Difference between revisions of "Choosing a SWORD program"

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(→‎Module Management)
(→‎Image Module Support)
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! title="FireBible"                    | FB
 
! title="FireBible"                    | FB
 
! title="MacSword"                      | MS
 
! title="MacSword"                      | MS
 +
! title="MacSword2"                      | MS2
 
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
 
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
 
! title="SwordBible"                    | SB
 
! title="SwordBible"                    | SB
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|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
 
| ''' Image Resizing'''
 
| ''' Image Resizing'''
−
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
+
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! MS2  !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
−
! {{no}} !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !!           !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !!  {{yes}}
+
! {{no}}       !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}  !! {{no}}  !! {{no}}    !! {{no}}    !!  {{yes}}
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
 
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>
 
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>
−
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
+
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! MS2      !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
−
! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}  !!           !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !!          !!  {{yes}}
+
! {{yes}}     !! {{yes}}  !!             !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !!          !!  {{yes}}
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
 
| ''' PNG format'''
 
| ''' PNG format'''
−
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! SPW                                    !! SB        !! Xi -->
+
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! MS2  !! SPW                                    !! SB        !! Xi -->
−
! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref>  !!          !! {{yes}}
+
! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref>  !!          !! {{yes}}
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
 
| ''' SVG format'''
 
| ''' SVG format'''
−
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
+
<!--ABS  !! BD        !! BT        !! BPB      !! FB        !! MS        !! MS2    !! SPW      !! SB        !! Xi -->
−
! {{no}}  !! {{no}}    !!          !! {{no}}    !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{no}}    !!          !!  {{yes}}
+
! {{no}}  !! {{no}}    !!          !! {{no}}    !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}  !! {{yes}}    !! {{no}}    !!          !!  {{yes}}
 
|}
 
|}
 
<references/>
 
<references/>

Revision as of 23:29, 14 March 2009

Introduction

This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD Frontend programs.

Do feel free to edit this page to make it more complete and better organized.

The purpose of this page is to help an end user decide which SWORD Frontend program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at CrossWire's home page. Once the user has narrowed down which programs are available, the following can be used to focus on the best program.

It is recommended that each user try all the available programs. It is likely that one will resonate with the user and work best for that user.

Features Common to All SWORD Frontend Applications

For the most part all the SWORD Frontend programs have the same features.

  • Uses Unicode
  • Released under an open source license
  • Powerful search syntax - wildcard, regex and often also clucene indexed searches (fuzzy and proximity searches + searches for Strong's, stemming etc) within preset and customised scopes.
  • Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
  • All frontends listed below are undergoing more or less active development.
  • Verse and block layout
  • Image support in all types of modules
  • Localisation - all frontends are designed to be readily translatable. Many are translated in various languages.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Frontend Applications

This is a work in progress.

Legends

To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:

A blank entry means that it is unknown whether a feature is present. Footnotes are automatically numbered.

Operating Systems and Portability

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS MS2 SPW SB Xi
Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME yes no[1] no no yes no
Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 yes yes partial[2] yes yes no no yes yes yes
Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+ yes no yes yes[3] no no no no
Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+ yes yes partial[2] no yes yes[4] no no no no
Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+ yes partial[2] no yes yes[4] yes no no no
Runs on Linux yes yes yes yes yes no no no no yes
Runs on other Unix yes yes yes yes yes no no no yes yes[5]
Can be installed to run from USB drive no yes[6] no yes[7] yes[8] yes[9] yes[9] yes[10] no no
  1. Jump up ↑ Not Win9x
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Pre-alpha
  3. Jump up ↑ Version 1.3.x
  4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 Version 1.4.x
  5. Jump up ↑ BSD, Solaris
  6. Jump up ↑ Portable both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.
  7. Jump up ↑ PortableApps.com edition for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.
  8. Jump up ↑ Using Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.
  9. ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 Leaves traces on host computer.
  10. Jump up ↑ Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.

