Windows

• large applications expose document model via COM
• more applications, more power in what you can do
• can script applications in many different languages

Linux

• No standard like COM
• KDE DCOP
• Gnome CORBA, not in many applications
• Gnome Accessibility Frame work; can script any application

Accessibility Frame Work

• goal support accessibility tools, e.g. screen readers
• replace input or output functions of application
• generate key presses or manipulate controls in applications
• runs on top of CORBA
• Java and KDE support

• GTK –> GAIL

  –> ATK –> AT-SPI

  –> CORBA

  –> Accessibility tools

• Qt –> KDE

  Accessibility register

• Swing –> Java a11y bridge

• Accessibility Register, keeps track of all applications

AT-SPI

• CORBA interface consists of Bonobo components
• AT-SPI Accessibility Tools Standard Programming Interface
• Bonobo takes ideas from COM
• Bonobo::Unknown, ref(), unref(), and queryInterface()
• activation, registry of all CORBA implementations on system
• query based on unique identifier
• query based on interfaces
• query based on custom properties
• if application is running, reference can be obtained
• otherwise the application/component can be started

pyorbit

• CORBA interface for python
• takes advantage of ORBit 2 new features

accessibility data model

• reference to accessibility registry
• getDesktop to get access to desktop in the login session
• accessible objects
  • name and description
  • role, window frame, scroll bar, etc
  • list of children
  • relationships to over accessibles
  • bunch of states of the accessible
• interfaces
  • action clicking buttons, arbitrary actions
  • component widget
  • text and editable text
  • hypertext hyperlinks
  • image image information
  • selection; list box
  • stream retrieve in various formats
  • table; grid style layout
  • value, floating point value, e.g. scroll bar.
• Events
  • list to evens using registerGlobalEventListener()
  • focus
  • button
  • key press
  • state changed
  • text changed
  • notifyEvent(…)

Would be better to use CORBA, but application support is required

D-BUS might be another solution???

Bonobo not desktop neutral