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module GNOME::Speech
interface EngineProperties
Files: GNOME_Speech.idl
GNOME-Speech-EngineProperties-inheritance GNOME-Speech-Recognition-RecognizerProperties.html GNOME-Speech-Synthesis-SynthesizerProperties.html GNOME-Speech-SpeechObject.html Bonobo-Unknown.html

An EngineProperties object defines the set of run-time properties of an Engine. This interface is extended for each type of speech engine. SynthesizerProperties and RecognizerProperties define the additional run-time properties of synthesizers and recognizers respectively. The EngineProperties object for an Engine is obtained from the getEngineProperties method of the engine, and should be cast appropriately for the type of engine.

Each property of an engine has a set and get method.

The run-time properties of an engine affect the behavior of a running engine. Technically, properties affect engines in the ALLOCATED state. Normally, property changes are made on an ALLOCATED engine and take effect immediately or soon after the change call.

The EngineProperties object for an engine is, however, available in all states of an Engine. Changes made to the properties of engine in the DEALLOCATED or the ALLOCATING_RESOURCES state take effect when the engine next enters the ALLOCATED state. A typical scenario for setting the properties of a non-allocated is determining the initial state of the engine. For example, setting the initial voice of a Synthesizer, or the initial SpeakerProfile of a Recognizer. (Setting these properties prior to allocation is desirable because allocating the engine and then changing the voice or the speaker can be computationally expensive).

When setting any engine property:

For example, a call to the setPitch method of the SynthesizerProperties interface to change pitch from 120Hz to 200Hz might fail because the value is out-of-range. If it does succeed, the pitch change might be deferred until the synthesizer can make the change by waiting to the end of the current word, sentence, paragraph or text object. When the change does take effect, a PropertyChangeEvent is issued to all attached listeners with the name of the changed property ("Pitch"), the old value (120) and the new value (200).

Set calls take effect in the order in which they are received. If multiple changed are requested are requested for a single property, a separate event is issued for each call, even if the multiple changes take place simultaneously.

The properties of an engine are persistent across sessions where possible. It is the engine's responsibility to store and restore the property settings. In multi-user and client-server environments the store/restore policy is at the discretion of the engine.

Control Component

An engine may provide a control object through the getControlComponent method of its EngineProperties object. The control object is a GTK+ widget. If provided, that widget can be displayed to a user for customization of the engine. Because the component is widget by the engine, the display may support customization of engine-specific properties that are not accessible through the standard properties interfaces.

Properties

The set/get property patterns are followed for engine properties. A property is defined by its name and its property type (for example, "Pitch" is a float). The property is accessed through get and set methods. The signature of the property accessor methods are:

void set<PropertyName>(<PropertyType> value);
<PropertyType> get<PropertyName>();

For boolean-valued properties, the get<PropertyName>() may also be is<PropertyName>()

For indexed properties (arrays) the signature of the property accessor methods are:

void set<PropertyName>(<PropertyType>[]; value);
void set<PropertyName>(int i, <PropertyType> value);
<PropertyType>[] get<PropertyName>();
<PropertyType> get<PropertyName>(int i);

For example speaking rate (for a Synthesizer) is a floating value and has the following methods:

void setSpeakingRate(float value);
float getSpeakingRate();

See Also:
Engine
Engine#getEngineProperties
::GNOME::Speech::Recognition::RecognizerProperties
::GNOME::Speech::Synthesis::SynthesizerProperties
PropertyChangeListener
PropertyChangeEvent


Operations Summary:
 voidaddPropertyChangeListener(in EventListener listener)
ControlComponentgetControlComponent()
 voidremovePropertyChangeListener(in EventListener listener)
 voidreset()

Operations Inherited from Bonobo::Unknown
ref, unref, queryInterface

Operation Details:
 void addPropertyChangeListener(in EventListener listener)

Add a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list. The listener is registered for all properties of the engine.

A PropertyChangeEvent is fired in response to setting any bound property.

Parameters:
listener - the PropertyChangeListener to be added.


ControlComponent getControlComponent()

Obtain the GTK+ widget that provides the default user interface for setting the properties of this Engine. If this Engine has no default control panel, the return is null.

Return:
a component that provides the default user interface for setting the properties of this Engine.


 void removePropertyChangeListener(in EventListener listener)

Remove a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list.

Parameters:
listener - the PropertyChangeListener to be removed.


 void reset()

The reset method returns all properties to reasonable defaults for the Engine. A property change event is issued for each engine property that changes as the reset takes effect.