XTrans Translates text to English contracted braille
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XTrans Tags

Converter Translator XML documents templates template xml document xsl template build xsl xsl XSL editor XSL Transformation XML Translator xml transformation xsl stylesheet editor building editor XSL Formatting Objects editor XSL-FO editor test XLS transformation test editor documents easy building

XTrans Description

XTrans is an open source Java application that translates the text contents of XML files to English contracted Braille. The first version of XTrans has been tested for English Braille American Edition (EBAE). XTrans has several features that distinguish it from other braille translation software. The software obtains the specification of a braille translation system from a user-supplied XML file rather than maintaining it in proprietary format as part of the software. The XTrans distribution includes a file specifying EBAE. XTrans obtains the correct translations of words affected by natural language exceptions to the braille translation rules from a user-supplied dictionary or table. This approach is in contrast the standard use of rules-based heuristics to deal with these exceptions. The XTrans approach is simpler, more accurate, and faster on modern computers. It also reduces the amount of proofreading since the user only has to proof the supplied dictionary once rather than to proof every translation in its entirety. The application makes it possible for the user to explictly indicate the semantics of words to be translated where that semantics affects the translation as in the case of proper names, homonyms, foreign words in an English context, acronyms, etc. XTrans represents braille as extended braille in addition to ASCII Braille and Unicode Braille Patterns. Braille is context-sensitive with the same braille cells having different meanings in different contexts. Extended braille avoids this context-sensitivity by using separate characters for each different meaning of the same cell.

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