RESEARCH ON PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT OF THE BLIND

该项目的目的是在使用盲文的基础上改善盲人计算机专家的编程环境，为此开展了以下工作。调查调查的目的是澄清日本有视力障碍的计算机专家工作场所的情况。调查结果显示，盲人辅助技术的发展和盲人辅助专家的个人支持存在不足。实际问题是：** 计算机访问技术的不足 ** 查阅手册的困难 ** 文档中的交流效率低下 ** 处理图形信息的困难 ** 获得新技能的困难这些都是由于日语的复杂性和图形用户界面的传播。虽然辅助技术和个人协助对于盲人阅读或创建印刷文件是必不可少的，但这种环境尚未得到适当的支持。软件开发与评估合成语音输出是盲人计算机专家在文本处理工作中的常用工具，如程序编辑或手册参考。但从效率和心理负荷的角度来看，这并不总是一种令人满意的方式。我们开发了一个文本处理软件，它可以从盲文显示终端操作，具有触摸光标开关功能。并利用该系统进行了实验，比较了语音输出和盲文输出的特点。因此，我们得出的结论是，盲文输出功能应纳入盲人的编程环境，因为它使文本处理工作大大容易，略快。

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.