Xref: utzoo comp.misc:11066 alt.folklore.computers:8457 comp.unix.internals:1738 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool2.mu.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!sahayman@porbeagle.cs.indiana.edu From: sahayman@porbeagle.cs.indiana.edu (Steve Hayman) Newsgroups: comp.misc,alt.folklore.computers,comp.unix.internals Subject: Re: The jargon file version 2.3.1 03 JAN 1991 follows in 11 parts Message-ID: <1991Jan4.153524.12347@news.cs.indiana.edu> Date: 4 Jan 91 20:35:08 GMT References: <1Z0vPy#7v2vSb3fWc1k00rXR581Ktml=eric@snark.thyrsus.com> <1991Jan4.194312.14418@erg.sri.com> Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington Lines: 31 >|>Has anyone tried to put this under the webster server? > > 1. Hack the hell out of the webster server to understand the jargon > file format. > 2. Hack the hell out of the jargon file to impose the Webster format > on it. One other possibility is to provide hooks in the webster server to call arbitrary external programs to do 'extra' word lookups. This probably wouldn't be too hard to add, and would be flexible enough to handle other external dictionary files that might come along. i.e. for the jargon file, you write a little "jargon-lookup" filter that knows the format of the jargon file. Then "webster foo" looks up "foo" in the usual way, and also runs "jargon-lookup foo" to consult the jargon file. Of course it's a bit inefficient running an extra process every time you look up every word. Mumble. Maybe the webster daemon only runs "jargon-lookup foo" if you ask it to define the word "jargon: foo". Anyway, I think it would be possible to structure things so that various other databases could be consulted, all within the regular webster framework. Steve "NeXT webster daemon guy" Hayman -- Steve Hayman Workstation Manager Computer Science Department Indiana U. sahayman@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (812) 855-6984 NeXT Mail: sahayman@spurge.bloomington.in.us