Choosing a SWORD program
From CrossWire Bible Society
Contents
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 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 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 Applications
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
- Use 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 beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications
Module Support
| Application | Operating Systems | RtoL Modules | Daily Devotions | Book/Chapter Introductions | User editable module content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | yes | yes | no | no |
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | yes | yes (automatic) | no | no |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | yes | yes | Personal Commentary | |
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | no | no | no | no |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | yes | no | no | |
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | yes | yes | ||
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7) | yes | yes | yes | Personal Commentary |
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | yes | yes (automatic) | yes | Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable |
Image Module Support
| Application | Operating Systems | Image GenBook support | other Image Module support | Image resizing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | |||
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | yes | no | no |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | |||
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | yes | no | |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | |||
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | |||
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows | yes | ||
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | yes | Commentary, Dictionary | yes |
Windowing and Display
| Application | Operating Systems | Window Layout | Several texts open at same time? | Text Display | Complex Scripts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right | yes | verse, block, poetry layout | |
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right | yes | verse block and poetry layout | |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left | |||
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes. | no | verse, block, poetry layout | |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | 1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar) | |||
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | Multi-window, each module gets it's window | yes | verse, block layout | |
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows | Three-pane with tabbed library navigation | verse, block layout | ||
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left | yes | verse, block, poetry layout |
Search, Dictionary and Study Support
| Application | Operating Systems | Search Features | Dictionary Look-up | Verse Lists | Study Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | ||||
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | Bible search with wildcards | Manual look-up | Lists in left-hand pane | yes |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | Search in open modules; Strong's number or lemma search | Strong's + parsing (automatic) | yes | |
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | regex and wildcard searches, indexed searches (similar to clucene) cross-verse proximity searches. | Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box | Verse lists and verse tagging | no |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | Bible search with wildcards | Manual look-up | no | |
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | wildcard, phrase search, logic operators, grouping, Strong's, Morph, Apple SearchKit | Strong's, Morph (automatic) | ||
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows | wildcard, regex and clucene searches | Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click) | yes | |
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | clucene, wildcard and regex searches | Strong's + parsing automatic | yes |
Localisation
| Application | Operating Systems | Localization Support | GUI RtoL Support | GUI Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | yes | yes | English, Indonesian |
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | Yes | Yes | English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | |||
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | yes | no | English, Vietnamese |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | English | ||
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | |||
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows | Yes | No | Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina |
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | yes | Yes | English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish |
Other
| Application | Operating Systems | Portable | Extramodular content | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkitab Bible Study | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | word-by-word comparison of Bible versions | ||
| BibleDesktop (JSword) | Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) | Portable version | Bible Reading Plan | word-by-word comparison of Bible versions |
| BibleTime (see also Kio-Sword) | Linux | Bible Study HowTO | ||
| BPBible (wxPython) | Windows, Linux | PortableApps.com edition | gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game; | display Strong's headwords; |
| FireBible (JSword/FireFox) | Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux | |||
| MacSword | version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+ | |||
| The SWORD Project for Windows | Windows | portable | ||
| Xiphos (GNOME) (formerly GnomeSword) | Windows, Linux | Read Aloud |
