[jsword-devel] iPhone WebApp Take 2

[Greg Hellings]

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 5:13 AM, Jonathan Morgan <jonmmorgan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 7:52 PM, Greg Hellings <greg.hellings at gmail.com> wrote:
>  > I've cleaned up some of the problems with my iPhone webapp page and it
>  >  seems to be coming along nicely (in my opinion).  It's becoming less
>  >  and less happy-looking on the desktop and more and more good looking
>  >  in the browser.  Next I'll get in a HistoryListener and then be able
>  >  to do away with my pesky "Back" button that doesn't seem to show up
>  >  happily in the version of Safari on the iPhone Simulator.  Again, it's
>  >  available still, for the time being, at
>  >  http://hellings.is-a-geek.com:8080/jsword-gwtweb/WebInterface.html -
>  >  let me know what you guys think.  Transformation is still being done
>  >  on the server side, as I'm afraid to overload a mobile browser with
>  >  the XSLT transformation.  I can give client-side XSL a try, if it
>  >  proves too much of a strain on the server to do all the transforming,
>  >  but I don't think it'll be a problem.  The site is currently
>  >  incompatible with the version of IE that comes with Windows Mobile 5,
>  >  and I have no idea about other mobile browsers.  However, FF, Safari
>  >  (desktop and mobile) and IE7 all seem to work fine in my tests.
>  >
>  >  I'd be happy to share the source code (Java/GWT) if anyone would like
>  >  it, and once I get this version ironed out I'll see about permanent
>  >  hosting for the tool itself as well as for the source code.
>
>  Some comments on the interface (though I can't guarantee they will all
>  be right):
>  1. A lot of the names of modules aren't very useful to the average
>  user.  I personally would tend to run away from any page that claim to
>  be related to the Bible and starts with a button "Back" (I've only
>  just arrived - why do I want to go back?), followed by the strings
>  "ALT" and "Byz" in green (which have little or no meaning to most
>  users - though this problem isn't unique to your application).
>  2. I think that having a text box to enter a reference would be better
>  than a button "Enter Manually", which leaves users guessing what to
>  enter manually.  Having this then say "Enter desired key" isn't very
>  useful either (do I need to unlock the module?).  I would suggest
>  using the terms "reference" or "verse" rather than "key".

Thank you for this - the name "Enter manually" had been bugging me,
but I couldn't come up with a better string for the button at 4:00 am.
 How about something like "Type Passage" or "Enter Passage" or even
"Enter Reference?"  Again, length is a problem on the mobile device,
but I lean towards "Enter Reference" or "Type Reference."

>  3. Even on a desktop it takes a comparatively long time to get to any
>  of the NT books, which tend to be used more than the OT books.  I
>  imagine that a user using NT books exclusively from the iPhone and not
>  using the "enter reference manually" could get very frustrated very
>  quickly.  Similarly, scrolling down chapters in Isaiah or Psalms takes
>  a long time (though I'm not sure how this can be improved) and even
>  the gospels and Acts have quite a few chapters.

The first issue can be solved by adding an extra screen to select "NT"
or "OT" (provided the module supports both - otherwise dumping the
user directly to the book selection).  While I tend to shy away from
tying myself down to one versification scheme, this is probably the
best way to go about this.  Hopefully, if the user is aiming for Psalm
150, they'll realize the layout of it makes that tedious to reach and
will enter the reference manually!

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone - they're excellent.

--Greg

>
>  Jon
>
>
>
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