SVG GlyphWriterWelcome to SVG GlyphWriter. SVG GlyphWriter is a text-editor for egyptian hieroglyphs, and is based on the technology of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). It will enable you to create and edit hieroglyphic texts, and export the texts as SVG images, which can be incorporated in websites, Word-documents, PDF documents etc. SVG images can also easily be enriched with extra information, for example in order to add information regarding translations, the origin of the text etc. On this website I will demonstrate some possible uses of hieroglyphic texts in SVG format. The technologyTo understand fully the opportunities made possible by the arrival of SVG, it is necessary to say something about the technology itself. SVG is an XML vocabulary (XML=eXtensible Markup Language) for graphical representations. XML is an open-source, platform independent, world-wide standard that is used globally to store, exchange, retrieve and transform all sorts of data. XML applications come in many varieties, most of them use specific vocabularies. SVG is the XML vocabulary for graphical representations. SVG does not behave like other graphical formats, for example JPEG or bitmap. Like all XML vocabularies it is completely text-based. SVG images can therefore be created and altered in simple text editors like Notepad. Since it is XML-based, there are many tools available (both open source and commercial) for editing the files (XML editors), for manipulating and transforming the graphics (either runtime in any given SVG browser, or in graphics editing tools like Corel Draw). It is also a vector-based which allows for resizing without loss of information or annoying pixelization. The biggest advantage in my opinion is that because it's XML, it is possible to exchange and transform information between different types of XML documents, and to enrich the graphics with all kinds of interesting information regarding the text. It would be possible to store inside the SVG image of an hieroglyphic text itself:
Take a look at the following example (you will need an SVG Viewer, like Adobe's, to see the example). Click on the links to view english and dutch translations of the hieroglyphic text. Then move your mouse over the translation: the translated hieroglyphs will turn red. All information necessary to do this is actually stored inside the SVG image itself! To see for yourself, right-click the hieroglyphs and select 'View source'.
Click 'Source' to see where these hieroglyphs come from. This information is also stored inside the SVG image. In my opinion it should not be too hard to imagine how this technology can be used for presenting and sharing information on egyptian hieroglyphic text. For example, you could bundle a lot of SVG images of hieroglyphic texts and use these to create a wordlist automatically, or browse through these texts looking for specific words. Though this example is a good (be it small) indication of the possible use of SVG, it is probably not the most natural solution for storing information about the text. In my opinion this could best be done by creating an XML vocabulary for hieroglyphic texts. The graphical information could be incorporated in the resulting XML documents, or be referred to by the XML documents. Some people have already played with the idea of setting up a XML vocabulary for hieroglyphic texts. It should be noted that such a vocabulary would not necessarily be restricted to egyptian hieroglyphic texts, but might also be made applicable for other pictoral languages (like Mayan). So far the SVG GlyphWriter will only enable you to create the images for egyptian hieroglyphic texts, without enriching it with information like in the example above. I think though that the SVG GlyphWriter could very well be extended both to incorporate other languages and to enrich the image with different sets of information. If anyone is interested in sharing ideas about this, feel free to react. Also if you have any (serious) questions about these ideas, let me know.
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Prerequisites:
Try SVG GlyphWriter (prototype version) online! Screenshot:
See Help for more screenshots. |
