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{{short description|Accessibility software}}
{{Infobox software
{{Infobox software
| name = Orca
| name = Orca
| logo = Orca icon.svg
| logo = Orca.svg
| released = {{Start date and age|2006|09|03}}
| released = {{Start date and age|2006|09|03}}
| latest release version = 3.30.1
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|reference|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2018|10|19|df=yes/no}}<ref>{{cite web | url = https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/orca | title = Orca git source code repository | accessdate = 27 October 2015 }}</ref>
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|single|P348|P577|P548=Q2804309}}}}
| latest preview version =
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date =
| latest preview date =
| programming language = [[Python (programming language)|Python]]
| programming language = [[Python (programming language)|Python]]
| operating system = [[Unix-like]]
| operating system = [[Unix-like]]
| genre = [[Screen reader]] [[Accessibility]]
| genre = [[Screen reader]] [[Accessibility]]
| license = [[GNU LGPL]] (version 2.1)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/COPYING | title = COPYING file from the Orca git source code repository | accessdate = 15 July 2011 }}</ref>
| license = [[GNU LGPL]] (version 2.1)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/COPYING | title = COPYING file from the Orca git source code repository | access-date = 15 July 2011 }}</ref>
| website = {{URL|projects.gnome.org/orca/}}
| website = {{URL|https://orca.gnome.org/}}
}}
}}
'''Orca''' is a [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]], flexible, extensible [[screen reader]] from the [[GNOME]] project for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Using various combinations of speech synthesis and braille, Orca helps provide access to applications and toolkits that support the [[AT-SPI]] (e.g., the [[GNOME]] desktop, [[Mozilla]] [[Firefox]]/[[Mozilla Thunderbird|Thunderbird]], [[OpenOffice.org]]/[[LibreOffice]] and [[GTK+]], [[Qt (software)|Qt]] and [[Java (programming language)|Java]] [[Swing (Java)|Swing]]/[[Standard Widget Toolkit|SWT]] applications).
'''Orca''' is a [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]], flexible, extensible [[screen reader]] from the [[GNOME]] project for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Using various combinations of speech synthesis and braille, Orca helps provide access to applications and toolkits that support [[AT-SPI]] (e.g., the [[GNOME]] desktop, [[Mozilla]] [[Firefox]]/[[Mozilla Thunderbird|Thunderbird]], [[OpenOffice.org]]/[[LibreOffice]] and [[GTK]], [[Qt (software)|Qt]] and [[Java (programming language)|Java]] [[Swing (Java)|Swing]]/[[Standard Widget Toolkit|SWT]] applications).


The name '''Orca''', which is another term for a [[killer whale]], is a nod to the long-standing tradition of naming screen readers after aquatic creatures, including the Assistive Technology product on Windows called [[JAWS (screen reader)|JAWS]] (which stands for Job Access With Speech), the early DOS screen reader called Flipper,<ref>{{cite news|title=Assistive Computer Technology For MS-DOS Training Guide|page=33|url=http://www.htctu.net/archieves/archive%20pdf/act%20for%20ms-dos.pdf|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> and the UK vision impairment company [[Dolphin Computer Access]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolphin Computer Access website|url=http://www.yourdolphin.com/|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref>
The name '''Orca''', which is another term for a [[killer whale]], is a nod to the long-standing tradition of naming screen readers after aquatic creatures, including the Assistive Technology product on Windows called [[JAWS (screen reader)|JAWS]] (which stands for Job Access With Speech), the early DOS screen reader called Flipper,<ref>{{cite news|title=Assistive Computer Technology For MS-DOS Training Guide|page=33|url=http://www.htctu.net/archieves/archive%20pdf/act%20for%20ms-dos.pdf|access-date=16 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202656/http://www.htctu.net/archieves/archive%20pdf/act%20for%20ms-dos.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the UK vision impairment company [[Dolphin Computer Access]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolphin Computer Access website|url=http://www.yourdolphin.com/|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref>


As of GNOME 2.16, Orca is the default screen reader of the GNOME platform, replacing [[Gnopernicus]].<ref>{{cite news|title= GNOME 2.16 Release Notes|url=https://help.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.16/|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> As a result, Orca follows the GNOME stable release cycles of approximately six-months.<ref>{{cite news|title=GNOME's Time-Based Release Schedule|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/ReleasePlanning/TimeBased|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> Orca is provided by default on a number of operating system distributions, including [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop Accessibility Guide|url=http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E29026/ats-2.html|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> [[Fedora (operating system)|Fedora]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Fedora 16 Accessibility Guide|url=http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/16/html/Accessibility_Guide/ar01s04.html|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> [[openSUSE]]<ref>{{cite news|title=openSUSE 12.3|url=http://en.opensuse.org/Features|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> and [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Ubuntu Accessibility| url=https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Accessibility|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref>
As of GNOME 2.16, Orca is the default screen reader of the GNOME platform, replacing [[Gnopernicus]].<ref>{{cite news|title= GNOME 2.16 Release Notes|url=https://help.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.16/|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> As a result, Orca follows the GNOME stable release cycles of approximately six-months.<ref>{{cite news|title=GNOME's Time-Based Release Schedule|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/ReleasePlanning/TimeBased|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> Orca is provided by default on a number of operating system distributions, including [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop Accessibility Guide|url=http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E29026/ats-2.html|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> [[Fedora (operating system)|Fedora]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Fedora 16 Accessibility Guide|url=http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/16/html/Accessibility_Guide/ar01s04.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130816021446/http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/16/html/Accessibility_Guide/ar01s04.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 16, 2013|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> [[openSUSE]]<ref>{{cite news|title=openSUSE 12.3|url=http://en.opensuse.org/Features|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> and [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Ubuntu Accessibility| url=https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Accessibility|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref>

