Subject: boustrophedon: should I bother with abiword?
From: Simmon Keith (traevoli@usa.net)
Date: Wed May 23 2001 - 19:05:50 CDT
Okay. I only got one (short) response to my font question. I guess I'll
expand... I need a cross-platform word processor (Linux, Windows, Mac) that
will not only function normally, but also have a mode/tag that writes text
right-to-left/'backwards' (this could be handy for writing Hebrew).
Here's where it actually gets tricky: It primarily needs to be able to write
boustrophedonically (back-and-forth). (I also might add a mode for Rongorongo
-- which goes back and forth like boustrophedon, but *rotates* the characters
on the "backwards" lines instead of just making them face leftward).
I wrote a tcl/tk program that formatted text files this way. But there was no
support for multiple fonts (I had a static font, with two copies: forward &
backward). No bold, italic, underline or the like. I also had no facility
for tweaking the formatting (deciding how many blank lines to put between
paragraphs, deciding whether it's appropriate to change direction on a new
paragraph, changing margins, full justification(?)). I also never tackled
proportional-width fonts...
My Question Is:
Is it even possible to modify AbiWord to give me this behavior? If so, is
it *practical* to do so? Sure, a lot of the wp stuff is already done for me,
but might it not be more difficult to modify than it would be to start from
scratch; should I give up on Abiword and explore other venues for getting my
project where it needs to be?
Thanks for putting up with my long-winded explanation. I appreciate any
feedback. --Simmon
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