Calling for help from code savvy readers

Users of Firefox know about extensions.  I saw one today that got me thinking.

There is an extension for Muslims called Pray Times.  It shows the time remaining to the different points of the day when Muslims are to pray.

Would it not be great to have one of those for the liturgical hours and the Angelus/Regina Caeli?

I bet a code savvy reader could develop one.

Get to work!

o{]:¬)

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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14 Comments

  1. John says:

    I wrote a rather primitive program a while back that runs as a background process –It tolls on the quarter hour, as well as the Angeles at 6:00 and 12:00. Not a firefox extension though.

  2. Dave says:

    Father Z,

    I was contemplating a similar project this past week! Do you envision this just showing the name of the liturgical hour or would you like to include the appropriate prayers and readings as well? If you’d like to include prayers and readings, do you know of any copies of the lectionary in the public domain that could be used? Copyrights can be such a pain…

  3. Ted says:

    An interesting idea, but would not the office hours have to be programmable according to the individual’s needs? If so, that would make it difficult as a Firefox extension, unless the times for these hours are fixed to some standard. Obviously there would be no problem with the Angelus.
    By the way, for those interested and willing to spend the one time ad perpetuam fee, Universalis.com does offer programmes for pocket/mobile/Windows that shows the official divine office for the day in the specific country, including Mass readings. They have a free trial version available. The Windows or other scheduler could be used to remind one that it is time to say the particular office.

  4. Brian says:

    Dave:
    http://www.universalis.com is public domain and has a XML feed available.

  5. Maureen says:

    You could call it CompLine. :)

  6. Dave says:

    Brian, thanks for the tip!
    Maureen, you made me lolz! ^_^

  7. C. says:

    Could you write out the spec here? What times should it ring, precisely? Are there audio files of bells that could be downloaded?

  8. TJB says:

    LOL CompLine! I love it!

  9. Patrick Kinsale says:

    I’ve noticed that some monastery websites have built-in code that announces, for example, “11 minutes until Compline.”

  10. Other Paul says:

    From the Hacker’s Dictionary:

    SMOP: /S�M�O�P/, n.

    [Simple (or Small) Matter of Programming]

    1. A piece of code, not yet written, whose anticipated length is significantly greater than its complexity. Used to refer to a program that could obviously be written, but is not worth the trouble. Also used ironically to imply that a difficult problem can be easily solved because a program can be written to do it; the irony is that it is very clear that writing such a program will be a great deal of work. “It’s easy to enhance a FORTRAN compiler to compile COBOL as well; it’s just a SMOP.”

    2. Often used ironically by the intended victim when a suggestion for a program is made which seems easy to the suggester, but is obviously (to the victim) a lot of work. Compare minor detail.

  11. Other Paul says:

    I think that it might be more appropriate for this to be integrated into a calendar program, such as Outlook or Evolution. On the other hand if you spend all your time in a browser and no time in a mail/calendar/contacts app then perhaps a Firefox extension would be more appropriate. What _I_ would like to do is figure out how to add the General Roman Calendar to the calendar app I use (Evolution), and I have this fantasy of someday adding Latin as a National Language Supported (NLS)language for Linux. Provided my abilities in the Latin language ever rise above the “rank beginner” stage, that would make a good project.

    Are Muslims obligated to pray at very specific times each day, and do these times change with the season? If so then with the exception of praying in a community doesn’t this differ somewhat from the way the Divine Office is prayed in practice? I ask this because if this is the case then I could see how a program such as Pray Time would be useful as it would automatically do something that you would otherwise have to spend time to research, whereas if I pray the Angelus at noon and always at noon then all I need is a watch, really. It would really have to be a dynamite Firefox extension to be useful enough to supplant the wearing of a watch.

  12. FX says:

    It is not a Firefox extension, but something like what you mention :
    Liturgia Horarum in Latin with a “Slavishly accurate liturgical translations” ;) in French. If you register, you can receive on your email “in tempore opportuno” each day office, that is to say one or two hours before the canonical time to recite the Vespers or Compline, for example. It is actually a kind of an electronic “Diurnale romanum”, with a “push email” function. There is also a French Martyrologium and for some days extracts of dom Gueranger’s master piece “The Liturgical Year” (L’année liturgique).

    Enjoy ! http://www.scholasaintmaur.net/index.php?option=com_liturgiahorarum

    Volunteers are welcomed to make a English translation of this work !

  13. Animadversor says:

    @ Other Paul

    No one’s “abilities in the Latin language ever rise above the ‘rank beginner’ stage.” You have to push them up to where you want them to be

  14. You can join the Yahoo Group, and a reminder to say the Angelus/Regina Coeli is sent out three times a day–at 6am, Noon, and 6pm.

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Angelus_Regina_Coeli/

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