[sword-devel] Chapter-centric browsing (was: iPhone frontend alpha screenshots)

[DM Smith]

On Nov 25, 2008, at 5:29 PM, Jonathan Morgan wrote:

> On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 12:27 AM, Daniel Owens <dhowens at pmbx.net>  
> wrote:
>>
>> Sebastien Koechlin wrote:
>>> On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 12:50:38PM -0500, Ian Wagner wrote:
>>>> Have any of you used the Libronix Digital Library System  
>>>> (previously
>>>> known as Logos bible software)? They actually load up the ENTIRE  
>>>> book
>>>> (whether it be a bible or commentary or whatnot) so you have a
>>>> scrollbar indicator about as thick as a credit card :) Just thought
>>>> I'd throw that out there. I'll have to think about this idea some  
>>>> more.
>>
>> I use Libronix on occasion myself, and it's a great program. It's a
>> memory hog, though, and doesn't run in Linux, so when I am preparing
>> sermons I usually PREFER to use a SWORD application. Not being able  
>> to
>> scroll easily, though, is a substantial headache. It's one I  
>> willingly
>> put up with, though, for the speed and convenience. As far as I  
>> know no
>> one has mentioned that BibleDesktop allows for displaying a range of
>> verses that cross chapter boundaries. This is particularly useful for
>> cross-references or working on passages that cross chapter  
>> boundaries.
>
> That is an advantage of BibleDesktop.  The disadvantage is that if I
> want to go to a reference like Genesis 3:3 then I don't get any
> context at all, so I am forced to go to Genesis 3 or Genesis 3:1 - 10
> or whatever else I may decide to.  At least with a chapter-centric one
> I would generally get some context automatically.

I don't like all the interfaces that assume that I want an entire  
chapter at a time. Most times, I want specific verses. By default,  
BibleDesktop hides the Passage Sidebar. It give the ability to click  
on a passage and grow it by a context of 1 or 5 verses. This pre- 
existed my involvement, but I find it very handy. I get just what I  
ask for and can expand to get more of the context if desired.

I agree with some of the earlier posts that we need to formalize the  
notion of sections and allow people to show a section at a time. This  
can be done by analyzing the positions of the headers and assume that  
they mark the start of sections.

In Him,
	DM