Using BA for academic and seminary work

Deals with using and making modules and other resources
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epement
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Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by epement »

New thread to discuss using Bible Analyzer, its modules, and affiliate tools in an academic and seminary context.

The scope is cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac). This thread may discuss competing Bible tools, fonts, citation, and/or academic expectations and solutions.
Eric Pement
2 Cor. 4:5

kathleenmarie
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:43 pm

Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by kathleenmarie »

My Ubuntu 18.04 install crashed. It updated and broke. So ... I installed the most lean Windows possible on my mini-desktop. Then I installed the PORTABLE Windows version of BA on a thumbdrive, along with some apps from portableapps.com.

Now I am trying to figure out how to make the best possible academic research and writing suite on a USB, using BA as my main Bible Software. I really like the idea that I will be able to swap the entire suite onto any computer, without having to store the information in the cloud and sign in to access it. I won't even need an internet connection at home at all, at least for the word processor and for BA.

Is there any portable citation management software that works offline? Maybe it is easier in the longrun to do it manually. I was thinking that I should just make a textfile of the citation information for my favorite resources in alphabetical order, and then copy and paste from it as needed.

epement
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:00 pm
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Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by epement »

kathleenmarie wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 9:18 pm
My Ubuntu 18.04 install crashed. It updated and broke.
Did you have Timeshift (Linux system restore utility) installed? Did you try it?
Now I am trying to figure out how to make the best possible academic research and writing suite on a USB, using BA as my main Bible Software.
I wonder if I am making the best use of the ScripturePad Editor. I would like to hear from others about how to maximize this tool.
I really like the idea that I will be able to swap the entire suite onto any computer, without having to store the information in the cloud and sign in to access it. I won't even need an internet connection at home at all, at least for the word processor and for BA. Is there any portable citation management software that works offline?
You already know that I recommend Zotero, which will do exactly that.

Try looking at these two pages:
https://appmus.com/alternatives-to/mendeley
https://appmus.com/alternatives-to/zotero

Let me know if/when you find something that looks promising
Maybe it is easier in the long run to do it manually. I was thinking that I should just make a textfile of the citation information for my favorite resources in alphabetical order, and then copy and paste from it as needed.
If you decide to create a text file bibliography with a plain ASCII editor (vim, Emacs, VS Code, etc.), create it in record-jar format, using one line per field, tags, and record separators (blank line or with record markers) so you can import it into something else later. For example:

Code: Select all

---   # record sep
AU: Calvin, John
TI: Institutes of the Christian Religion
DT: 1559
TR: Henry Beveridge (1845)
PB: Grand Rapids, MI: Associated Publishers and Authors, 1974
NT1: This edition has altered the footnotes, subject index, and back matter from the Eerdmans edition of 1962.
NT2: Scholarly references to the Institutes almost always use the translation of Ford Lewis Battles (1960).
NT3: Quotes from the Institutes should follow "Book X, Chap. Y, Sect Z". Never use page numbers.
PGS: 860 pp.
ISBN: none
CHGO: Calvin, John. 1974. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Henry Beveridge. Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors.
---   # record sep
Hope you find this helpful!
Eric Pement
2 Cor. 4:5

kathleenmarie
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:43 pm

Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by kathleenmarie »

You are always most helpful!

My cybersecurity and Linux knowledge is very very uneven. I have not learned about timeshift, or at least don't remember it well. I played around with trying to revert to an older kernel before I gave up on that, and don't remember what I used.

I was up until 2 in the morning trying to get Java working in portable Libreoffice so the Zotero plug-in would work. I succeeded. I will continue to play with these portable apps. I did not reinstall Stickies after I really messed things up. I think less is more on a thumbdrive, no matter how much storage space it has. I have Windows back on both machines now, and I am swapping the thumbdrive back and forth.

I have converted to Zotero and deleted all the files from my Mendeley account. I also played a bit with the Juris-M version of Zotero, but I decided to so with straight Zotero.

My eyes are bleary from all the video watching for Zotero and Bible Analyzer. I will continue to play around with Scripture Pad and the other notes and journal features.

I will learn more about that record-jar format.

I wish there was a portable Anki App. I have been interested in how some medical students have been using it as a note taking app, as well as using it for flashcards.

epement
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Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by epement »

kathleenmarie wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:01 pm
I will learn more about that record-jar format.
Try here:
http://openrj.sourceforge.net/samples.html
https://www.computing.ece.vt.edu/~ece25 ... index.html
http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html ... #id2906931
I wish there was a portable Anki App. I have been interested in how some medical students have been using it as a note taking app, as well as using it for flashcards.
When I was in seminary, I used Drill Assistant for creating flashcards for both Greek and Hebrew. It is Windows freeware.
https://www.efkasoft.com/drillassistant/

It has a very obsolete appearance. On the other hand, the flashcard format is HTML, so you can set your own fonts, font-sizes, colors, etc. when you create the flashcards.

After a set of flashcards is defined, the same dataset can be used for fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, or quick-testing drills. The author himself originally wrote it for learning another language, but any mapping of WORD=>MEANING, QUESTION=>ANSWER, etc. is possible with the program. it's very antique-looking in Windows, so it may not be your cup of tea.

In about 5 minutes, I found Granule at http://granule.sourceforge.net/, which is open source, cross-platform, and newer. It also has the capacity to add images and audio files into the front/back of the flash card. You might want to try that for language-learning.
Eric Pement
2 Cor. 4:5

kathleenmarie
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:43 pm

Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by kathleenmarie »

epement wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:18 pm

Try here:
http://openrj.sourceforge.net/samples.html
https://www.computing.ece.vt.edu/~ece25 ... index.html
http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html ... #id2906931

In about 5 minutes, I found Granule at http://granule.sourceforge.net/, which is open source, cross-platform, and newer. It also has the capacity to add images and audio files into the front/back of the flash card. You might want to try that for language-learning.
Thanks! I will study the jar links.

Is that flashcard software portable?

This seems to be the easiest way that I know to get some bibliography info for the BA modules.

Sometimes the original title of the hardcopy book is very different than the title being used in modern software. E-sword might be the best place to search for the original title.
http://www.biblesupport.com/e-sword-downloads/
Google Books provides ris file that can be imported into Zotero
https://books.google.com/
HathiTrust also provides ris files
https://www.hathitrust.org/
WorldCat provides ris files for newer books
https://www.worldcat.org/
Amazon.com can be used for information to add manually

Here are examples of Bible Software citation styles
https://libguides.grace.edu/c.php?g=499070&p=6001316

I am all ears to something more efficient.

kathleenmarie
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:43 pm

Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by kathleenmarie »

Obviously the ris imports as a book, not software. In Chicago/Turbian style, the encyclopedia article format seems closer to Bible software than the software format. The name of the software comes too early and is in italic not regular text, and the tile of the book is in quotes instead of italic. But the rest seems correct.

Gray, James M. “Christian Workers’ Commentary.” In Bible Analyzer. New York, Chicago [etc.]: Fleming H. Revell company, 1915.

Gray, James M. Christian Workers’ Commentary. New York, Chicago [etc.]: Fleming H. Revell company, 1915. Bible Analyzer.

kathleenmarie
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:43 pm

Re: Using BA for academic and seminary work

Post by kathleenmarie »

I think I successfully followed some instructions that make Anki portable. It looks like an app is more difficult than instructions, because computers rename USB drives. As long as I use the app only on computers that call the drive the same thing, this should work. And I think online storage is free as a back up.

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