[sword-devel] Bible Formats, SWORD, Osis,ThML and NIV Module Questions

[Chris Little]

Philip Alldredge wrote:
> This isn't totally SWORD related but I thought you guys would be able to 
> answer my questions best. I am working on a software with a purpose 
> similar to SongShowPlus http://www.songshowplus.com. The sofware needs 
> to be able to display Scripture on the projector. A few days ago I 
> implemented basic reading of OSIS files.. The problem I ran into is that 
> apparently they aren't required to have ID's for the different verses 
> and chapters(just a text label in some cases).

<verse> elements should include an osisID.  So should books, chapters, 
and sections.  I don't know what you mean by "a text label".  If you've 
found a document that lacks osisIDs in this places, you've probably 
found an example of a badly encoded document.

> I looked at ThML and at 
> first glance it looks good.. Is it widely used/how hard is it to find 
> files in that format? SWORD has a lot of modules in its format.

ThML definitely does not require tagging of book/chapter/section/verse 
(though it would probably be bad encoding in that case, too).  ThML 
wasn't designed for Bibles and only recently were some Bibles from 
Unbound Bible encoded in this format.  CCEL is the only group that I 
know of that is still using ThML actively.  No new Sword modules will be 
produced in this format and all existing Sword modules in this format 
will eventually be converted to OSIS.

 > My program is writen in C# has anyone tried to use SWORD from C#.

I think someone worked on bindings, but I have no real information. 
Sword will compile in VC++ .NET 2003.

 > Is the sword library a DLL.

It can be linked statically or dynamically.

 > Also, I haven't used the SWORD API much would it be
> able to give me the information I want(Booknames, Chapter, Verse,etc) ? 
> Also does it give me the Chapter and Verse in binary or in text format? 

I'm unclear on your meaning.  You can access segments by 
book/chapter/verse.  And when searches are performed, Sword will return 
book/chapter/verse.

> What are the benefits of using SWORD instead of just reading a ThML 
> file?

Troy can give a better answer on this one, but it's primarily speed and 
versatility.  Parsing through a whole flat file is a bad way to access 
data.  Sword provides indexing, search mechanisms, and easy methods for 
toggling features that may be present in the text, like footnotes.  The 
large number of books we have available would also be a benefit in most 
circumstances.

 > Is there an NIV modules I could get for SWORD. If so where from?
> How much does it cost?

No, not yet.

 > Woudl the modules be legal to be used in a church
> projector setting?

Yes.

--Chris