Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Spell checker wanted
From: srlngmw@windy.dsir.govt.nz
Date: 13 Apr 92 09:29:32 +1200
Organization: DSIR, Wellington, New Zealand

I would like some help in choosing a spelling checker for use with
TPU. The DECUS software catalog of 1991-1992 contains the following
entries for spelling checkers (the item numbers are my own):
-------
  1. "ISPELL" in [.GNUSOFTWARE] directory of DECUS package VS0125,
  December 1990.
  
  2. "Update to Vassar SPELL program" in [.NIELAND] directory of
  DECUS package VS0124, December 1990.
  
  3. "A spelling checker" in [.SPELL] directory of DECUS package
  VS0108, October 1990.
  
  4. "Extended EVE editor with spelling checker" in [.XEVE]
  directory of DECUS package VS0105, November 1989.
  
  5. "Spelling checker addition to TPU" in [.JAIN] directory of
  DECUS package VS0095, May 1989.
  
  6. "Extended EVE editor spell checker" in [.XEVE5] directory of
  DECUS package VS0092, June 1989.
  
  7. "Spelling checker" in [.ISPELL] directory of DECUS package
  VS0077, May 1987.
  
  8. "Interactive spelling checker for VMS. Extremely fast and
  powerful" in [.ISPELL] directory of DECUS package VS0076, May
  1988.
  
  9. "Spell checker in TPU; check words in the editing buffer
  interactively" in [.TPUSPELL] directory of DECUS package VS0076,
  May 1988.
  
  10. "Fast spelling checker" in [.NDS] directory of DECUS package
  VS0070, February 1988.
  
  11. "XEVE Spelling Checker...includes 3 dictionaries which are
  used to test the spelling of words...A separate (standalone)
  spelling checker patterned after the LBL software tools SPELL
  utility is also available. The common dictionary currently
  contains 91,000 plus words...the maximum word size is currently
  31 bytes." DECUS Library program V00453, v2.2, November 1989.
  
  12. "TPUPlus...also built into the editor is a spelling checker"
  DECUS Library program V00387, May 1990.
  
  13. "EDX Editor...Built in spelling checker with 70,000 word
  dictionary. Spell check a buffer, range, word...includes guessing
  algorithms and personal supplementary dictionary support." DECUS
  Library program V00385, v7.4, September 1990.
  
  14. "Extended_EVEPlus...contains...a spelling checker from the
  Symposium Collection from the VAX SIG, Fall 1986 tape" DECUS
  Library program V00272, July 1987.
  
  15. SPELL: Interactive Dictionary...used to find the spelling of
  a word from limited initial characters or to check a document for
  spelling errors...the dictionary can be in any language within a
  word limit of 15 ASCII characters to a maximum of 70,000 words."
  DECUS Library program V00212, v2, June 1987.
-------
I would apreciate some assistance in discriminating among these (and
any other?) choices and in selecting one that can be called from or
compiled as part of my TPU editor. "DECUS spell" has been referred to
quite often by people in the comp.os.vms newsgroup. Which one of the
above is that program? Am I correct in thinking that ISPELL is a VMS
port of a standalone Unix program? 

Here is some more information that may help anyone responding to this:

- I am working on a Vax 3500 running VAX/VMS V5.3-1. The TPU editor
that I use is based on the EVESECINI.TPU source that was distributed
with V4.x of VAX/VMS ("Eve Version V1.1-024"). That section file has
been substantially modified and augmented, with features that from
their description are similar to those in the many "Extended EVE"
editors described in the DECUS Library catalog. Apart from being
recompiled to run with V5.x of VAX/VMS, I don't think it uses any new
TPU example code supplied by DEC. I am not the author of the
modifications and my TPU programming experience has so far been
limited to making a few small changes to some of the procedures and
recompiling the section file.

- The functionality that I would like is the ability to spellcheck a
complete buffer and have the editor stop at each spelling error to
allow its correction. I do not need or want single-word or page
spellchecking, nor do I want a thesaurus or lexicon function. A
standalone spelling checker would be acceptable if that is the only
alternative.

- There is a lot of jargon used in my field. I need the ability to
have one or more personal dictionaries.

- I do not want to change to one of the DECUS "Extended EVE" editors
as I and a lot of other users are very happy with what we have now.

- I know of the EVE$EXTRAS.TPU file and where it is to be found on our
system (I am an ordinary user, with no system privileges). I think
that I could modify the example routine that calls DEC's own spell
checker (which we don't have). The adjective "callable" does not mean
a great deal to me.

- Any code should be free (or nearly free). 

- In the case of ISPELL (if my guess as to its origins is correct), I
don't have much knowledge of Unix and have not seen or used the
program in that environment. We do not have the DEC C compiler (only
Fortran and Pascal).

All replies will be gratefully received. Thanks for your time.
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  Roger Williams                    System:   Vax 3500 - VAX/VMS v5.3
  DSIR Geology and Geophysics       Internet: srlnrow@lhn.geo.dsir.govt.nz
  P.O. Box 30-368, Lower Hutt       Tel:      +64 4 569 9059
  New Zealand                       Fax:      +64 4 566 6168
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