On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 6:57 AM, Eeli Kaikkonen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Jonathan Morgan wrote: > >> I do think that in general removing the arbitrary chapter limitation >> would be a good thing, but these considerations and others could be >> important to getting it right. > > Most modern translations have a passage structure. I have played with > this idea: we could have a fixed rough passage division, handled by the > Sword library or a frontend. When the user wants to see a chapter the > frontend could load the chapter but also preceding and following context > so that if the chapter breaks a passage the whole passage would still be > shown. It could be something like this: > > Passage1: 2:5-3:4 > Passage2: 3:1-3:20 > Passage3: 3:20-4:2 > Passage4: 4:2-5:1 > > If user asks for ch.3 he gets 2:5-4:2. If he asks for ch.4 he gets > 3:20-5:1. The frontend decides the visual details. > > Notice how the passages are not restricted by other passages. This is > because it's easier to find a safe, large enough sequence for every > verse/chapter. There's another reason, too. Different translations > divide the passages differently. This way we would hurt those as little > as possible when always choosing a larger, "safe" passage. Even if a > translation's passage would be cut, the wanted passage would always be > included. > > This requires some work, of course. The whole Bible would need the > passage database. It should have professional quality (modeled in modern > academic translations/editions). > > Pros: > - works for all modules which use ch/v. > - technically not too difficult to implement > - fits well for the existing frontend styles, doesn't need any new UI > techniques > - no memory/speed overhead > Cons: > - may break the translation's own passage structure - one size must fit all > - database needs work
I'll add another con - the poor user has no consistent mental model. They can have no way to guess why one time they get 3:1 - 4:2 one time, and 2:5 - 4:27 another time. This could be especially problematic if their module has a paragraph structure that is different and is broken in some cases. I think a continuous scrolling implementation is in theory better, though this may be easier to implement for existing frontends. Jon _______________________________________________ sword-devel mailing list: [email protected] http://www.crosswire.org/mailman/listinfo/sword-devel Instructions to unsubscribe/change your settings at above page
