Re: [orca] Odilia, the new Linux screenreader written in Rust, reaches 0.1.0 (fwd)

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Let's hope it does not die on the vine like so many other projects. 

----- Original Message -----
From: Linux for blind general discussion <blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 21:55:14 +0000
Subject: Re: [orca] Odilia, the new Linux screenreader written in Rust, reaches 0.1.0 (fwd)

> Orca is indoubtebly an amazing project, with a lot of good work behind it.

Though, as great as the final product is, there are certain limitations.

The screenreader is written in a language that can take eternity just to
finish a loop, and is not capable of true concurrency. I'm not
criticizing Python here, I use it myself and love the language, I'm just
saying using it for performance critical tasks has its caveats.


Rust is from ground up designed for high performance and parallel
computing. That's why I'm personally very excited to see these strengths
used for accessibility, they could yield very interesting results.


Odilia also handles input devices differently, and aims for supporting
touch screens in the future. That's also a very interesting feature,
especially now, as Linux mobile phones are on a rise.


We'll see how the project goes, and what results we get. But it's
certainly a very interesting and impressive work, that fully deserves
attention.


Best regards


Rastislav


Dna 23. 3. 2023 o 12:26 Linux for blind general discussion napísal(a):
> On 23/3/23 03:18, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
>> Interesting, could you be more specific on this? From those I know, NVDA
>> is Python & C/C++, Jaws is written entirely in C++ if I remember correctly.
>>
>> VoiceOver, just like the two is older than Rust itself, so I guess it's
>> written in the Apple's middle-level languages.
>>
>> While Android has a Java centered accessibility system.
> Indeed, I think this might be the first implementation of a screen
> reader in Rust.
>
> I'm not immediately persuaded that writing another screen reader for the
> Linux desktop is a good idea over-all. I think Orca is expertly
> maintained, and that most of the problems of graphical user interface
> accessibility under Linux arise outside of Orca itself.
>
> On the other side, implementing from the ground up with new technologies
> might yield positive results in the end, if the project is sustainable,
> and people can of course contribute to the community however they wish.
> That includes working on a new screen reader project if it's what they
> want to do.
>
> The last time there was a second screen reader for the Linux desktop - I
> think it was called LSR - it was maintained by IBM. Then IBM decided to
> discontinue their work on the project, and no one took it over. So we've
> been in the "multiple screen reader" situation before.
>
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