Rangavalli-1.1 and MeghaSandesam 1.0

A Java based visual plain-text editor/web browser/e-mail reader for Telugu

Update: Rangavalli1.1 replaces Rangavalli1.0Beta as of Aug 19, 1997. If you have downloaded Rangavalli before this date, it is recommended that you download the new version for increased functionality. Here is the Readme file for 1.1.

Rangavalli-1.1 is a java based visual plain-text editor/web browser/e-mail reader for telugu. It is loosely based on the Rice Transliteration Scheme (RTS). The editor converts on the fly, RTS text typed by the user and displays it using a platform dependent font. It can also be used to download and read .rts documents from the World Wide Web. Here is the FAQ on Rangavalli-1.1

MeghaSandesam-1.0 leverages Rangavalli-1.1 functionality to read e-mails that are typed using RTS scheme in telugu. Here is the FAQ on MeghaSandesam-1.0

Except for the fonts, the entire program is portable to all platforms for which JDK is available. This is so, as Java class files can be run on any platform for which java interpreter is available. Thus, in order that Rangavalli be ported to any platform, all that is needed is a class file with a method that converts a Unicode-type (not exactly!) String to a font code String.

At this time, Rangavalli-1.1 is available only for Windows NT/95. Mac and X-window versions should be available soon

Requirements:

1.1.3 or later versions of JDK or JRE. Click here to download the latest version of JDK/JRE. As Sun is yet to release JDK1.1 for Mac, Rangavalli cannot be used on Macintosh at present. Keep track of announcements in Sun's Web page to find the schedule for their Mac release.
A telugu-font that has been mapped by a class file to unicode-type encoding. At this time, only one font has been mapped for Rangavalli. In due time, we expect to provide mappings for potana fonts as well as other popular ones. Telugu Lipi, a truetype font developed by Sri Srinivas Sirigina is the one that is presently available. Caution: Contact Srinivas for copyright issues with regards to his fonts. A copy is included with Rangavalli for demonstration purposes only. This font would work only on those platforms that can display true type fonts.

Differences with RIT:

No % comments or macros allowed.
Sunna can only be obtained with M e.g. gAMdhi would work, gAndhi wouldn't.
No alu, alU, tcha, tja.
Bcos of unicode treating ksha as k with sha vottu, x is no longer considered as ksh
No telugu digits.

Before downlaoding, note that Rangavalli comes with no warranty and is free for non-commercial uses only. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED.

Installation Instructions for Windows NT/95

Download JDK/JRE 1.1.3 or higher.
Download Rangavalli-1.1 as a zip file.
Extract all files from the zip file using PKZip or WinZip to the root directory c:\. You should now have a directory called Rangavalli-1.1 in c:\
Backup c:\your\JDK\directory\lib\font.properties and replace it with font.properties provided with Rangavalli.
Install Telugu Lipi fonts by adding Lipi.ttf to your fonts control panels.
Edit c:\autoexec.bat and add the following lines.
SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\your\JDK\directory\BIN
SET CLASSPATH=.;C:\Rangavalli-1.1;C:\your\JDK\directory\bin\classes.zip
Run autoexec from a dos shell command line.
You are all set to run Rangavalli. Type java LaunchRangavalli at the dos shell command line.
To view an example file, click on Open RTS File in the File menu and select letters.rts OR guNiMtAlu.rts OR gandhi.rts in the directory c:\Rangavalli-1.1\examples

Acknowledgements

To Sri Murali Guggilam and Sri Srinivas Sirigina for their help.

Questions, Comments or Suggestions?

Mail prasad@acm6.me.uiuc.edu with all your questions, comments and suggestions.

Developed by Prasad Chodavarapu