Easy dictionary maintenance

Introduction

This space will report developments in the project. It is also a space to post comments and suggestions.

Original Ideias

http://wiki.apertium.org/wiki/Ideas_for_Google_Summer_of_Code

http://wiki.apertium.org/wiki/Ideas_for_Google_Summer_of_Code/Easy_dictionary_maintenance

Original GSOC2010 Application

http://wiki.apertium.org/wiki/User:Alessiojr/Easy_dictionary_-_Application-GSOC2010

Studant Information

Student: Alessio Miranda Junior

E-mail: alessio@inf.ufpr.br or alessio@alessiojr.com

Msn: msn@juninho.com.br

IRC: AlessioJr

GTalk: alessiojunin@gmail.com

Description

Abstract:

The idea is to develop a GUI tool to manage Apertium Monolingual and Bilingual XML files with the follow objectives

• Create a alternative form to edit dix files with GUI resources.
• Develop, initially, monolingual dictionaries but keeping the particular format of each file.
• Minimize the direct manipulation of XML files, providing features that reduce this need.
• Making use of DixTools to keep code reuse.

Why?

The number of language pairs in development for Apertium is increasing, and so is the complexity of these pairs. This increased complexity has made the job getting more complicated, thus the need for tools for the task is evident. The proposed want to make this management easier and probably will increase the probability of development for new language pairs. With better tools, more people will be able to develop language pairs.

How can use?

I believe that all Apertium society will have direct or indirect benefit. Directly, the developers of language-pairs will have their task facilitated. With a good tool to help with the work, to create or maintain a language will become easier, and probably it will take less time to get better results. Indirectly, the users will have benefits with this better and robust result.

What its the plan?

• We're planing to create a GUI interface with features that facilitate common tasks of a user who wishes to manipulate a existing language pair or dictionary. These tasks will also be of great value to users, who have an intuitive tool to start new language pairs.

• DixTools, tool developed for the apertium, currently already solves half the problem, especially the fact that a load XML into memory and do the reverse, it returns the XML in a suitable format.

• We believe that the main challenge of this task is to find a way to expand DixTools by adapting the existing classes as a persistence layer connected to a framework for GUI applications, supporting an integration of elements, providing tools to search, filter, integration and change.

• The application is developed for monolingual dictionaries manipulation, but its architecture will have to provide support for future extensions (Web and Collaborative) and bilingual dictionary.

Development Report

What we are using?

Development Paradigm:

Model-View-Controller concept. The solid line represents a direct association, the dashed an indirect association via an observer (for example).

Model–View–Controller (MVC)

is a software architecture, currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates "domain logic" (the application logic for the user) from input and presentation (GUI), permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each.

The model layer is used to manage information and notify observers when that information changes. The model is the domain-specific representation of the data upon which the application operates. Domain logic adds meaning to raw data (for example, calculating whether today is the user's birthday, or the totals, taxes, and shipping charges for shopping cart items). When a model changes its state, it notifies its associated views so they can be refreshed. Many applications use a persistent storage mechanism such as a database to store data, a model which knows how to persist itself.

The view layer renders the model into a form suitable for interaction, typically a user interface element. Multiple views can exist for a single model for different purposes. A viewport typically has a one to one correspondence with a display surface and knows how to render to it.

The controller layer receives input and initiates a response by making calls on model objects. A controller accepts input from the user and instructs the model and viewport to perform actions based on that input.

An MVC application may be a collection of model/view/controller triplets, each responsible for a different UI element.

Framworks: Dixtools, JPA, Netbeans Platform

Why NetBeans Platform?

About NetBeans Platform

The NetBeans Platform is a generic framework for commercial and open source desktop Swing applications. It provides the “plumbing” that you would otherwise need to write yourself, such as the code for managing windows, connecting actions to menu items, and updating applications at runtime. The NetBeans Platform provides all of these out of the box on top of a reliable, flexible, and well-tested modular architecture. In this refcard, you are introduced to the key concerns of the NetBeans Platform, so that you can save years of work when developing robust and extensible applications.

Netbeans Platform Reference

The key benefit of the NetBeans Platform is its modular architecture. Secondary benefits are the NetBeans Platform's reliance on the Swing UI toolkit, which is the official toolkit for creating user interfaces in Java, in combination with the NetBeans IDE's award winning "Matisse" GUI Builder.

• OpenSource
• OpenSource
• Designed with the idea that Software should be re-usable.
• Generic Desktop framework
• NetBeans platform provides the basic underpinning
• NetBeans platform is a set of frameworks built into a single integrated software
  • Collection of libraries
  • Swing Extensions
  • NetBeans platform toolkit
• Modules, modules and some more modules.
• Modular architecture gives extensibility and helps to maintain the compatibility

Timeline/Stages/Milestones?

Week	Stage	Description
1, 2	Analysis of technology in handling memory	To investigate and select an effective way to view and manipulate the XML files of Apertium in memory using Java. Analysis of the best technologie that complement the functionality of DixTools during manipulation of XML. Maybe a database integration, trying to use VTD-XML or extend dixTools Classes. Testing and choosing the best alternative.
2, 3	Development of first prototype	Development of an interface that tries to use a core of features like Load, Save, list , search and Filter elements.
Prototype	Milestone 1	First version for community analysis. Provides the basic architecture, the interface model, and basic handling.
5, 6	Simple Structures	Implementation of Symbols, Alphabet and statistic features. Need Drawings experiments to create interface to users.
7	Paradigms	First implementation of features with paradigms. Need Drawings experiments to create interface to users.
8	Lemmas	First implementation of features with lemmas. Need Drawings experiments to create interface to users.
Prototype	Milestone 2	Version for testing with huge dictionaries and complete edition test with basic features.
9	Paradigms	With feedback of the community, adjusting the interface and implementation, and probably adding new features.
10	Lemmas	With feedback of the community, adjusting the interface and implementation, and probably adding new features.
11	Pré-Release	Security time to improve integration functionalities
Prototype	Release Candidate
12	Makeup	Fix remain bugs, final adjustments and documentation in Wiki
	Final Release