A Visual Basic Form Scripting Language for Blind Programmers
Amol Jain · 2004
Blind programmers have been able to work productively along side their sighted peers in a command-line environment with the aid of tools such as screen readers and Braille terminals. Over the past few decades, however, computers have transitioned from text-based to graphical interfaces, and this change has resulted in the blind being unable to design commonly used applications. A scripting language was thus created that would allow blind programmers to design graphical Microsoft Visual Basic forms by specifying the layout in a text file rather than using the conventional “point and click ” method. The compiler for the language was written in Microsoft Visual C++ and utilizes a table-driven parser to interpret the user’s text file and output its respective form file. In addition to allowing blind programmers to create graphical forms, the language bears a strong resemblance to Visual Basic syntax and maintains Visual Basic’s status as a RAD (Rapid Application Development) programming language. 2