[Accessibility_sig] Open Standard accessibility API: IA2

[Sharron Rush]

IAccessible2 or IA2 is an Open Standard accessibility API for 
Windows, allowing Assistive Technology (AT) to query and manipulate a 
program through its User Interface. With IA2 AT can provide users 
with rich detailed information about the programs they are working 
with and provides an 'official' mechanism for this interaction 
without the need for clever and fragile 'hacks'. IA2 builds on 
Microsoft's older MSAA API, adding missing functionality that mirrors 
the rich semantics that are available on Linux . Unlike Microsoft's 
UI Automation, IA2 does not require a porting of programs to .NET 
managed code.

As an Open Standard it is publicly owned and anyone may contribute to 
its development. Indeed several of the leading AT manufacturers 
contributed to its formulation and are already supporting IA2 in 
their programs.

More online on the official IA2 site 
http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Accessibility/IAccessible2

and there is a wiki of the directory of current applications and AT 
that support IA2 on Jambu 
at  http://www.oatsoft.org/trac/jambu/wiki/IAccessible2

Best,
Sharron

PS Thanks to Kelsey, Erica, Gordon and everyone who showed up for the 
open source Designathon this past weekend.  There is more fun at the 
open source codeathon coming up this weekend.  Details on the 
Codeathon wiki at http://codeathon.pbwiki.com