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# [brundage@laurel.ipac.caltech.edu: Re: dictionary server?]

- Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 11:05:34 -0600
- From:

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    Return-Path: nop@ccs.neu.edu
    Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 12:56:38 PST
    From: Michael Brundage <brundage@laurel.ipac.caltech.edu>
    To: Kimberly Bobrow <kbobrow@parc.xerox.com>
    cc: MOO-COWS <moo-cows@parc.xerox.com>,
            Jacqueline Hamilton <kira@metronet.com>
    Subject: Re: dictionary server?
    In-Reply-To: <199703111950.OAA20052@soho.ios.com>
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    On Tue, 11 Mar 1997, Kimberly Bobrow wrote:
    > >We've got scrabble on our MOO and had a "lookup" verb that would query the
    > >dictionary server at citi.umich.edu 2627.  However that server seems to
    > >have up and died, and I'm having a hard time finding any others.  Anyone
    > >know of a non-web-based dictionary server I can point to?
    >
    > I have the same habit, and the same problem, and also haven't been
    > able to find anything...the old one got 'upgraded' to a web version -
    > bleah!

    I wrote something a year or so ago to stip the html off of one particular
    webbed dictionary I found, and posted it to moo-cows then.  It's not robust
    against changes to the format of the pages served by the dictionary
    (which may not even be up and running anymore) and assumes onc() returns
    an error instead of raising one.  But, it worked for me at the time, and
    was just a quick hack anyway.   Feel free to modify/use/distribute it at will:

    @webster  any none none

    "Usage: @webster <word>";
    "Looks up the definition, etc. of the word using an online dictionary.";
    "Does anyone know an online dictionary without all the HTML garbage?";
    "Author: Michael Brundage";
    if (args && (word = args[1]))
      if (typeof(e = open_network_connection("c.gp.cs.cmu.edu", 5103)) == ERR)
        e = {"network error", "outbound connections disabled", "connection refused", "resource limit exceeded"}[(e in {E_PERM, E_INVARG, E_QUOTA}) + 1];
        player:tell(tostr("Unable to lookup a definition for ", word, " (", e, ").") );
      else
        add = 0;
        notify(e, "GET /prog/webster?" + args[1]);
        while (typeof(line = read(e)) == STR)
          if (index(line, "Webster Definition"))
            add = 1;
          elseif (index(line, "Additional Lookup"))
            add = 0;
          endif
          if (add)
            "Taken from $web.utils:puree(line) on moo://math.washington.edu:7776/";
            if (line in {"<P>", "<p>", "<br>", "<BR>"})
              player:tell("");
            elseif (line in {"<HR>", "<hr>"})
              player:tell($string_utils:space(79, "-"));
            endif
            while (m = match(line, "%(.*%)<%([^<>]*%)>%(.*%)"))
              line = substitute("%1%3", m);
            endwhile
            player:tell(line);
          endif
        endwhile
        boot_player(e);
      endif
    else
      player:tell("Usage: @webster <word>");
    endif

    Cheers,

    michael
    brundage@ipac.caltech.edu
    ------- End of forwarded message -------

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