Module Support

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS MS2 SPW SB Xi
Daily Devotions Start with Today yes yes yes yes no yes yes
Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates[1] yes yes yes no no no no
Shows Testament Introductions no no no no no yes no
Shows Book Introductions no no yes no no yes no yes no yes
Shows Chapter Introductions no no yes no yes no yes no yes
Personal Commentary no no yes no no yes yes yes no yes[2]
Journal no no no no no no no no no yes[2]
Right to Left Texts[3] yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes
Complex Scripts[4] partial[5] partial[5] yes[6]
Footnote expansion yes yes yes yes partial[7] yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Exportable as a SWORD module
  3. Jump up ↑ Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.
  4. Jump up ↑ The application can display correctly Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode
  5. ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 To the extent that Uniscribe supports a given script
  6. Jump up ↑ With pango-graphite installed
  7. Jump up ↑ Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.

Module Management

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS MS2 SPW SB Xi
Integrated module manager yes[1] yes yes partial[2] no yes yes yes yes yes
Module unlocking support[3] yes[1] yes yes yes no no yes yes yes
Multiple download repositories[4] yes[1] yes yes no n/a yes yes yes yes yes[5]
Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD) no no yes no n/a yes yes yes yes yes
Use of Proxy configurable yes no n/a n/a no no no no n/a
Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart no yes yes yes n/a yes yes no no yes
User is warned of internet access yes[1] yes yes n/a n/a no yes yes yes yes
User is advised about download size yes[1] yes no n/a n/a no no no no yes[6]
User can continue working while download is in progress yes yes n/a n/a yes yes yes yes yes
Download can be canceled yes[1] yes yes n/a n/a yes yes yes yes partial
User is warned if module already exists. yes[1] yes no n/a yes [7] yes [7] yes [7]
User is notified of module updates no yes no n/a no no yes yes
User is notified of new modules no no n/a no no no no yes
Hiding/Showing installed modules no no yes no yes[8] yes[8] no yes no yes
Modules sorted by type yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Modules are further sorted by language yes yes yes no no no no no yes
Modules can be archived/exported[9] no no no no no no no no no yes
Companion Module support no no no no no no no no yes
  1. ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 via plugins
  2. Jump up ↑ Zip installer for locally available modules only
  3. Jump up ↑ The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.
  4. Jump up ↑ Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.
  5. Jump up ↑ A set of well-known additional repositories is provided automaticlaly
  6. Jump up ↑ Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided
  7. ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 7.2 Installed modules are highlighted
  8. ↑ Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled
  9. Jump up ↑ Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.

Image Module Support

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS MS2 SPW SB Xi
Image Resizing no no no no no no no no no yes
JPEG format[1] yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
PNG format yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no[2] yes
SVG format no no no yes yes yes no yes
  1. Jump up ↑ All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.
  2. Jump up ↑ PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards

Windowing and Text Display

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Window Layout flexible yes yes yes yes no yes yes
Un/Linkable[1] yes yes yes n/a yes
Parallel Display[2] yes yes yes no no yes yes yes
Multiple texts yes yes yes no yes yes yes
Poetry Layout yes yes yes yes [3] yes yes[4] yes [5]
Module default font[6] yes yes no yes yes
Font settable per module yes yes yes yes yes yes
Font settable per language yes yes yes no no
Transliteration no no no[7] no no yes no yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references
  2. Jump up ↑ Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns
  3. Jump up ↑ 2 level indentation
  4. Jump up ↑ Not indented
  5. Jump up ↑ 1 level indentation
  6. Jump up ↑ Used if the font is installed
  7. Jump up ↑ This is available if compiled with ICU.

