Tuesday, November 24, 2009

HebrewBible Release 3.0 now available on App Store

I've made a number of significant enhancements to the HebrewBible iPhone app. I'm particularly excited about the "Hebrew (reader)" Bible version that is introduced with this release. Since I programmatically generated this Bible version from Westminster Leningrad Codex XML sources, I can dynamically add new functionality to it quite easily in the future (the other Bible versions are static texts that I can't easily enhance). Since these changes are significant, I've made this the 3.0 release of the app. In addition to the enhancements, I've also fixed a display issue that several people encountered when changing the iPhone orientation from portrait mode to landscape mode. The new version is now available on the Apple App Store and I recommend that all current users download the upgrade (it's a free upgrade for existing users of the app). The changes:

  1. Enhancement: Added "Hebrew (reader)" Bible version (it is based on the Leningrad Codex and is designed for those who are learning Hebrew and wish to read a Hebrew-only version of the Bible but still have access to English-language definitions of words. While reading this version, if you touch any Hebrew word, you will be presented with a pop-up English definition based on information from the Strong's Concordance. The "Hebrew (reader)" version is stored entirely on the iPhone and no Internet connection is needed in order to use this Bible version. This version displays cantillation marks to the extent that is supported by Apple's current fonts.).
  2. Enhancement: Added "Hebrew (with cantillation)" Bible version (displays cantillation marks to the extent that is supported by Apple's current fonts).
  3. Enhancement: Changed root word lookup functionality to access local word definitions rather than the 2LetterLookup web site, speeding word lookup functionality significantly. Having a local set of word definitions also makes future enhancements (both content and presentation) easier to do.
  4. Enhancement: Added popup showing all verses in Hebrew Bible where a particular word is found. This is accessible from either the root word lookup or from the "Hebrew (reader)" word lookup functionality.
  5. Enhancement: Added callout detail disclosure to show all verses in Hebrew Bible where a particular map location is found.
  6. Fix: Fixed bug that was causing intermittent Bible text display issues on rotation to landscape mode.

0 comments: