CrossWire Bible Society - User contributions [en]

Encoding

2008-01-21T01:42:11Z

Rlrandallx: /* Common mistakes */

As many people are making mistakes with encoding, here is a small text where I try to explain what does exist.

== Introduction ==
Computers are working on words of bits, usually 8, 16, 32 or 64 today. Those words are meanless for the computer, they can be interpreted in many ways, as numbers, as instructions, as characters, as true/false values...

An encoding is a set of rules defining how to translate a sequence of words into a sequence of characters.

== Single byte encoding ==
As computer can easily work with groups of bit called bytes, one of the first solution was to use a different byte value for every character. It's easy to understand and to program: every byte encode a single character; it's space efficient (memory was really expensive), you can size a string by counting bytes... You can have up to 256 characters as a byte can have 256 different values.

When computers was mostly an occidental story, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII ASCII] was one of the first and most successful encoding. It define 128 characters, including upper case and lower case of the Latin alphabet, digits, punctuation and control. Values above 127 are not defined (allowing extensions or controls values). It is a good set of characters to write in English.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBCDIC EBCDIC] is another byte encoding defined by IBM at the same time which include mostly the sames characters but values above 127 are not free.

As many languages are using characters not included in the original ASCII set; many country, or group of country defined new encoding based on the ASCII encoding. Missing characters are filled in the unused 128 values (above 127). As 128 values is not enough for every earth alphabet, we have many of theses encodings. One of the most successful are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_8859 ISO-8859] and in particular [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_8859-1 ISO-8859-1] which include characters for 29 western European and African languages.

== Unicode ==
Theses encoding where 1 byte correspond to 1 character are really great for English, it's working well for languages based on the Latin alphabet, but is really bad for other alphabets. Some of them use more than 256 signs.

You can not write a text with characters from different encoding; and when sending a text, you always have to agree on a common encoding.

Here is Unicode. But first, learn this: '''Unicode is not an encoding'''

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode Unicode] is an industry standard where every character in any real language, past or present (about 100,000 characters), is having a different numeric value called a code-point. This code-point can be recorded in many ways. The first 128 code-points are the same values used in the ASCII encoding.

Did you remember, Unicode is not an encoding? Ok, in fact, Unicode also define many different encodings to store code-point.

== Multi-bytes encoding ==
One word = One character was a great rule, let's keep it. When Unicode was young, Code-point where all under 65536. So we can represent every character with a 2 bytes word, (a 16 bits word). This is called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16/UCS-2 UCS2]. UCS2 is deprecated.

Now, Code-point are under 2^32, so we can represent every character with a 4 bytes word, (a 32 bit word). This is called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-32/UCS-4 UCS4], or UTF32.

For an English text, because every character is encoded with 4 bytes, the size if 4 time bigger than the same text in ASCII encoding.

== Variable byte length encoding ==
UCS2 and UCS4 are great, but it takes too much space, and if your old program does work with 1 byte = 1 character, it will not work. We need an encoding where ASCII characters are the same, but with the ability to encode any Unicode character.

So [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8 UTF-8] was created. It's a variable-byte length encoding. ASCII character are the same as in an ASCII encoded text; and other characters are encoded using 2, 3 or 4 characters. You should use this for all your Sword files now.

For programs written to use UCS2, there is also an extension, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16/UCS-2 UTF-16] is designed to use a single 2 bytes word for characters under 65536, and a pair of words above.

== Common mistakes ==
If you use a wrong encoding, some characters will not be displayed correctly as the computer decoded it using incorrect rules.

The two most common encoding are ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8

=== 1. An UTF-8 text decoded as ISO-8859-1 (or ISO-8859-*) ===

You will see two or three characters for non-ASCII ones, usually Ã and ©.
Et Dieu vit la lumière, qu'elle était bonne; et Dieu sépara la lumière d'avec les ténèbres.
will show as
Et Dieu vit la lumiÃ¨re, qu'elle Ã©tait bonne; et Dieu sÃ©para la lumiÃ¨re d'avec les tÃ©nÃ¨bres.

=== 2. An ISO-8859-1 text decoded as UTF-8 ===

The UTF-8 decoder will find an invalid multi-byte character, it can report an error, or put question marks or squares instead:

Et Dieu vit la lumière, qu'elle était bonne; et Dieu sépara la lumière d'avec les ténèbres.
will show as
Et Dieu vit la lumi?re, qu'elle ?tait bonne; et Dieu s?para la lumi?re d'avec les t?n?bres.

Warning: If you see squares, it can also be a font problem! This happen if you're using a font which does not define some characters you are using.

=== 3. Using a font that does not include the characters you want ===

If you use accented greek characters, for example, but do not use a unicode font that supports precomposed greek characters (like @Arial Unicode MS) accented characters will appear as empty rectangles in your text. In BibleCS you can change the font in Options/Preferences/Display.

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:33:16Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon, could you do this?

== '''Definitions:''' ==

(Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, Word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Bookmark:''' An N-tree hierarchical structure where nodes can be either a Topic or a Reference

'''VerseList:''' A list of References with a Topic as the Key

== '''Alternatives:''' ==

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:26:58Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:26:40Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:26:07Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon, could you do this?

== '''Definitions:''' ==

(Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:25:51Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon, could you do this

== '''Definitions:''' ==

(Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:25:33Z

Rlrandallx:

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon could you do this

== '''Definitions:''' ==

(Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:24:36Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon could you do this
=='''Definitions:'''== (Please correct if you have a better definition)
'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:23:57Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon could you do this
=='''Definitions:'''== (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:22:44Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
Jon could you do this
== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:22:20Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==
(Jon could you do this)
== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:22:00Z

Rlrandallx:

== '''Problem:''' ==
(Jon could you do this)

== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:21:21Z

Rlrandallx:

'''Problem:''' (Jon could you do this)

== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:20:39Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Problem:''' */

== '''Problem:''' == (Jon could you do this)

== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:1-3" or "Gen 1:1-3:1"

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.
e.g. "In the beginning..."

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.
e.g. "In the beginning... ...God said it was good".]

'''Alternatives:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:13:31Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' == (Please correct if you have a better definition)

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. Gen 1:1-3 or Gen 1:1-3:1

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T20:12:39Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse>[\-[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. Gen 1:1-3 or Gen 1:1-3:1

'''Verse:''' Content retrieved from a Bible using a single Reference.

'''Passage:''' Content of a contiguous set of Bible verses using a Range as the Key.

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:53:58Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure e.g. Topic, Reference, Date, word or Strong's number

'''Reference:''' Key used to access verse content in a Bible module, usually in format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> e.g. "Gen 1:2"

'''Range (Ref.):''' Key used to access a contiguous set of verses usually of the format:
<book>\s<chapter>:<verse> - [[<book>\s]<chapter>:]<verse> e.g. Gen 1:1-3 or Gen 1:1-3:1

'''Verse:'''

'''Passage:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:47:48Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:45:46Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

'''Key:''' Unique string used to locate content in a file or data structure

'''Reference:'''

'''Range (Ref.):'''

'''Verse:'''

'''Passage:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:44:35Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

'''Key:'''

'''Reference:'''

'''Range (Ref.):'''

'''Verse:'''

'''Passage:'''

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:43:54Z

Rlrandallx: /* '''Definitions:''' */

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

'''Key:'''

Reference:

Range (Ref.):

Verse:

Passage:

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:42:13Z

Rlrandallx:

== '''Problem:''' ==

== '''Definitions:''' ==

Whiteboard/PersistentKeyList

2007-12-20T19:41:53Z

Rlrandallx:

'''Problem:'''

'''Definitions:'''

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:34:02Z

Rlrandallx:

'''FAQ'''
''What is the current functionality of the SWORD reader?''

The SWORD reader enables you to read the bible on a Pocket PC platform (2002 and newer). This operating system is used on the HP IPAQ for example. You can also use it to search for text in the bible.

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:27:11Z

Rlrandallx:

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:25:52Z

Rlrandallx:

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:25:08Z

Rlrandallx:

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:22:02Z

Rlrandallx:

Frontends:SWORDReader

2007-11-09T23:19:21Z

Rlrandallx:

Module Requests

2007-11-09T00:03:07Z

Rlrandallx: /* Bible Versions */

Here is a place to request modules you would like to be made. If the copyright holder has been contacted, the permissions granted or not can be put here.

New modules are made largely on the basis of content availability and distributability. If you have a link to new material in the public domain, adding it here is a good way of notifying us of its availability. However there is no guarantee that anyone will be interested in creating a module from that material. If you want to see a new module, your quickest results will come from encoding it in OSIS yourself and submitting that to us.

If you would like to see the addition of text currently under copyright and have not made any attempt to get permission for distribution, there is no point to adding it here and the addition will likely be removed. If you only have a link to non-text material (images, PDFs, etc.), there is no point to adding it here and it will likely be removed.

====Bible Versions====
*Cherokee New Testament [http://cherokeenewtestament.com/] '''Public Domain''' -- check back occasionally to see whether the text version is completed

*KJV (original 1611 version/orthography). There exist some reprints in paper - has anyone scanned it? Also a few electronic editions exist--check into adapting one for Sword.

*NASB Currently being prepared. This will be sold. See FAQ.

*NIV Copyright holder is unwilling to negotiate with Crosswire on use. See FAQ.

====Books====
* [[Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe]] ([http://books.google.com/books?id=gCUeSAoqOSEC&dq=&pg=PP1&ots=EwFbQI-cOy&sig=Ciue6KwFnRP_7jDxSRSw1nDEpcw&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Faq%3Do%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dcom.ubuntu%253Aen-US%253Aofficial%26q%3DFoxes%2BBook%2Bof%2BMartyrs%26btnG%3DSearch&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title#PPR9,M1 1] and [http://www.ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/home.html 2])

====Commentaries====
<ul>
<li>Calvin's Commentaries [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/commentaries.i.html]
<br/>
Work is in progress. Current approach is to combine ThML files from CCEL and convert to OSIS.
This work is mostly done - see: http://crosswire.org/svn/sword-tools/trunk/modules/calvinscommentaries/
<br/>
<br/>
The next step requires a module importer for OSIS commentaries -- the current OSIS importer assumes that the document is formatted as a Bible.
</li>
</ul>

====Devotionals====

====Lexicons====
*Unabridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon -- worth researching; The text exists in electronic format, at least licensed. It's important that this not be the "Abridged BDBG" which is Larry Pierce's alterted module.

User talk:Rlrandallx

2007-07-30T00:51:11Z

Rlrandallx:

* I have updated 3 devotional modules and am becoming somewhat
of an expert with the "LD" modules.

* I am also a QA software engineer by profession and would be
happy to test out any new compiled pieces of code. (Windows mostly
but I do have access to a Linux machine for parallel testing.)

User talk:Rlrandallx

2007-07-30T00:49:27Z

Rlrandallx:

* I have updated 3 devotional modules and am becoming somewhat
of an expert with the "LD" modules.

* I am also a QA software engineer by profession and would be
happy to test out new compiled pieces of code.

User talk:Rlrandallx

2007-07-30T00:48:52Z

Rlrandallx:

* I have updated 3 devotional modules and am becoming somewhat
expert with the "LD" modules.

* I am also a QA software engineer by profession and would be
happy to test out new compiled pieces of code.