Search and Dictionary

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Able to create a search index yes yes yes yes yes[1] yes yes no yes
Able to delete a search index yes[2] yes yes yes no n/a yes
User can continue to use application while index is being created yes no yes yes
Indexed Search yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Cross Verse Proximity Search yes yes yes[3] yes no yes no yes
Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Indexed CrossRef search yes yes yes yes no no no
Indexed Note and Heading search yes yes no yes no no no
Fuzzy search[4] yes yes yes yes yes no yes
GenBook and Commentary search partial[5] yes yes no yes yes yes yes
Combined module search no yes no no no no no yes[6]
Search scopes[7] yes yes yes yes no yes yes
result highlighting[8] yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup no yes yes yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Automatically created searching a module first time
  2. Jump up ↑ Through plugins
  3. Jump up ↑ Allowing phrases across verse boundaries
  4. Jump up ↑ Finds words based upon approximation.
  5. Jump up ↑ Commentaries when treated as Bibles
  6. Jump up ↑ Creation of lists of modules to be searched together
  7. Jump up ↑ Limit search to one or more passages or books
  8. Jump up ↑ Search term(s) highlighted in results

Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags yes yes yes yes[1] yes yes yes yes
Manual adding yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Bulk adding of Search result yes yes yes
Permanent yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Hierarchical no yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Drag and drop management n/a yes yes yes yes n/a yes
Exportable yes yes yes no no
User comments no yes yes no yes no
Study Notes no yes no no yes yes yes yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Utilizes FF bookmarking system

Session and State Management

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Layout stored yes partial[1] yes yes yes yes
Interface language yes yes n/a n/a[2]
Open Modules yes no yes yes no yes yes
Search Results partial[3]
Storing of multiple Sessions no yes no yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Size and location of windows only
  2. Jump up ↑ Selected from locale setting
  3. Jump up ↑ User can store the results of a search as a verse list

Help System

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Manual, English yes yes yes no yes yes
Manual, Other yes no yes[1]
Active links to online help yes yes[2]
Tooltips yes yes yes yes yes
  1. Jump up ↑ French
  2. Jump up ↑ IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker

Localization

Only languages with at least 70% of the user interface translated are listed.

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
GUI RtoL Support[1] yes yes yes no no yes no yes
Localsied verse/chapter numbers[2] yes yes yes
English yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Deutsch (German) no yes yes no[3] no yes yes no yes
Português (Portuguese) no no yes no no yes yes no yes
Suomi (Finnish) no no yes no no yes yes no yes
فارسی (Persian) no yes no no no no no no yes
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) no yes no yes no no no no no
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) yes no no no no no yes no no
Français (French) no no yes no no yes no no yes
Česky (Czech) no no yes no no no yes no yes
Español (Spanish) no no yes no no yes no no no
Polski (Polish) no no no no no yes yes no no
Svenska (Swedish) no no no no no yes no no yes
  1. Jump up ↑ Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.
  2. Jump up ↑ Numbering will use localised script for numbers
  3. Jump up ↑ BPBible 0.4.1 will have a German translation

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified) no yes no no no no no no no
Dansk (Danish) no no yes no no no no no no
Afrikaans no no no no no no yes no no
日本語 (Japanese) no no no no no no yes no no
Magyar (Hungarian) no no no no no no yes no no
Slovenščina (Slovenian) no no no no no no yes no no
עברית (Hebrew) no no no no no no no no yes
Norsk (Norwegian) no no no no no no no no yes
Nederlands (Dutch) no no no no no no no no yes

Other

Feature ABS BD BT BPB FB MS SPW SB Xi
Extramodular Bible Reading Plan yes yes no no no no yes no
Other extramodular content no no yes[1] yes [2] no no no yes [3] no
Read aloud no partial[4] no no yes no no yes
Other features not listed otherwise yes[5] yes[6]
  1. Jump up ↑ Bible Study HOWTO
  2. Jump up ↑ Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game
  3. Jump up ↑ Topical verse lists
  4. Jump up ↑ On MacOS 10.3+ only
  5. Jump up ↑ Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard
  6. Jump up ↑ Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; click images to display externally
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