[[Linux Screen Reader|Linux Screen Reader (LSR)]] was an alternative screen reader to Orca led by IBM and started in 2006. However, it was ceased the following year because IBM focused their resources in other projects.<ref>{{cite news|last=Parente|first=Peter| title= Status of IBM a11y | url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/lsr-list/2007-June/msg00000.html| accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
The development of Orca was started by the Accessibility Program Office (APO) of [[Sun Microsystems]], Inc. (now [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]) with contributions from many community members. The original idea and the first working prototype for Orca was started in May 2004 by Mark Mulcahy, a blind programmer who worked for Sun Microsystems. When Mark left Sun Microsystems and ventured out to start his own company, the Accessibility Program Office took Mark's work, continued with it and released the first official version on September 3, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|last=Burridge|first=Rich|title=My First Blind Email|url=https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email|accessdate=21 August 2013|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216012926/https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email|archivedate=16 December 2013|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Walker|first=Willie| title=Announcing Orca v1.0.0 | url= https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2006-September/msg00008.html|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Changelog| url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/ChangeLog-pre-2.27.1|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref> When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010 they cut developer jobs of full-time developers working on GNOME accessibility components, including Orca main maintainer Willie Walker. Since then, Orca is run by volunteers, led by Joanmarie Diggs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Willie|title=Post about 2010 GNOME Accessibility Hackfest and Transfer of Leadership|url=http://blogs.gnome.org/wwalker/2010/03/30/gnome-accessibility-hackfest/|accessdate=24 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Willis|first=Nathan|title=GNOME plans an accessibility push for 2012|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/473007/|accessdate=24 February 2013|newspaper=Linux Weekly News|date=21 December 2011}}</ref> In September 7, 2011, [[Igalia]], a company specialized in Free Software, hired Joanmarie Diggs and is supporting her work in Orca.<ref>{{cite news|last=Piñeiro|first=Alejandro|title=New Igalia hiring: Joanmarie Diggs | url=http://blogs.igalia.com/apinheiro/2011/09/07/new-igalia-hiring-joanmarie-diggs/ | accessdate=21 August 2013}}</ref>
The development of Orca was started by the Accessibility Program Office (APO) of [[Sun Microsystems]], Inc. (now [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]]) with contributions from many community members. The original idea and the first working prototype for Orca was started in May 2004 by Marc Mulcahy, a blind programmer who worked for Sun Microsystems. When Mulcahy left Sun Microsystems and ventured out to start his own company, the Accessibility Program Office took his work, continued with it and released the first official version on September 3, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|last=Burridge|first=Rich|title=My First Blind Email|url=https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email|access-date=21 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216012926/https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email|archive-date=16 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Walker|first=Willie| title=Announcing Orca v1.0.0 | url= https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2006-September/msg00008.html|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Changelog| url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/ChangeLog-pre-2.27.1|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref> When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010 they cut developer jobs of full-time developers working on GNOME accessibility components, including Orca main maintainer Willie Walker. Since then, Orca is run by volunteers, led by Joanmarie Diggs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Willie|title=Post about 2010 GNOME Accessibility Hackfest and Transfer of Leadership|url=http://blogs.gnome.org/wwalker/2010/03/30/gnome-accessibility-hackfest/|access-date=24 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Willis|first=Nathan|title=GNOME plans an accessibility push for 2012|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/473007/|access-date=24 February 2013|newspaper=Linux Weekly News|date=21 December 2011}}</ref> On September 7, 2011, [[Igalia]], a company specialized in Free Software, hired Joanmarie Diggs and is supporting her work in Orca.<ref>{{cite news|last=Piñeiro|first=Alejandro|title=New Igalia hiring: Joanmarie Diggs | url=http://blogs.igalia.com/apinheiro/2011/09/07/new-igalia-hiring-joanmarie-diggs/ | access-date=21 August 2013}}</ref>


== Features ==
== Features ==
Orca's profiles allows users to save and load multiple configurations and the users can quickly access to different profiles, making it far easier to access multilingual text and environments.
Orca's profiles allow users to save and load multiple configurations and the users can quickly access to different profiles, making it far easier to access multilingual text and environments.


