From: "Peter Clark" <peter-clark@...>
> As I made mention several months ago, I have been looking for a
dictionary
> program so that I need only enter data once and get a full bi-directional
> dictionary spat out, rather than having to duplicate the same information
as
> I would have to if I went the pen-and-paper (or plain text file) approach.
So
> far, the only such program that seems advanced enough is SIL's Shoebox,
which
> costs $45, is closed-source, and runs only in Windows and Mac (and not
> Linux). The other option is Boudewijn Rempt's kura program, which is still
a
> work in progress and which I also have been unable to run. It also has
> different goals that what I have in mind; kura seems to be striving to be
a
> ethnographic database, which is very cool, but all I want at this point is
a
> dictionary that can be displayed in HTML or LaTeX (possibly RTF, if
someone
> knows that format).
> I did some more research, and found that SIL uses MDF
(Multi-Dictionary
> Formatter)[1] to take formatted data and convert it into a dictionary.
What's
> nice, however, it that the manual lists all the tags and usages, so it
would
> be a relatively easy matter to replicate its functionality.
As many here are aware, I am a great fan of SIL's Shoebox. It has become my
repository for the lexicons and morphosyntactic rules for both of my
conlangs (amman iar and nathya) as well as Quenya. I use it primarily to
generate interlinear translations, but have also generated bi-directional
dictionaries in MDF format. MDF supports the generation of very
sophisticated and professionally presented dictionaries leaving little to be
desired.
I started using Shoebox when it was still freeware, but have since upgraded
to the commercial version. It is well worth the $45 for me. Not everyone
will agree, so if you can replicate this functionality, I'm sure you would
find an appreciative audience here.
Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.
Stay curious,
David
David E Bell
The Gray Wizard
www.graywizard.net
AIM: GraWzrd
'Wisdom begins in wonder." - Socrates