SOFTWARE FOR DEVANAGARI AND ROMANIZED SANSKRIT

[d.keown at gold.ac.uk]

At 10:34 22/09/95 BST, pgm wrote:

>My question is about the availability of Windows or DOS-based
>software for sanskrit text. In particular are there programs
>which convert devanagari to romanized (though probably not
>vice versa)?  Basically, however, I would much appreciate
>hearing from anybody with strong recommendations for a
>particular package.

I heard about the following recently, which may be of interest. I haven't
tried it, but would be interested if others have any information.

Damien Keown
-----------
  SEDIT

                      Sesame EDItor and Transformer

   Includes transliteration/transformation software and text editor (SEDIT).

    Basic price: GBP60.00 for editing/transforming/transmitting any script.
           *  *  *  Price GBP30 during September 1995  *  *  *

Cost of an additional script version: additional GBP20 (GBP15 during September).
                 Free email support for the first three months.
              Additional telephone and fax support: GBP30 per year.

The book Language automation worldwide: the development of character set
standards is also available (reduced from GBP35 to GBP25 during September).


Software for additional scripts

Transliteration/transformation/editing software is also available for
the following scripts: accented Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Georgian and Armenian.
Software for processing South Asian scripts is almost ready and should be
available during October 1995.

Software for processing Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic and Southeast Asian scripts
are under development, and should be available during Autumn 1995.

Alternative transliteration systems and code pages are also available:
information on application.


Please supply the following information (e.g. overwrite the lines below)

                Items required: _____________________________________________
                Total cost: GBP _____________________________________________
Name:           _____________________________________________________________
Address:         ____________________________________________________________
                _____________________________________________________________
                Postcode _____________ Country ______________________________
Email address:  _____________________________________________________________

                Method of payment: cheque or bank transfer. 



SAY HOW YOU WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR FILES: (e.g. overwrite lines below by YES/NO).

For binary (program) files:
1. UUuencoded and sent by email _____
2. As discs through the post    _____ (please specify disc size).
   (Use this option if you are unsure about decoding files)


                        Specifications of software:

SEDIT provides a "language layer" (suitable for any type of application
software), a text editor (which allows 8-bit ASCII files to be produced using
a wide variety of character sets and character repertoires) and an email
transformer (which allows any 7-bit or 8-bit textual data to be composed,
transmitted, received, read and re-edited, and then if required recycled via
the same route).

The current version runs under MS-DOS (from version 3.0 upwards): a Windows
version is also planned. We also potentially interested in developing a
Macintosh version if the market is worthwhile.


1. The language layer

At its heart is a "language layer" between the operating system and the
application: this can also be used with other applications besides the text
editor supplied, spreadsheets and databases - particularly bibliographic
databases - have been successfully used with this. For each application the
layer can be tailored to fit in seamlessly with their use of box-drawing
characters, Ctrl-, Alt- and Function-keys etc.


2. The text editor

This provides standard editing, block movements, find and replace etc, for
text files up to 64k in length. This is ideal for dealing with ASCII files
transferred by email etc. Multilingual printing capabilities are also
provided, for a variety of printers. It is easily integrated with other
viewers and shells. It has been integrated in particular with the highly
recommended LIST.COM from Vernon Buerg.

Scripts currently available include accented Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian
and Georgian.

Work is also well advanced for Hebrew, Arabic, Devanagari, Gujarati and Bengali
in this area, and feasibility studies for automatic transliteration of Khmer,
Burmese, Thai and Lao are being undertaken.


3. The email editor

At the heart of the email system is totally reversible automatic
transliteration software with a variety of options allowing for
national/regional conventions.

The data is transformed/transliterated into 7-bit _readable_ ASCII text,
which can safely be transmitted down any email system, regardless of the
sender's and receivers equipment and software. This means the any data can be
used by ANYONE who can receive email.

Users can also transform this 7-bit text back to the original script in
ANY code page or character set, and can also output alternative forms of
transliteration.

The inbuilt transliteration system is also closely related to the input
system used in the text editor, so that similar, easily-memorable conventions
are available, for both reading and typing multilingual text. Touch-typing
speeds can easily be reached by users. This is equally available for QWERTY,
AZERTY, QWERTZ or other layouts, both those available through DOS "keyb"
commands and other arrangements such as Dvorak etc.

The multilingual capability has been tested within the PCELM software, which
is used by a large user community in the UK, Europe and North America. In the
UK a very large proportion of users of Demon Internet, (which began in
1991 and is now the biggest provider of dial-up access in the UK) have PCELM
completely integrated into their Demon software: these users in particular
have a very easy way of using multilingual email.

It is also possible to use the internal pager supplied with Demon with the
character sets listed above, and also to shell to graphical packages to view
text transformed into Devanagari, Bengali, Gujerati, Punjabi (Gurumukhi),
Oriya, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

Adding multilingual functionality to additional email packages is being
undertaken on an ongoing basis.


-- 
John Clews (SEDIT developer)               tel: +44 (0) 1423 888 432
SESAME Computer Projects, 8 Avenue Road    fax: +44 (0) 1423 888 432
Harrogate, HG2 7PG, United Kingdom         email: sedit at sesame.demon.co.uk

 


> From P.Friedlander at wellcome.ac.uk 22 95 Sep EDT 11:41:00
Date: 22 Sep 95 11:41:00 EDT
From: P.Friedlander at wellcome.ac.uk
Subject: Tulasidasa: NArI corI
Reply-To: P.Friedlander at wellcome.ac.uk
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hello list members
A while ago somebody asked about Tulasidasa's famous dohA on women, drums 
and low caste people etc. being three subjects fit for beating. Recently I 
noticed a sabadI by BharatharI that seemed rather similar:

nArI corI jArI, tIna basta tyAgI
sati sati bhA.snta rAjA bharatharI, tenA.m dUratA varAgI .35

Roughly this might mean:
Women, thieves and ( jArI ?) are three things to be renounced.
Truly, truly says king Bharathari, (to renounce them) is renunciation.
I can send the reference to where this is if the original inquirer is  
interested. 
Perhaps there is a whole genre of 'three things worth renouncing'?
Peter Friedlander