RESEARCH ON PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT OF THE BLIND

本项目计划在使用Braile的基础上，改善盲人计算机专家的编程环境。为此，我们做了以下工作。调查这项调查旨在澄清日本视力受损的计算机专家工作场所的情况。结果表明，盲人专家在辅助技术开发和个人支持方面存在不足。实际问题如下：**计算机访问技术不足**查阅手册困难**文件交流效率低下**图形信息处理困难**难以获得新技能这些都是由于日语的复杂性和图形用户界面的普及。2.虽然辅助技术和个人协助对于盲人阅读或创作印刷文件是不可或缺的，但这种环境尚未得到适当的准备。软件开发和评估合成语音输出现在是盲人计算机专家在文本处理工作中的一种流行工具，例如程序编辑或手册参考。但从效率和精神负荷的角度来看，这并不总是一种令人满意的方式。我们开发了一种文本处理软件，可以在具有触摸光标开关功能的盲文显示终端上操作。然后用它进行实验，比较了语音输出和盲文输出的特点。因此，我们得出结论，盲文输出功能应该融入到盲人的编程环境中，因为它使文本处理工作大大简化并略有加快。

This project was planned to improve the programming environment of blind computer specialists on the basis of using Braille.The following have been done for the purpose.1. InvestigationThe investigation aimed at clarifying the circumstances in the work place of computer specialists with visual impairment in Japan. The results indicated the insufficiency of the development of assistive technology and personal support for blind comouter specialists. The actual problems are as follows :**insufficiency of computer access technology**difficulty in referring manuals**inefficiency of communication in documents**difficulty in processing graphical information**difficulty in getting new skillsThese are due to the complexity of the Japanese language and the spread of Graphical User Interface. Although assistive technology and personal assistance are indispensable for the blind to read or create printed documents, this environment has not yet been appropriately prepared.2. Software Development and EvaluationA synthetic speech output is now a popular appliance for blind computer specialists in the text processing work such as program edition or manual reference. But it is not always a satisfactory way from the viewpoints of efficiency and mental load. We developed a software for text processing that can be operated from a Braille display terminal containig the function of touch cursor switch. Then it was used for an experimentation to compare the characteristics of speech output and Braille output. As a result, we got a conclusion that Braille output function should be incorporated into the programming environment of the blind, because it makes text processing work drastically easier and slightly faster.