTTY is controlled by Orca via the BRLapi, a control protocol for BrlTTY.
Orca displays the contents of the screen on the Braille display with context. In the menu bar you can find the word "file" and "menu" or "mnu" (depending on the level of detail). This allows a better overview of the screen content. Orca can also display text in shorthand and, in newer versions, also output spoken messages on the Braille display.
enlargement
Orca can also provide screen magnification for the severely visually impaired. There the user can specify the degree of magnification, the contrast, the color settings and much more. A computer with more than 512 MB RAM should be available for this, as otherwise the image could jerk.
Web links
- Instructions on library.gnome.org (English)
- Orca mailing list (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ gitlab.gnome.org . (accessed on September 22, 2019).
- ↑ A selection of well to very well supported programs can be found on Accessible Applications. (No longer available online.) October 1, 2009, archived from the original on January 23, 2011 ; Retrieved on February 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Why the name Orca? (No longer available online.) March 30, 2010, archived from the original on January 23, 2011 ; Retrieved on February 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The announcement was made by an email from the then SUN employee Walker to the GNOME mailing list, see Willie Walker: orca-0.2.0. November 29, 2005, accessed February 20, 2011 .
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://voxin.oralux.net/get.php?mystep=0
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
