Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

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vinasp
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Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else here is using the Digital Pali Reader program. It works in conjunction with the Firefox browser in offline mode. Learning to use it seems to be quite difficult (at least for me!). I thought that it might be usefull to share tips about how to do things.

Here is a link to one source of the program in case anybody would like to try it.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/digitalpali/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best wishes, Vincent.
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Cittasanto
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by Cittasanto »

I have tried to use it, but it simply wont work for me?
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
vinasp
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi Manapa,
Manapa wrote:I have tried to use it, but it simply wont work for me?
How far did you get? Did the program start-up OK? Its running fine for me, on a ten year old laptop. Which version have you got? Is Firefox your default browser? Do you have Java installed (I am not sure if this is needed)?

I think you would be impressed by it if you could get it running.

Best wishes, Vincent.
vinasp
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi everyone,

Here is a link to a page of information about the Digital Pali Reader.

http://pali.sirimangalo.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks like they may have two new versions which are configured as extensions for Firefox or the Google Chrome browser. This 'integrated' version is not the one that I am using.

Best wishes, Vincent.
vinasp
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi everyone,

The programmer 'yuttadhammo' describes it on his blog as a 'javascript and xml based project'. I am no expert on these things, but I think that means that it is not an ordinary 'stand-alone' program. It requires that you have 'java' installed and enabled. The DPR 'program' itself does not need to be installed, it just needs the folders and files to be unpacked and put somewhere suitable. Mine is placed in the 'my documents' folder.

Some basic details of my system:
1. Laptop with Intel Celeron CPU 1200 MHz, 376 MB RAM.
2. Running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2.
3. Also running Java 6 Standard Edition (update 18).
4. Mozilla Firefox set as the default browser.

Like many such projects, this one lacks good instructions for non-programmers on how to get it working!

Best wishes, Vincent.
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Cittasanto
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by Cittasanto »

hi vincent,
it was a while ago, It would open up but that was it
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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acinteyyo
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by acinteyyo »

Hi,

I downloaded it. Seemst to be a very good add on. I just downloaded the .xpi file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/digitalpali/, then double clicked on it and opened it with firefox. firefox installed the add-on automatically. start firefox browser new, you can lounge the DPR by clicking on "Tools" and then DPR in the drop-down menu.
I used to use Chattha Sangayana Tipitaka 4.0 (CST 4.0) but this one seems to be very good, too.

best wishes, acinteyyo
Thag 1.20. Ajita - I do not fear death; nor do I long for life. I’ll lay down this body, aware and mindful.
vinasp
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi acinteyyo,

Thats very interesting. It seems that sourceforge is now using the new Firefox extension version. The filename ends with '.xpi'. The version which I am using is now called the 'old' version, with a '.tar.gz' ending. I think the new version appeared on sourceforge about a week ago.

The 'old' version is not a Firefox extension or add-on, it is a seperate group of files which are displayed via Firefox. This older version is still available, just scroll down lower on the sourceforge page. I am using DPR_5.09 and the last release of this older version seems to be DPR_5.12.

I may change over to this newer version in a while, I am not sure yet. I assume that the layout / controls and functions are the same in both versions. From what you report, it appears that the new version 'installs' itself automatically. The older version needed to be uncompressed and set-up by the user.

I am pleased to hear that it is working OK for you. This is a powerful free tool and we should bring it to peoples attention.

Best wishes, Vincent.
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Cittasanto
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by Cittasanto »

Maybe my problem was the firefox? I will have ago of the new version.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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DNS
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by DNS »

vinasp wrote: Here is a link to one source of the program in case anybody would like to try it.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/digitalpali/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
:thumbsup: Cool, just downloaded it.

What a coincidence, I see it was set-up or created by Ven. Yuttadhammo of Wat Thai Los Angeles. I visited with him yesterday.
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jcsuperstar
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by jcsuperstar »

David N. Snyder wrote:
vinasp wrote: Here is a link to one source of the program in case anybody would like to try it.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/digitalpali/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
:thumbsup: Cool, just downloaded it.

What a coincidence, I see it was set-up or created by Ven. Yuttadhammo of Wat Thai Los Angeles. I visited with him yesterday.
when i saw your picture i was gonna ask if you saw him

what exactly does this thing do anyways?
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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DNS
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by DNS »

jcsuperstar wrote: what exactly does this thing do anyways?
I haven't gone through it all yet, but it appears to have quite a few selections from the Pali Canon (in Pali) and allows you to do some word and text searches. It looks like there are some other features too, but have not tried them yet.
vinasp
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by vinasp »

Hi everyone,

Here is my own description of the program. I expect that I have missed a few things.

Basic Functions.
1. Displays text in Pali - the Vinaya, all five Nikaya's plus Abhidhamma, and more.
2. When reading, click on a word to bring up a dictionary definition ( 5 dictionaries).
3. Extensive word searching facility.

The display in Firefox is divided into three sections. On the left hand side there is an upper section and a lower section. The upper section is an information area, and also displays the chosen text. The lower section is where the search results, or dictionary results are displayed. On the right hand side are the controls. These are mostly buttons and small windows.

There is a button marked '?' which brings up the help page. This explains how all the control buttons work and what they do. Holding your mouse pointer over any of these buttons produces a short 'pop-up' help text.

Reading Texts in Pali.

To read a particular text, first select the required 'collection' from those available, using the control marked 'Collection'. The choices are:
1. Vinaya 2. Digha 3. Majjhima 4. Samyutta 5. Anguttara 6. Khuddaka 7. Abhidhamma 7. Vism. 8. Byakarana.

These 'collections' are further divided into 'books', when you select a collection the corresponding books appear in the control marked 'books'. For example, if you select Vinaya then the following 'books' are displayed in the window of the 'book' control:
Para. Paci. BhV. MV. CV. and Pari.
So you next select the required book.

When these selections have been made, a list of contents appears in the information area. For example, if you select Digha and book 1, then a list appears which shows the suttas and the sub-sections within them. In this example, thirteen suttas are listed, all with numerous sub-sections. The first is the Brahmajalasuttam. Clicking on the first sub-section for this, brings up the text in the top left-hand window.

The same 'contents' information is also available in the controls section just below the 'Collection' and 'Book' controls. These are 'drop down list' selection controls, and below them are navigation buttons for jumping to the next, or previous section.

To be continued (when I have explored a bit more!).

Best wishes, Vincent.
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yuttadhammo
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by yuttadhammo »

Just found this thread by accident. A few points, if I may:

Yes, the DPR is entirely html, js, and css; it does NOT require java - javascript is not java, it is basically an html extension that runs in any browser.

The Chrome and Firefox extensions are much preferred over the old version, unless you want the source, which is not available for the extensions yet. Otherwise, a) I am no longer updating the standalone versions, and b) there is no need to manually update the extensions as they should either automatically update themselves whenever I release a new version (Chrome), or let you know when a new version is available and ask if you want to update (Firefox).

The basic function of the reader is to translate words - that's why I created it. If you have a passage with the words "buddho", "buddhassa", "buddhadhammassa", etc., it is able to recognize both declensions and (most) compounds and take them apart and give you the dictionary entries for each word. It does more, of course, but that's the main feature; it was modeled around the concept of a hard-copy reader which would have a glossary of all terms found in the reader for "easy" lookup. It should go without saying that this digital version is quite a bit easier to use in terms of word look up (just click on the word and the definition pops up).

Best wishes,

Yuttadhammo
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DNS
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Re: Digital Pali Reader (DPR) software program.

Post by DNS »

Hi Bhante,

Thanks for the explanations and the DPR!

Good to see you here and hope to see you post some more.
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