GerDict.exe - DescriptionGeneral GerDict is a small, uncomplicated, Freeware, German <> English dictionary. It has few features and the vocabulary database is very small. In fact, at this date (10/22/08) only the German-to-English file is presentable and it has fewer than 15,000 entries. It's main advantage is its small screen footprint occupying only the top 25% of the display. Thus, the user can load the document to be translated into the lower 75% of the screen and not need to swap screens on every word lookup. The program is completely self-contained and requires no web connection for word searches. It's written entirely in assembly language using the Netwide Assembler, NASM v. 0.98.39 and the Pelles Linker v.4.50.0. GerDict.exe requires Windows 98/2000. It *might* run on Win 95.
Setup GDict.exe is a self-extracting .ZIP file with five (5) files : GerDict.exe - The executable program GerEng.dat - The German-to-English database Strongs.dat - The German Strong Verbs database GerDict.txt - This file. GerDict.fix - A brief list of most of the major fixes which I've made along the way.
The only requirement is that all the files are in the same directory. Copy GDict.exe to any directory and type gdict.exe [ENTER]. This will extract the five files. Then type gerdict.exe [ENTER]. Features Translate Dialog Box - This is the dialog box used in word searches. AddWord Dialog Box - New words can be added using this box and the words are immediately accessible via the Translate Dialog Box. The database is updated on-the-fly. Strong Verbs - This is a list of German strong verbs and the principal conjugation elements. Any modification to this database can be done with a text editor. (See the next note.) ASCII Databases - The databases are in plain ASCII format with carriage return/line feed delimiters (CRLF Delimited) so they can be edited using almost any text editor. German Keyboard - Each dialog box has a checkbox to invoke a German keyboard layout. When the box is unchecked the keyboard reverts to the standard Roman keboard layout (or whatever is default for your machine). The main advantage to the German keyboard layout is the single-key umlauts. Keyboard Screens - The main menu has a selection showing the changes in the German keyboard when the Shift and Control keys are depressed. Umlaut Keys - The first 3 function keys have been taken for umlaut use. F1 =ü, F2 =ä, F3 =ö Strong Verbs - Function key F4 displays the German strong verbs. "Grabbable" Window - The main display window can be "grabbed" with the mouse cursor and pulled down or laterally to resize the screen. This is handy if you want to look at all the words starting with "ver" for example.
Problems Although GerDict has no known bugs there are some annoyances and inconveniences. No "Exact" Key - Entering "haus" will display every German word in the database starting with "haus". No "Delete" Key - New words can be entered but existing words can't be edited or removed without quitting GerDict and opening the database in a text editor. Large Data Files - The data files are large in size but don't contain very many entries. This is because my files were originally used as simple text files to be scrolled in a text editor and it was easier to keep the files the way they were. When I started this project I intended to use it only as a rude personal desktop utility. All Lower Case - All source words are lower case. This was easier to program than trapping every first letter for upper or lower case. (See previous note).
TAB Key If the number of Translate hits is small enough to fit into the main window without requiring a scroll bar the focus stays with the Translate box. TAB will toggle between Translate and AddWord. This seems to me to be the most useful system. But it means that to access the main menu you'll need to use the mouse. If the number of Translate hits exceeds the main window size, a scrollbar appears on the main window and focus goes to it. The arrow keys (or mouse) can scroll the main window. Hitting TAB returns the focus to the Translate window where it will then toggle with the AddWord window as described above. If the AddWord window is closed (or never opened) TAB toggles between Translate and Main. ;mcamember December 29, 2007