[jsword-devel] Future Direction for BibleDesktop

[Peter von Kaehne]

> 
> I am quite familiar with "rich" HTML rendering in desktop applications,
> however if a user wants a web application, they will use one. Check out:
> http://www.ebible.com/ for an example of what I am trying to say. There
> are tons and tons of web-based applications to read the Bible. With Web
> 2.0 and 3.0 and AJAX, etc etc etc they can feel just like desktop
> applications complete with persistence. Why bother creating a desktop
> Bible application simply to embed web technologies? I personally don't
> see the benefit.

I am not at all sure whether I foillow you here. The reason for the
search for a new renderer is related directly with serious deficiencies
of the current one - inability to display several scripts at the same
time, inability tod eal adequatly with complex scripts. Anything
replacing the current way of rendering needs to be better. This has
little or nothing to do with creating a webapplication.

My understanding is that embedded browsers offer just this, though I am
sure that there are other ways to get text rendered well too. It just
needs to be better than what is there. The bar is set high with Xiphos
using pango-graphite and xul.

Peter