Skip to content

PROJECT_STATUS.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
303 lines (233 loc) · 8.16 KB

PROJECT_STATUS.md

File metadata and controls

303 lines (233 loc) · 8.16 KB

Accessible Talking Clock - Project Status

Last Updated: October 16, 2025
Current Branch: phase-2/audio-playback
Overall Status: Phase 2 Complete ✅

Phase Summary

✅ Phase 1: Core UI with Accessibility (COMPLETE)

Completion Date: January 12, 2025

Features:

  • Clock display with real-time updates (every second)
  • TextInput-based display for screen reader compatibility
  • Soundpack selection dropdown (Classic, Nature, Digital)
  • Volume control button (cycles: 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
  • Interval switches (hourly, half-hour, quarter-hour)
  • Test Chime button
  • Settings button (placeholder for Phase 4)
  • Status label for screen reader feedback

Accessibility:

  • All controls keyboard accessible
  • Logical Tab navigation order
  • NVDA/JAWS/Narrator compatible
  • Native Windows widgets (WinForms backend)

Testing:

  • Manual accessibility testing complete
  • All UI controls verified with NVDA

✅ Phase 2: Audio Playback System (COMPLETE)

Completion Date: October 16, 2025

Features:

  • AudioPlayer class with thread-safe playback
  • sound_lib library integration (v0.83)
  • Volume control (0-100% with automatic clamping)
  • Multi-format support (WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC)
  • Test sound file (440Hz beep, 0.5 seconds)
  • Non-blocking audio playback
  • Automatic BASS audio system initialization

Implementation:

  • Location: src/accessibletalkingclock/audio/player.py
  • Test sound: src/accessibletalkingclock/audio/test_sound.wav
  • UI integration complete:
    • Volume button updates AudioPlayer
    • Test Chime button plays test sound
    • Status label announces audio events

Testing:

  • 15 unit tests (all passing ✅)
  • Test-Driven Development approach
  • Coverage: initialization, playback, volume, error handling
  • Test framework: pytest

Documentation:

  • Comprehensive Phase 2 summary: accessibletalkingclock/PHASE2_SUMMARY.md
  • Manual test script: accessibletalkingclock/test_audio_manual.py

Remaining:

  • Manual NVDA testing with audio playback (requires user interaction)

🔄 Phase 3: Soundpack Implementation (UPCOMING)

Planned Features:

  • Create actual audio files for 3 soundpacks:
    • Classic: Westminster chimes
    • Nature: Bird/water sounds
    • Digital: Beeps/tones
  • Soundpack management system
  • Different sounds for hour/half-hour/quarter-hour
  • Soundpack switching with live preview

Prerequisites: ✅ Phase 2 audio system complete

📋 Phase 4: Settings Persistence (PLANNED)

Planned Features:

  • Save/load user preferences
  • Settings file in user directory
  • Remember:
    • Selected soundpack
    • Volume level
    • Active intervals
  • Settings dialog implementation

🎨 Phase 5: Polish & Advanced Features (PLANNED)

Planned Features:

  • Digital/analog display toggle
  • Additional soundpacks
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Enhanced error messages
  • Performance optimizations

📦 Phase 6: Distribution Packaging (PLANNED)

Planned Features:

  • Briefcase Windows executable
  • Installer creation
  • Audio file bundling
  • Documentation and user guide
  • Release preparation

Technical Stack

Framework: Toga (BeeWare) 0.5.0
Packaging: Briefcase
Audio: sound_lib 0.83 (BASS wrapper)
Testing: pytest
Python: 3.12.4
Package Manager: uv

