- From: Harvey Bingham <hbingham@acm.org>
- Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 08:34:21 -0500
- To: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
These should help the non-Microsoft development efforts someday. Wonder how soon? Regards/Harvey ---- >Delivered-To: java-access@javasoft.com >X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Windows NT 5.0; U) >X-Accept-Language: en >Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 14:10:35 -0700 >Reply-To: peter.korn@sun.com >Sender: Java Accessibility interest mailing list <JAVA-ACCESS@JAVA.SUN.COM> >From: Peter Korn <peter.korn@sun.com> >Organization: Sun Microsystems >Subject: GNOME Accessibility Framework; J2SDK 1.4 beta 2; Java > Accessibility Helper 0.4 >Comments: To: JA-PR@basso.SFBay.Sun.COM >To: JAVA-ACCESS@JAVA.SUN.COM > >The Sun Accessibility team is delighted to announce the availability of: > > - The Early Access release of the GNOME Accessibility Framework, > which provides support for the development of accessible GNOME > applications and for the development of assistive technologies > for the GNOME desktop. This Early Access release includes > everything necessary for GNOME application developers to make their > applications accessible, and for assistive technology vendors to > being developing assistive technologies for the GNOME user > environment. > > - Version 1.4 Beta 2 of the Java (TM) 2 Software Development Kit, > containing the Java Accessibility API, the Swing user-interface > classes, and support for loading Assistive Technologies into the > Java VM. Version 1.4 is a "feature" release of the Java 2 SDK, > and contains many new features, including a number of additions > and enhancements to support accessibility. > > - Version 0.4 of the Java Accessibility Helper, a test tool for > Java application developers and testers to help them find and fix > accessibility problems with Java applications. This release includes > support for testing Java applications and applets, and produces > detailed reports listing the problems it finds at a variety of > severity levels. > > > GNOME Accessibility Framework, Early Access release > --------------------------------------------------- > The GNOME project comprises a desktop user environment: a graphical > desktop user interface and a set of user-interface libraries; as > well as a suite of office productivity tools and applications. GNOME > is commonly part of Linux distributions (such as those from RedHat, > TurboLinux, VA Linux, etc.) and it is the future graphical desktop > for Sun Solaris workstations and servers. GNOME 2.0 is the upcoming > major release of the GNOME user environment, and it will support > accessibility for people with disabilities through built-in keyboard > access, and accessible applications which implement the GNOME > Accessibility Framework. > > The GNOME Accessibility Framework is made up of several key pieces: > > 1. The Accessibility Toolkit (ATK), which is a definition of > the accessibility contract for GNOME user-interface elements; > > 2. The GNOME Accessibility Implementation Library (GAIL), which > implements the ATK on behalf of the GTK+ user-interface library > (a library of user-interface elements comprising things like > buttons, menus, scrolling text fields, etc.); > > 3. The desktop Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface > (AT SPI), which unifies all of the accessibility information > of applications running on the GNOME desktop (be they standard > GNOME applications, Java applications, or something different) > into one central interface for use by assistive technologies > like screen readers, screen magnifiers, and on-screen keyboards. > > Like the rest of the GNOME project, the GNOME Accessibility Framework > is completely open-source. The GNOME Accessibility Framework is > licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). > > This Early Access release includes the final definition of the ATK, > an edition of GAIL that is roughly 70% completed, and an early > edition of the AT SPI. Also included in this release are a set of > test tools which both test the accessibility information in GNOME > applications, and illustrate how to develop assistive technologies > on top of the framework. The GNOME Accessibility Framework is now > ready for GNOME application developers to begin the process of making > their applications accessible, and for assistive technology vendors > to being developing assistive technologies for the GNOME user > environment. > > The GNOME Accessibility project, and the Early Access release itself, > can be found at: > http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/ > > A press release announcing the GNOME Accessibility Framework Early > Access is at: > http://www.gnome.org/pr-accessible.html > > A Linuxpower interview with a number of Sun's GNOME engineering staff, > including members of the GNOME Accessibility engineering team, is at: > http://www.linuxpower.org/display.php?id=213 > > > Java 2 Software Development Kit version 1.4 Beta 2 > -------------------------------------------------- > The SDK is the reference release of the Java platform, containing > core support for Accessibility, the Java Runtime environment, and > the Java Plugin for use with web browsers such as Netscape and > Internet Explorer. > > Version 1.4 Beta 2 contains the Java Accessibility API, the Swing > user-interface libraries (which support the Java Accessibility API), > and support for loading Assistive Technologies into the Java Virtual > Machine. New for accessibility in version 1.4 is improved keyboard > navigation in a number of Swing components - including the ability > to navigate links in the Swing HTML components, first-letter navigation > in list components, and tabbed pane keyboard mnemonic support. Also > new for accessibility are several new AccessibleRole definitions, > several new system properties, and AccessibleExtendedComponent, an > addition to the Java Accessibility API. > > A detailed list of the new accessibility features in Java 2 SDK 1.4 > can be found at: > http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/guide/access/new-features.html > > The Java 2 SDK version 1.4 is described at and downloadable from: > http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/ > > > Java Accessibility Helper version 0.4 > ------------------------------------- > The Java Accessibility Helper is a test tool for Java >application developers and testers to help them find and fix >accessibility problems > with Java applications. The Helper runs in a separate Java VM, and > works by exercising the application to be tested via standard > Java APIs, and via the Java Accessibility API. The Helper generates > a report that includes a prioritized list of problems and potential > problems with the application being tested (e.g. verifying that > all input fields in an application can be reached using only the > keyboard). > > Version 0.4 includes support for testing Java applications and >applets, and fixes a number of bugs in the previous releases. The Java > Accessibility Helper development team maintains a special e-mail > alias for questions and issue regarding it. Please direct your > Java Accessibility Helper e-mails to: jaccesshelper@sun.com > > To download the Java Accessibility Helper version 0.4, go to the Java > Developer Connection Early access page (log in, or establish yourself > as a new user if you haven't logged in before): > http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/earlyAccess/jaccesshelper > > > >We actively welcome your comments on these releases - please tell us what >you think of them, whether or not they meet your needs, and how we can make >them better. Send your comments to the Sun Accessibility team at ><access@sun.com>, or share your comments with others interested in Java >Accessibility by joining the Java Accessibility mailing list, ><java-access@javasoft.com>. (To join, send a message to ><listserv@javasoft.com> and put "subscribe java-access" in the body of >the message). To take part in the GNOME Accessibility Project, join the >project's mailing list, <gnome-accessibility-list@gnome.org>. Do this via >the page: http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list > > > >On behalf of Sun Microsystems, > >Peter Korn >Sun Microsystems Accessibility team >access@sun.com >http://www.sun.com/access > >=========================================================================== >To unsubscribe, send email to listserv@java.sun.com and include in the body >of the message "signoff JAVA-ACCESS". For general help, send email to >listserv@java.sun.com and include in the body of the message "help".
Received on Tuesday, 27 November 2001 08:44:56 UTC