Static Script Transliteration Tool

A lightweight, browser-based tool for transliterating various ancient, historical, and coded scripts to/from Latin characters. This version runs entirely client-side using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it easy to host on static platforms like GitHub Pages.

It features a minimalist, aesthetically pleasing design with khaki-based color schemes and a dynamic dark mode.

Features

• Client-Side Transliteration: No server-side processing required.
• Multiple Script Support:
  • Binary Code (8-bit)
  • Cypro-Minoan (Conventional Labels)
  • Cypriot Syllabary
  • Cyrillic (Russian & common Slavic)
  • Ethiopic (Ge'ez Fidel)
  • Hiragana (Japanese)
  • Katakana (Japanese)
  • Mende Kikakui
  • Morse Code
  • Nushu
  • Ogham
  • Runic (Comprehensive: Elder Futhark, Anglo-Saxon, Younger Futhark)
  • Vai
  • Yi Syllables
• User Interface:
  • Script and action selection dropdowns.
  • Input/output text areas.
  • "Swap Directions" button.
  • "Discover a Script" randomizer.
  • Dark/Light mode toggle (preference saved in localStorage).
• Character Information: Basic Unicode info for input characters.
• Minimalist Design: Clean, responsive interface with a khaki-based color palette.

How to Use / Run Locally

1. Download or Clone: Get all the project files.
2. No Installation Needed: Since this is a static site, there are no Python or other backend dependencies to install.
3. Open index.html:
   • Navigate to the project's root directory in your file explorer.
   • Double-click index.html to open it in your web browser.
   • Alternatively, for more reliable testing (to avoid file:/// restrictions), serve the directory using a simple local HTTP server:
     • Open a terminal in the project's root directory.
     • Run python -m http.server (for Python 3).
     • Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

How it Works

• The index.html file provides the structure and user interface.
• css/style.css handles the visual presentation and themes.
• The js/maps/ directory contains JavaScript files, each defining the transliteration rules (to_latin_map) for a specific script as a JavaScript object.
• js/maps/all_maps_loader.js processes these maps, automatically generating reverse mappings (from_latin_map) where appropriate.
• js/script.js contains the core client-side logic:
  • Populating the script selection dropdown.
  • Handling user input and button clicks.
  • Performing transliterations by looking up characters/sequences in the loaded JavaScript map objects.
  • Displaying results and character information.
  • Managing the dark/light theme.

Adding New Scripts

1. Create JS Map: Create a new your_script_name_map.js file in the js/maps/ directory. Define a global window.ALL_SCRIPT_DATA["your_script_name"] object containing description, unicode_range (optional), and to_latin_map.

   // Example: js/maps/your_script_name_map.js
   window.ALL_SCRIPT_DATA = window.ALL_SCRIPT_DATA || {};
   window.ALL_SCRIPT_DATA["your_script_name"] = {
       description: "Your Script Description",
       unicode_range: ['XXXX', 'YYYY'], // Optional
       to_latin_map: {
           '\uXXXX': 'abc',
           // ... more mappings
       }
   };
   

2. Include Script: Add a <script src="js/maps/your_script_name_map.js"></script> tag in index.html before all_maps_loader.js.
3. Font Support: Users will need appropriate fonts to view the new script. Consider adding font suggestions to the CSS or this README.
4. Test: The all_maps_loader.js and script.js should automatically incorporate the new script.

Font Dependencies

For the accurate display of many non-Latin scripts, users must have corresponding Unicode fonts installed on their system. The Google Noto Fonts family is highly recommended for broad script coverage.

Limitations

• Client-Side Performance: Very large transliteration maps (e.g., for Yi, Nushu) are loaded into the browser, which might impact initial load time and memory usage on some devices.
• Contextual Transliteration: Complex linguistic rules (e.g., Japanese particle changes, contextual Cyrillic vowel sounds) are not implemented in this simple mapping-based approach.
• Unicode Character Info: The "Character Info" feature provides basic codepoint information. Full Unicode data (like official name, category) is not available client-side without very large datasets or external APIs.

transcriber