Accerciser

Accerciser is an open source interactive application that provides users with a modern accessibility explorer utility for the Python programming language. It is fully compatible with the GNOME desktop environment.

The application makes use of the Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI) technology to control and inspect widgets. It enables users to verify if a Python project provides accurate information to automated test frameworks and assistive technologies.

Features at a glance

It uses a straightforward plugin architecture that has been engineered to empower users to generate specific views of accessibility information. Accerciser is described by its developers as a next-gen at-poke tool, designed to inspection and test accessibility aware apps.

Similar to the Orca screen reader and magnifier application, this software uses the pyORBit Python binding for the ORBit2 CORBA 2.4-compliant ORB (Object Request Broker) to talk AT-SPI with other programs, while avoiding the old CSPI module.

Its sophisticated plugin framework allows Python developers to automatically load newly created Python modules as plugin panes. Other highlights include an interactive Python shell, an event monitor plugin, an API browser plugin, an interface browser plugin, global keyboard shortcuts, a customizable user interface layout, and Yelp documentation.

Under the hood

Besides Python and the usual GNOME libraries, the application requires the python-gtk2 2.8 or later, python-gnome2 2.14 or higher, python-pyatspi2, python-rsvg, python-wnck and gconf2 packages on a Debian-based distribution.

In addition, it will require the pygtk2 2.8 or later, gnome-python2 2.12 or higher, pyatspi, gnome-python2-rsvg, gnome-python2-libwnck 2.14 or later, and GConf2 modules on a Red Hat-based Linux operating system.

Bottom line

All in all, the Accerciser program proved to be a very good and full-featured interactive Python accessibility explorer for the GNOME desktop environment. However, it can also work on other open source desktop environments, such as Xfce, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, Openbox, Fluxbox, and even KDE.

What is new in this release:

• Added AppData file
• Better fix for #709122
• Fix schema translations
• Provide a symbolic variant of the app icon
• Remove reference to icons/HighContrast/Makefile
• Preference dialog right resizable
• Bringing the rsvg-based highlight feature back
• Allow interface viewer states to fill horizontally
• New And Updated Translations:
• Finnish
• Turkish
• Bosnian
• Czech
• Brazilian
• Spanish
• Norwegian
• Hungarian
• Slovenian
• French
• Swedish
• Chinese
• Slovenian
• Greek
• Lithuanian
• Serbian
• Polish
• Galician
• Korean
• Italian
• Latvian
• Danish
• Russian
• Basque
• Estonian
• Occitan
• Portuguese
• Indonesian
• German
• Slovak
• Bulgarian
• Kazakh
• British English

What is new in version 3.14.0:

• What's New:
• doap: update URLs
• doap: category apps
• doap: add
• Mark images as not translatable to keep them off translators radar
• Addressing some PyGObject initializer deprecations
• Adding transient windows for bookmarks dialogs
• New And Updated Translations:
• Tom Tryfonidis (el)
• Daniel Mustieles (es)
• Inaki Larranaga Murgoitio (eu)
• Anders Jonsson (sv)
• Alexandre Franke (fr)

What is new in version 3.12.0:

• User docs: Fixed a few boken/redirected links
• New and updated translations

What is new in version 3.12 RC1:

• Validate plugin: Make use of metaclasses compatible on python 2.x & 3.x
• Interface Viewer plugin:
• Display of states should be wider
• Avoid the misalignement of elements when resizing
• Fix for bug 660971 - Fixing iv plugin's caret offset value
• Fix spinner on Value's section
• Macaroon:
• Make Macaroon work in Python 3
• Update get_text call according to latest API
• When recording, put right ATSPI roles in the output sequence
• Quick select: fix inspect accessible under mouse

What is new in version 3.8.2:

• New And Updated Translations:
• Max Orxy (de)
• Christian Kirbach (de)
• Inaki Larranaga Murgoitio (eu)
• Yuri Myasoedov (ru)

What is new in version 3.8.0:

• New And Updated Translations:
• Victor Ibragimov (tg)
• Seong-ho Cho (ko)
• Piotr Drag: Fix translations of keywords in .desktop files (eu, pt_BR)
• Milo Casagrande (it)

What is new in version 3.7.92:

• What's New:
• Fix for bug 695141 Add high contrast icon
• New And Updated Translations:
• Marek AŒernockA½ (cs)
• Enrico Nicoletto (pt_BR)
• Gheyret Kenji (ug)
• Matej UrbanAiA (sl)
• Dimitris Spingos (el)
• Aurimas AŒernius (lt)
• Joan Duran (ca)
• ÐoиN€Ð¾NÐ"Ð
  31 Oct 16 in Developer Tools, Debugging Software