The First 'Known' Text Alignment Applet

This is the first version of the System Quirk Text Alignment Applet: TextµAl, written in Java.

You will need Java enabled in your browser in order for this to work.

Usage

In order to use this applet, parallel texts should be pasted into the two Text Box at the top of the Applet and the principal language for each text set correctly above it.

Pressing "HTML Align" will place the results into the lower Text Box in HTML source. This can be copied into a file, saved and viewed using a Web browser. Alternatively, pressing "Plain Align" will return results line-aligned for simpler reading.

Performance Issues

Because this program executes within your Web Browser, it is massively slower than as a standalone application.

One specific test involved the alignment of an English World Health Organisation Report with the French version of the same report.

In the browser environment, with Netscape 4.05 running on a Sun Sparc Ultra I 140MHz this averaged approximately 120 seconds actual time to produce these sample indicative results (shown here from the server version).

Running as an application on the same Ultra I under Sun's Java 1.1.6, the same alignment averages approximately 15 seconds actual time.

Although untested, it is believed that the PC version of Sun's Java which uses the Symantec JIT will improve speed of execution further.

It is recommended that use of this applet is restricted to the alignment of short - <10Kb - texts, unless you have lots of patience!

Feedback

Comments regarding this Applet can be sent to: System Quirk Support or Lee Gillam