== Maintainer list ==
== Maintainer list ==
Orca development has been led by their maintainers with the help of its community. The maintainers so far are:<ref>{{cite web|title=Doap file log|url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/log/orca.doap|accessdate=16 August 2013}}</ref>
Orca development has been led by their maintainers with the help of its community. The maintainers so far are:<ref>{{cite web|title=Doap file log|url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/log/orca.doap|access-date=16 August 2013}}</ref>


Current:
Current:
Line 40: Line 39:
* Mesar Hameed
* Mesar Hameed


Other developers who made great contributions to the project are Marc Mulcahy, Rich Burridge and Scott Haeger.<ref>{{cite web|title=AUTHORS file|url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/AUTHORS |accessdate=17 August 2013}}</ref>
Other developers who made great contributions to the project are Krishnakant Mane, Marc Mulcahy, Rich Burridge and Scott Haeger.<ref>{{cite web|title=AUTHORS file|url=https://git.gnome.org/browse/orca/tree/AUTHORS |access-date=17 August 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
⚫
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Festival Speech Synthesis System]]
* [[Speech-generating device]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 46: Line 50:


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{Official website|projects.gnome.org/orca/}}
* {{Official website|https://orca.gnome.org/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131216012926/https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email Orca's first programmer/inventor]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131216012926/https://blogs.oracle.com/richb/entry/my_first_blind_email Orca's first programmer/inventor]


⚫
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
{{GNOME}}
{{GNOME}}
{{Speech synthesis}}
{{Speech synthesis}}

Latest revision as of 15:01, 24 April 2024

Orca
Initial releaseSeptember 3, 2006; 17 years ago (2006-09-03)
Stable release
44.1[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 25 May 2023; 11 months ago (25 May 2023)
Preview releasen/a (n/a) [±]
Repository
Written inPython
Operating systemUnix-like
TypeScreen reader Accessibility
LicenseGNU LGPL (version 2.1)[2]
Websiteorca.gnome.org

Orca is a free and open-source, flexible, extensible screen reader from the GNOME project for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Using various combinations of speech synthesis and braille, Orca helps provide access to applications and toolkits that support AT-SPI (e.g., the GNOME desktop, Mozilla Firefox/Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice and GTK, Qt and Java Swing/SWT applications).

The name Orca, which is another term for a killer whale, is a nod to the long-standing tradition of naming screen readers after aquatic creatures, including the Assistive Technology product on Windows called JAWS (which stands for Job Access With Speech), the early DOS screen reader called Flipper,[3] and the UK vision impairment company Dolphin Computer Access.[4]

As of GNOME 2.16, Orca is the default screen reader of the GNOME platform, replacing Gnopernicus.[5] As a result, Orca follows the GNOME stable release cycles of approximately six-months.[6] Orca is provided by default on a number of operating system distributions, including Solaris,[7] Fedora,[8] openSUSE[9] and Ubuntu.[10]

History[edit]

The development of Orca was started by the Accessibility Program Office (APO) of Sun Microsystems, Inc. (now Oracle) with contributions from many community members. The original idea and the first working prototype for Orca was started in May 2004 by Marc Mulcahy, a blind programmer who worked for Sun Microsystems. When Mulcahy left Sun Microsystems and ventured out to start his own company, the Accessibility Program Office took his work, continued with it and released the first official version on September 3, 2006.[11][12][13] When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010 they cut developer jobs of full-time developers working on GNOME accessibility components, including Orca main maintainer Willie Walker. Since then, Orca is run by volunteers, led by Joanmarie Diggs.[14][15] On September 7, 2011, Igalia, a company specialized in Free Software, hired Joanmarie Diggs and is supporting her work in Orca.[16]

Features[edit]

Orca's profiles allow users to save and load multiple configurations and the users can quickly access to different profiles, making it far easier to access multilingual text and environments.

Maintainer list[edit]

Orca development has been led by their maintainers with the help of its community. The maintainers so far are:[17]

Current:

  • Joanmarie Diggs

Previous:

  • Alejandro Leiva
  • Willie Walker
  • Mike Pedersen
  • Eitan Isaacson
  • Mesar Hameed

Other developers who made great contributions to the project are Krishnakant Mane, Marc Mulcahy, Rich Burridge and Scott Haeger.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "orca-44.1.tar.xz". 25 May 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. ^ "COPYING file from the Orca git source code repository". Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Assistive Computer Technology For MS-DOS Training Guide" (PDF). p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Dolphin Computer Access website". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  5. ^ "GNOME 2.16 Release Notes". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  6. ^ "GNOME's Time-Based Release Schedule". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop Accessibility Guide". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Fedora 16 Accessibility Guide". Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  9. ^ "openSUSE 12.3". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Ubuntu Accessibility". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  11. ^ Burridge, Rich. "My First Blind Email". Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  12. ^ Walker, Willie. "Announcing Orca v1.0.0". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  13. ^ "Changelog". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  14. ^ Walker, Willie. "Post about 2010 GNOME Accessibility Hackfest and Transfer of Leadership". Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  15. ^ Willis, Nathan (21 December 2011). "GNOME plans an accessibility push for 2012". Linux Weekly News. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  16. ^ Piñeiro, Alejandro. "New Igalia hiring: Joanmarie Diggs". Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  17. ^ "Doap file log". Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  18. ^ "AUTHORS file". Retrieved 17 August 2013.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orca_(assistive_technology)&oldid=1220556199"

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