Platform: Windows (primary), cross-platform capable

Repository Structure

accessible_talking_clock/                 # Git repository root
├── .venv/                               # Virtual environment
├── .memex/
│   └── context.md                       # Project rules and context
├── accessibletalkingclock/              # Briefcase application
│   ├── src/accessibletalkingclock/
│   │   ├── app.py                       # Main application (Phase 1 & 2)
│   │   ├── audio/
│   │   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   │   ├── player.py                # AudioPlayer class (Phase 2)
│   │   │   └── test_sound.wav           # Test audio file (Phase 2)
│   │   └── resources/
│   │       └── sounds/                  # Soundpack audio files (Phase 3)
│   ├── tests/
│   │   ├── test_app.py                  # Application tests
│   │   └── test_audio_player.py         # AudioPlayer tests (Phase 2)
│   ├── pyproject.toml                   # Briefcase configuration
│   ├── test_audio_manual.py             # Manual audio test (Phase 2)
│   ├── PHASE2_SUMMARY.md                # Phase 2 documentation
│   ├── start.ps1                        # Windows startup script
│   └── start.sh                         # Unix startup script
├── plans/
│   ├── 2025-01-12_15-30-45_accessible-desktop-clock/  # Phase 1
│   └── 2025-10-16_phase-2-audio/                      # Phase 2
├── PROJECT_STATUS.md                    # This file
└── README.md                            # Project overview

Development Commands

# Activate virtual environment
.venv\Scripts\activate  # Windows
source .venv/bin/activate  # Unix/Linux

# Run application
cd accessibletalkingclock
python -m briefcase dev

# If template out of date error:
python -m briefcase create  # Overwrite when prompted

# Run tests
cd accessibletalkingclock
$env:PYTHONPATH = "src"; pytest tests/ -v  # Windows PowerShell
PYTHONPATH=src pytest tests/ -v            # Unix/Linux

# Run specific test file
$env:PYTHONPATH = "src"; pytest tests/test_audio_player.py -v

# Manual audio test
python test_audio_manual.py

Recent Commits (Phase 2)

  1. Phase 2: Implement AudioPlayer with sound_lib

    • Install sound_lib library
    • Create audio package structure
    • Implement AudioPlayer class
    • Add 15 comprehensive unit tests
    • Create test sound file

  2. Integrate AudioPlayer with UI

    • Initialize AudioPlayer in app startup
    • Connect volume button to AudioPlayer
    • Implement Test Chime button functionality
    • Add error handling and status feedback

  3. Add Phase 2 completion artifacts

    • Manual test script for verification
    • Comprehensive Phase 2 summary document

  4. Update project context with Phase 2 completion

    • Mark Phase 2 as complete
    • Update directory structure
    • Add AudioPlayer implementation details
    • Update testing checklist

Next Steps

Immediate (Phase 3 Preparation)

  1. Merge phase-2/audio-playback branch to main
  2. Create phase-3/soundpacks feature branch
  3. Plan Phase 3 implementation:
    • Source/create soundpack audio files
    • Design soundpack management system
    • Implement interval scheduling

Future Considerations

  • Manual NVDA testing with audio playback
  • Performance testing with multiple soundpacks
  • User feedback on soundpack quality
  • Additional soundpack creation

Known Issues

Briefcase

  • Template out of date: Run briefcase create and overwrite
  • App won't start: Check logs/ directory

Toga Slider

  • toga.Slider range parameter not working
  • Using Button with cycling volumes instead

Manual Testing

  • NVDA testing requires user interaction (cannot be fully automated)
  • Manual verification needed for screen reader announcements

Dependencies

Core:

  • toga==0.5.0
  • briefcase==0.3.25
  • sound_lib==0.83

Testing:

  • pytest==8.4.2

Audio (transitive):

  • pywin32==311
  • platform-utils==1.6.0
  • libloader==1.3.3

Accessibility Compliance

✅ WCAG 2.1 Level AA considerations:

  • Keyboard navigation for all controls
  • Screen reader compatibility (NVDA, JAWS, Narrator)
  • Clear focus indicators
  • Logical tab order
  • Status feedback for all actions
  • Native Windows widgets (automatic accessibility)

✅ Platform Integration:

  • Uses Windows accessibility APIs
  • Compatible with Windows high contrast mode
  • Respects Windows screen reader settings

Contact & Resources

Project Repository: (Add GitHub URL when available)
Toga Docs: https://toga.readthedocs.io/
Briefcase Docs: https://briefcase.readthedocs.io/
sound_lib Docs: https://sound-lib.readthedocs.io/
NVDA: https://www.nvaccess.org/download/

Status Legend:

  • ✅ Complete
  • 🔄 In Progress
  • 📋 Planned
  • ⚠️ Blocked
  • ❌ Cancelled