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<font face="FreeSerif">When I released Xiphos 3.2.0, I mentioned
that it had a new feature, BibleSync, to provide for multicast
co-navigation of Bible programs. I've now separated BibleSync
into a distinct library outside Xiphos, able to be built and
linked separately.<br>
<br>
I would be interested to hear from any of the other Sword apps'
authors who would be interested in experimenting with integrating
BibleSync capability.<br>
<br>
Short summary: BibleSync is a single C++ class library that
provides a minimal public interface with the essentials needed to
configure, transmit, and receive through the metaphorical conduit
through which navigation packets travel. The requirements to use
it well are straightforward, involving mode selection, polled call
of the receiver, calling the transmitter as needed, and
identifying which other potential transmitters should be heard
according to user request and with regard to default listen
policy. Options exist to specify total privacy if only the
current system's apps should hear nav transmit, and whether the
overall operational mode should be pure Speaker, pure Audience, or
mixed Personal mode which both transmits and receives among
cooperating apps (e.g. small team).<br>
<br>
BibleSync has a github repository you can clone:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://github.com/karlkleinpaste/biblesync.git">https://github.com/karlkleinpaste/biblesync.git</a><br>
<br>
If you care to see it operate in Xiphos, you can build both
BibleSync and Xiphos, or if you use Windows or Wine, you can just
try out the 3.2.1pre Win32 installer found in
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ftp.xiphos.org/sword/biblesync/1.0.1/">http://ftp.xiphos.org/sword/biblesync/1.0.1/</a>. (It's visually poor
under Wine but fully functional.) See the screenshots in the same
directory for the Prefs page showing BibleSync configuration.
Obviously you'll have to run multiple instances; I've run as many
as 9 simultaneously, on an assortment of real hardware and VMs.
The manual needs an update.<br>
<br>
I've attached the man page in both regular format and
post-processed text format.<br>
<br>
Be aware that the current implementation takes a few liberties
with the original spec (compare .hh against spec, mentioned in man
page) that are well-received so far by the group of people working
on this, plus the addition of transmitter beacons which is waiting
for critique and consensus. Beacons, or something similar, were
deemed necessary to deal with the problem of interloper
transmitters, whether maliciously or inadvertently. Note that
BibleSync in Xiphos 3.2.0 and 3.2.1pre will not interoperate
because of the new beacon aspect: 3.2.0 will not understand or
generate them and 3.2.1 will not recognize Speakers without them.<br>
<br>
It's new, it's weird, it's cool, it's exactly the kind of thing
people like us should find interesting. :-)<br>
<br>
--karl<br>
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