Open computing

Open computing is a term that covers both open standards and open source software.

Open standards are the blueprints that provide guidance to developers when they build a software or hardware product. These standards help to ensure that products made by different vendors will either work together or work in a consistent way. Both open source and proprietary vendors take advantage of open standards (e.g., Firefox 3 and JAWS). IBM is a key participant in the following accessibility standards projects:

Open source software is software for which the source code is publicly available for re-use. It can also be redistributed, as a whole or in portions. We believe that open source software will uncover new opportunities for users with disabilities and enable assistive technology vendors to work quickly and efficiently to create products for access. IBM is a key participant in open source accessibility projects. We have donated code to several Open Source foundations and organizations. In addition, we are leading and have participated in exciting projects which help developers in many areas of the open computing community: Web toolkits and applications, Windows and Linux® accessibility tools and interfaces, and Eclipse SWT accessibility.

Open Source Accessibility for the Web

IBM is involved in numerous Web-based projects, including:

• Dojo Toolkit - API set with widgets and styling options for Web applications
• Open Ajax Alliance
• Access Mozilla project and Firefox
  • Firefox support for ARIA
• Eclipse ACTF Web Validation Componentry (Webelo)
• Eclipse ACTF Accessibility Probe (AccProbe)

Open Source Accessibility for Windows

An application programming interface (API), a collection of Eclipse plug-ins, and a standalone, Eclipse Rich-Client Product (RCP) application, and full Windows accessibility API support for Eclipse are all Windows-based accessibility projects

• IAccessible2
• Eclipse ACTF Accessibility Probe (AccProbe)
• Eclipse IAccessible2 support classes

Open Source Accessibility for Linux

IBM has participated in several Linux open source projects, including:

• GNOME Accessibility Project (GAP) Enhancements and Fixes
• Accerciser Inspect Tool for Linux ATK/AT-SPI

Open Source Accessibility for Academic Software Projects

IBM is participating in an international community working to address numerous issues within academic software projects.

• Fluid Project