Final testing of SignPuddle 1.6

[Steve Slevinski]

Hi list,

This week, we will be performing the final quality assurance testing 
before moving SignPuddle 1.6 into production.  I invite anyone 
interested to check it out give it a try.  Please report any issues or 
questions to the SW List.
http://www.signbank.org/signpuddle1.6

If everything goes well, SignPuddle will be upgraded early next week.  
There will be a few hours down time, but everything should be back up 
and running the same day.  All previous links will continue to work as 
expected.

The major changes for SignPuddle 1.6 are structural  and foundational 
rather than major improvements to the user interface.  These changes 
will provide a pathway to the future and streamline the creation of more 
powerful viewer and editors.

Symbol Set
---------
The SignWriting symbol set for SignPuddle has been updated to the ISWA 
2010.  The most notable change is the expansion of the movement 
symbols.  You will notice the change in the symbol palette.  All of the 
signs and sign texts have been converted from the ISWA 2008 to the ISWA 
2010.  The conversion has been thoroughly tested and should be 100% 
accurate.  The ISWA 2010 is a focused refactor of the ISWA 2008.  You 
can read about the specific changes:
http://www.signpuddle.net/mediawiki/index.php/ISWA_2008#Successor


Preliminary Unicode
-----------------
Symbol identification has been modified from the Symbol ID to the 
Preliminary Unicode string.  This string is in agreement with what has 
been proposed before the governing bodies of Unicode Consortium.  This 
string is equivalent to a purely ASCII string called the symbol key.  We 
are planning a follow-up Unicode presentation in the beginning of 2012 
and hope to be included in the official balloting.  You can read the 
Unicode proposal:
http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n4090.pdf


Word Structure
-------------
Each sign is represented as a separate word which is a string of 
sequential letters and symbols, replacing the previous methods of comma 
separated values and SWML.  The new word structure sets SignWriting as a 
formal language with advantages for searching, sorting, and layout.  The 
word structure will be explicitly defined and leveraged in the update to 
my Internet-Draft later this year.

Formal language definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_language

Previous version of Internet-Draft:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-slevinski-iswa-2010-00


XML Data Set
-----------
The main data backend for SignPuddle has been updated to XML through the 
use of SignPuddle Markup Language files.  Each SPML file represents an 
entire dictionary or document collection.  These files are easy to 
backup, restore, and transfer.  These files can easily be included with 
any program that can process XML.

SPML Document Type Definition:
http://www.signpuddle.net/spml_1.6.dtd

SignPuddle 1.6 SPML puddle files:
http://signbank.org/signpuddle1.6/data/spml/


Sign Text Justification
------------------
Sign Text justification forces the signs of a column to align with both 
the top and bottom, thereby removing the jagged appearance at the bottom 
when several columns appear side by side.  The excessive space that 
previously occurred at the bottom of a column is redistributed between 
the signs in the column.

Sign Text justification also forces punctuation to remain at the bottom 
of a column, rather than allow punctuation to start a new column.  The 
spaces between the signs in a column are compressed to pull a 
punctuation to the bottom of a column.


Scalable Vector Graphics
---------------------
Within ColumnMaker, SVG support has been added.  There are 4 automated 
vector tracings of the ISWA 2010 available.  A 5th version of manual 
refinements is a work in progress.  SVG support is planned throughout 
SignPuddle in the near future.  The user will be able to choose between 
raster PNG images or SVG.


SignText Loading...
-----------------
SignText has been given a small update that forces the symbols to 
properly load before the text is displayed.  This removed the need to 
use the "refresh" button to fix the text when using SignText.


Thanks for your attention,
-Steve