the following has been forwarded _with_ the permission of the author...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997 00:42:18 EDT
From: Jamal Mazrui <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Some Q&A with Sun about Java access
I've had some recent correspondence with Peter Korn of Sun Microsystems
(formerly of Berkeley Access/Outspoken fame) concerning Java access
issues. With his permission, I'm distributing excerpts which I think
provide some interesting information and perspective.
Jamal
----------
From: Peter Korn <[log in to unmask]>
Organization: Sun Microsystems
To: Jamal Mazrui <[log in to unmask]>
Hi Jamal,
> I'm curious: what in your opinion are the pros and cons of Sun's versus
> Microsoft's approach to Java accessibility?
There are two axis along which to measure our two approaches. One axis is
technical, and the other is distribution. On the technical axis, they are
fairly similar. Both provide a mechanism to describe virtually all of the
semantic information of a user-interface. The specifics of our two
approaches are a little different, but that has more to do with
programming style, and aesthetics.
The biggest technical distinction between the two is that AAJ as it stands
does not provide a mechanism for describing text in any detail (e.g. the
characters, font, style, etc.), perhaps because AAJ is a Java realization
of MSAA, and MSAA doesn't provide a mechanism for describing text (perhaps
because all of the Windows 95 screen readers already have Off-Screen-Models
and so Microsoft didn't work on that problem in MSAA). This isn't a big
deal so long as you are only running Java programs developed using
Microsoft's AFC Java libraries in the Microsoft Internet Explorer running
under Microsoft Windows 95 where you have a Windows 95 screen reader with
a good Off-Screen-Model. But outside of that Microsoft domain....
Which brings us to the second axis: distribution. Sun's Java Accessibility
is going into the Java Development Kit (the JDK). This kit is available
for free download over the internet in binary form, and is licensed in
source form by over 100 licensees who build Java virtual machines into
their products (e.g. Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Netscape, etc.). These
licensees, according to their own development schedules, implement the
features of each new JDK release in their products. That means that Java
Accessibility is going to all of the companies that build the products
that execute Java code, automatically (including Microsoft). So, if we
have a choice as to where Java Accessibility should come from, coming from
the source for everything Java makes the most sense.
The issue of distribution is especially important when we talk about text.
Sun is developing a new set of graphics libraries - Java2d - for which the
specifications are available today on the Javasoft Web site. In the first
two releases of the JDK, whenever a Java application rendered text, it
resulted in the host environment rendering that text through the host
environment's graphics subsystem. So in Windows, a Java text routine
eventually called down to the ExtTextOut() call, which screen readers like
outSPOKEN patched in order to build their Off-Screen-Model. For a variety
of excellent reasons, Java2d includes a completely new text model, which
doesn't render text through the host environment's graphics subsystem.
This means that Java applications that use the new Java2d libraries will
render text that none of today's screen readers (whether they use MSAA or
not, whether they are running on Windows, OS/2, or the Macintosh) will be
able to read. Assistive technologies need an alternative way to query
objects rendered with Java2d for their textual contents, font information,
etc., and neither AAJ nor MSAA provide that today.
The Sun Accessibility team is at the source for Java - we attend the JDK
planning meetings, and have full access to the JDK source code, which we are
actively contributing to. We know which Java technologies are scheduled to
go into future releases of the JDK and meet with the engineers and
managers involved in those technologies regularly, so that we can design
accessibility into these technologies from the start. When new
technologies come out for Java that have accessibility impact (such as
Java2d) we are in the best place to raise accessibility concerns and to
work to ensure accessibility is fully supported by those new technologies.
We would like to work with Microsoft, and have continually involved them at
every step of our development work. We asked Microsoft to participate in
our Java Accessibility work starting in March of 1996 with the initiation
of our accessibility review of JDK 1.0.2, which Microsoft took part in.
