Scriptures Reader

The Scriptures is a next generation of the popular Bible Reader. For now it is not fully functional, however. There is not search facility implemented. Moreover, you cannot add/edit notes in the program. You need to switch to Memo standard application. Please, check a feature list I plan to implement in this version of the Bible Reader. If you have some new idea, you are welcome.

Feature List

1. Notes

1.1*  Take notes from the standrad MemoPad application database.
1.2   Provide an easy way to associate a newly created note with the verse
      currently shown.


2. Search

2.1   Save search results interactively into the memo. While the search is in
      progress allow to browse search results, i.e. found verses.
2.2   Provide an ability to specify starting and ending books/chapters for
      search.
2.3   Search for exact phrase, all words, or any word; case sensitive or case
      insensitive.
2.5   Extensively use graffity shortcuts to navigate search results.

  

3. Navigation

3.1   Need bookmarks.
3.2   Import/export bookmarks from/to the MemoPad database.
3.3*  Provide more convinient way to select a verse.
3.4   Western program localization should follow an appropriate book order.
3.5   When the chapter finishes go to next/previous chapter.


4. Misc

4.1   Provide select/copy facility for the Bible text.
4.2   Support several versions of Bible with an easy way to switch between them.
4.3*  Add Autoscoll facility (probably, with smooth scrolling).
4.4   Add an ability to choose text font.
4.5   What about color?
4.6*  Toggle the title bar (full screen text).
4.7   Embed language specific fonts in the text modules (to aviod the necessity
      to localize PalmOS to view/read books in various languages).
4.8?  Support Sony Clie Memory Stick.
4.9?  Support Handspring Flash Module.
4.10* Provide a lefthand support.
4.11  Overlap/Don't overlap a line with page up/down.
4.12  Hide/Show scrollbar.

Features marked with '*' are already implemented in the recent Scriptures version.
Most features are requested by the Bible Reader users. So, I would like to thank you, users, for your interest and your ideas.

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Text Modules

In order to run the Scriptures Reader you also need to download and install one or more text modules. The entire Bible text is split onto three modules (*.PDB files). This is done, because some users don't have enough available RAM on their devices to hold entire text. The hebrew module contains books from Genesis to Songs of Solomon, the prophets module contains books from Isaiah to Malachi, and the greek module contains books from Matthew to Revelation.

Version	Language	Contributor	Download	Size
Russian Synodal Bible	Russian	N/A	bible-rsb.zip	1580K
King James Version	English	N/A	bible-kjv.zip	1618K
Romanian Version	Romanian	Faragau Daniel	bible-rom.zip	1644K
Bible of the Statenvertaling	Dutch	Roel Knol	bible-svv.zip	1725K
Indonesian Translation	Indonesian	Muliawan H.	bible-ind.zip	1757K
Portuguese Version	Postuguese	Eider Oliveira	bible-pt.zip	2549K

There is an alternative and preferable place where you can download text modules and/or contribute to extend a set of supported languages. This site is supported by Greg Swallow and located at http://palmreader.freewebsites.com. If you are looking for another language translations I would prefer you to refer to this site instead. However, if you have another translation you would like to read with the Bible Reader, but would not like to make it public (for some reasons) follow the instructions provided in the next section.

How To Create Text Modules

The easiest way to create text modules is to use sources, I have used to create RSB and KJV text modules. (I use Linux environment to develop Palm software, so be prepared to use the same environment. However, I suppose it is possible to successfully compile the sources under Windows using cygwin.) Thus, first download the bible project sources and unzip them.

Type make kjv in the shell command prompt to make sure you can successfully compile existing texts. You need Java installed on your machine. Check JAVA variable in the Makefile to be sure it is initialized correctly. You also need zlib-devel-*.rpm installed.

Once, you have successfully compiled KJV text modules, i.e. you havn't got any errors, you may start to prepare your text for compilation. The Bible text must be split onto separate chapters and follow these rules:

. The files are in plain text format, with line breaks
. Every chapter in a different file
. Every verse starts a new line
. No chapter or verse numbers in the file. The program recognizes them automatically.

Please, check bible-kjv.tar.gz as an example. File names must strictly correspond names specified in the *.list files. Once, you have prepared all these files (their total count is 1189), move them in text/ directory and create bible-xxx.tar.gz package containing these files under the text/ directory (see bible-kjv.tar.gz).

Patch the Makefile by adding the following code:

xxx: bible-xxx.stamp $(TEXTS)
        zip bible-xxx.zip readme.txt $(TEXTS)
        rm -rf $(TEXTS) text bible-xxx.stamp

The Makefile will look like this:

...

clean:
    rm -rf text *.stamp *.o

xxx: bible-xxx.stamp $(TEXTS)
        zip bible-xxx.zip readme.txt $(TEXTS)
        rm -rf $(TEXTS) text bible-xxx.stamp

rsb: bible-rsb.stamp $(TEXTS)
        zip bible-rsb.zip readme.txt $(TEXTS)
        rm -rf $(TEXTS) text bible-rsb.stamp

upload-rsb:
        scp1 bible-rsb.zip noir.crocodile.org:/home/ftp/pub/people/york/

kjv: bible-kjv.stamp $(TEXTS)
        zip bible-kjv.zip readme.txt $(TEXTS)
        rm -rf $(TEXTS) text bible-kjv.stamp

upload-kjv:
        scp1 bible-kjv.zip noir.crocodile.org:/home/ftp/pub/people/york/

...

After these modifications just type make xxx in the shell command prompt. When the compilation processs ends, you'll get bible-xxx.zip distribution package.

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Send me e-mail at york@noir.crocodile.org
$Date: 2001/11/08 17:48:33 $