Braille is a method of reproducing standard literary documents using raised dot patterns. There are 64 patterns possible with a standard Braille cell - consisting of 6 dots arranged in two columns of 3 dots. Unfortunately, this configuration provides too few characters to conveniently work with math and science. TRIANGLE uses the 8-dot GS code so users can effectively work with math and science. An 8-dot Braille cell has two columns of four dots. Most printers will print 8-dot Braille but there are few generally-accepted conventions for what the cells having lower dots mean.
As mentioned above, TRIANGLE uses the GS8 code to properly display characters. Braille printers must load the GS8 table in order to properly display the GS8 dot patterns. Once loaded, the user can type anything from the keyboard and print those characters. Users will note that capital letters have an extra dot on the lower left (the only widely-accepted 8-dot Braille convention) and that most punctuation marks are those of Standard English Braille (SEB), but that there are a few differences. There are unique symbols for the opening and closing parentheses, and the present SEB parenthesis mark is used as the question mark in GS. The numbers 1-9 are the letters a-i with an added dot-6, and the 0 is the ing sign, dot-346.
For more information about Braille and the GS code, please go to the GS Braille web page.
GS Braille was developed by John Gardner, Professor of Physics, Oregon State University and Norberto Salinas, Professor of Mathematics, University of Kansas.
This is a utility program that loads Braille fonts into the VersaPoint Embosser from Blazie/TSI. It is located in the main directory.
LOADCODE syntax:
LOADCODE [-efgklsv] <filename>
where <filename>
represents
the name of the table to be loaded. If no filename is given, the GS table
GS.TXT is assumed. If the table file is not in the same directory as
LOADCODE.EXE, the full path name should be given.
-e Load table in <filename> into VersaPoint Embosser. -f Load the GS8.FNT file into the active VGA character set. -g Load table in <filename> into GATEWAY. -k Load table in <filename> into BKeys. -l Locate <filename> and print 1st line of the file. -s Shows current GATEWAY table definition. -v Verify GS.TXT table and create GS.CHR file - a list of GS symbols followed by their names. The printable ASCII characters in the ASCII range 32-127 are not included.
Notes on GS Braille and the VersaPoint Embosser:
(A) As the character set is being processed the embosser will
beep.
(B) If the embosser prints rather than beeps, try again in mode 0.
(C) Once downloaded, the character set may be accessed by setting
the embosser configuration as follows.
language: User defined
Dots: 8
Display Extended ASCII: On
Control Codes: On
(D) You can store this configuration in modes 1-4, and recall it
rather than reset the parameters each time. Mode 0 contains the default
Braille code.
(E) Turning off the embosser does not erase the character set.
To load the GS8 character set into the VersaPoint printer, type:
cd c:\triangle
loadcode -e
This will load the GS.TXT character set into your printer. After loading
the GS character set into the printer, start TRIANGLE with:
cd c:\triangle
loadcode -e
If you want to print text with the American Computer Braille code, either
switch the printer so that it is using the default code in mode 0, or
load
the ABC code back into your printer active memory by typing:
cd c:\triangle
loadcode -e US.TXT
The VersaPoint manual contains information about changing page layout parameters and switching between stored character sets. Back to the top.
A user who knows how to make and load a new table in his/her Braille printer can derive a GS8 table from the GS.TXT file (Section 6 below). GS.TXT is a standard .txt file containing only printable ASCII characters and can be read with any word or text processor.
A number of characters above ASCII 127 are reserved for German and Spanish, the only non-English languages presently usable with TRIANGLE. A user who does not need German or Spanish need not put any undefined or reserved characters into his/her table.
We would be grateful if anyone who prepares a table for another Braille printer would send a copy to the Science Access Project for distribution to other users of those printers. Please send information to triangle@dots.physics.orst.edu or to the director,
John
Gardner
e-mail: gardnerj@ucs.orst.edu
Tel: (541) 737 3278
Department of Physics
Oregon State University
301 Weniger Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331-6507
GS.TXT is the master table defining the GS symbols for each ASCII position. The GS symbols are conventional ASCII for the printable ASCII characters, positions 32-127, but are different elsewhere. This table defines the GS8 and GS6 Braille notation for each ASCII position, but only the GS8 notation is used with TRIANGLE. This table is loaded into the printer by LOADCODE.EXE.
The first column in the GS.TXT table is the ASCII position, the second column is a Hex code for the dot pattern. The hex codes take the top dot as the least significant bit and the bottom dot as the most significant bit in a 4-bit hex byte. The third column gives information equivalent to the hex code but in a form more useful to human readers - the dot numbers. These are enclosed in parentheses.
The next columns give the equivalent symbol in the 6-dot GS6 code, the hex code first followed by the dot numbers enclosed in square brackets. There is a comment field, and the official name of the symbol is in the last column. The GS.TXT file is located in TRIANGLE's main directory (c:\triangle) or can be seen here.
US.TXT is the American computer Braille table. It is the default table for most printers and may be reloaded into either program with the LOADCODE utility.
Still have questions about TRIANGLE? Send e-mail to: triangle@dots.physics.orst.edu