We invited Microsoft to attend the Java Accessibility Requirements Meeting
we held, and Microsoft attended. Microsoft was specifically invited to
our first public presentation of Java Accessibility at CSUN in 1997 and
again was invited to the Java Foundation Class library preview, where we
discussed the Java Accessibility support that is in the Java Foundation
Class. Microsoft representatives attended both of these presentations.
We are puzzled as to why Microsoft felt it needed to go it alone on
accessibility in Java given our continuously outstretched hand.
Regards,
Peter
----------
Hi Jamal,
> Can you tell me whether I can develop Java programs with my favorite DOS
> editor (the WordPerfect program editor)? Is there a DOS based runtime
> environment for Java programs? If not, can you tell me, in your opinion,
> what Java development tools and virtual machines are the most speech friendly
> with particular Windows screen readers? Also, can you give me specific URLs
> for the minimum software I would need to download to get started in Java
> programming?
You can write Java programs with any text-based editor, including WordPerfect.
In Windows, I often use 'vi', the Unix text-based editor that is part of the
MKS Toolkit. Others here at Javasoft use emacs (in fact, emacs with emacspeak
should make an excellent combination). There is no DOS-based Java VM,
unfortunately. For running Java programs on the Intel platform, the best
way to go is to use either Windows 95 or Windows NT with your favorite
screen reader.
I would use this with the Java VM that comes with Sun's Java Development
Kit (no other released Java VM will fully run the Java Accessibility
package). I don't have much experience with GUI-based Java development
tools; I just use the command line from a DOS windows.
Generally screen readers should all be in a similar boat with Java: Java
programs built using JDK 1.1/AWT 1.1 controls will used native Windows
controls when running in Windows on the Sun Java VM (other VMs, like
Internet Explorer and Netscape, may not fully use native controls). For
these Java programs, all Windows screen readers should be able to read the
text, the buttons as buttons, check boxes as check boxes, etc. Java
programs using the new Java Foundation Class libraries (also called the
"Swing" classes) which are now available in Early Access form from Sun,
don't use Windows controls, and so require the Java Accessibility package to
make them accessible. While the text will still be recognized as text in
Swing in a version 1.1 Java VM, the buttons, check boxes, etc., won't be
recognized as such. As of today, there aren't any shipping Windows screen
readers which utilize the Java Accessibility package. Once that changes,
Swing controls will be recognized for what they are by those screen readers
that support Java Accessibility.
Grab the latest release of the Java Development Kit (JDK 1.1.3) from
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/. From that page, download the JDK
package, the HTML documentation, and other goodies (like the performance
pack for Windows, a preview of the faster Java Runtime Environment for
Windows, etc.). The JDK includes a compiler, Java VM, Java debugger, etc.
Finally, when you're up and running, register with the Java Developer
Connection (there's a link toward the end of the JDK page; or you can go
to http://www.javasoft.com/jdc) and download the Early Access release of
the Java Accessibility package (currently version 0.3), and the Early
Access release of the Swing user-interface components (our new set of UI
classes that support accessibility, both directly via the pluggable look &
feel architecture, and via assistive technology support through the Java
Accessibility API).
These Early Access releases are on the Java Developer Connection web pages,
which don't currently work with text-based browsers (they use cookies and
are heavily forms based). We have also had compatibility problems with a
number of screen readers and this site. If you have problems using the Java
Developer Connection site, please let us know. We have an alternative,
not-for-public-consumption ftp site which contains both the Early Access
Java Accessibility package and the Early Access Swing package. On an
individual basis we can direct folks to that private ftp site if they are
unable to use the JDC site, until such time as we have addressed the
problems with the JDC site.
I would also strongly suggest to members of these lists that they join the
java-access list ([log in to unmask]; subscribe by sending "subscribe
java-access" in the body of an e-mail to "[log in to unmask]"). Everyone
on the Sun Accessibility team is on this open list, and it is the best place
to get java-related accessibility questions answered.
Regards,
Peter
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