Java Dictionary API

Question

Hi, I’m looking for a dictionary API in Java to create the program in the following steps:

• User enters with a string, in this case a word;
• I print on the screen the invocation of a method of this API;
• Which will return a phrase, with the meaning of the word the user typed in question;

Example: I enter with the word "cake", and I will receive on the screen your meaning.

I would like this possible API to support multiple languages.

Answer 1

From what I understand you want an API to make calls in correct dictionaries?

JWNL (uses the database of Java Wordnet Library which is mostly in English, there are versions in other languages)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/jwordnet/

code example:

/** A class to demonstrate the functionality of the JWNL package. */
public class Examples {
    private static final String USAGE = "java Examples <properties file>";

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        if (args.length != 1) {
            System.out.println(USAGE);
            System.exit(-1);
        }

        String propsFile = args[0];
        try {
            // initialize JWNL (this must be done before JWNL can be used)
            JWNL.initialize(new FileInputStream(propsFile));
            new Examples().go();
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
            System.exit(-1);
        }
    }

    private IndexWord ACCOMPLISH;
    private IndexWord DOG;
    private IndexWord CAT;
    private IndexWord FUNNY;
    private IndexWord DROLL;
    private String MORPH_PHRASE = "running-away";

    public Examples() throws JWNLException {
        ACCOMPLISH = Dictionary.getInstance().getIndexWord(POS.VERB, "accomplish");
        DOG = Dictionary.getInstance().getIndexWord(POS.NOUN, "dog");
        CAT = Dictionary.getInstance().lookupIndexWord(POS.NOUN, "cat");
        FUNNY = Dictionary.getInstance().lookupIndexWord(POS.ADJECTIVE, "funny");
        DROLL = Dictionary.getInstance().lookupIndexWord(POS.ADJECTIVE, "droll");
    }

    public void go() throws JWNLException {
        demonstrateMorphologicalAnalysis(MORPH_PHRASE);
        demonstrateListOperation(ACCOMPLISH);
        demonstrateTreeOperation(DOG);
        demonstrateAsymmetricRelationshipOperation(DOG, CAT);
        demonstrateSymmetricRelationshipOperation(FUNNY, DROLL);
    }

    private void demonstrateMorphologicalAnalysis(String phrase) throws JWNLException {
        // "running-away" is kind of a hard case because it involves
        // two words that are joined by a hyphen, and one of the words
        // is not stemmed. So we have to both remove the hyphen and stem
        // "running" before we get to an entry that is in WordNet
        System.out.println("Base form for \"" + phrase + "\": " +
                           Dictionary.getInstance().lookupIndexWord(POS.VERB, phrase));
    }

    private void demonstrateListOperation(IndexWord word) throws JWNLException {
        // Get all of the hypernyms (parents) of the first sense of <var>word</var>
        PointerTargetNodeList hypernyms = PointerUtils.getInstance().getDirectHypernyms(word.getSense(1));
        System.out.println("Direct hypernyms of \"" + word.getLemma() + "\":");
        hypernyms.print();
    }

    private void demonstrateTreeOperation(IndexWord word) throws JWNLException {
        // Get all the hyponyms (children) of the first sense of <var>word</var>
        PointerTargetTree hyponyms = PointerUtils.getInstance().getHyponymTree(word.getSense(1));
        System.out.println("Hyponyms of \"" + word.getLemma() + "\":");
        hyponyms.print();
    }

    private void demonstrateAsymmetricRelationshipOperation(IndexWord start, IndexWord end) throws JWNLException {
        // Try to find a relationship between the first sense of <var>start</var> and the first sense of <var>end</var>
        RelationshipList list = RelationshipFinder.getInstance().findRelationships(start.getSense(1), end.getSense(1), PointerType.HYPERNYM);
        System.out.println("Hypernym relationship between \"" + start.getLemma() + "\" and \"" + end.getLemma() + "\":");
        for (Iterator itr = list.iterator(); itr.hasNext();) {
            ((Relationship) itr.next()).getNodeList().print();
        }
        System.out.println("Common Parent Index: " + ((AsymmetricRelationship) list.get(0)).getCommonParentIndex());
        System.out.println("Depth: " + ((Relationship) list.get(0)).getDepth());
    }

    private void demonstrateSymmetricRelationshipOperation(IndexWord start, IndexWord end) throws JWNLException {
        // find all synonyms that <var>start</var> and <var>end</var> have in common
        RelationshipList list = RelationshipFinder.getInstance().findRelationships(start.getSense(1), end.getSense(1), PointerType.SIMILAR_TO);
        System.out.println("Synonym relationship between \"" + start.getLemma() + "\" and \"" + end.getLemma() + "\":");
        for (Iterator itr = list.iterator(); itr.hasNext();) {
            ((Relationship) itr.next()).getNodeList().print();
        }
        System.out.println("Depth: " + ((Relationship) list.get(0)).getDepth());
    }
}