[Lexicog] email to send to Lexicography list

[Inam Ullah]

Dear Ron, 

I've been using Shoebox/Toolbox since long and my lexical database is still in the Toolbox program. I too had similar problems with MDF while exporting my database. I'm doing  experiments with Lexique Pro but not fully successful. My dictionary project is now closer to the end and I want to get my dictionary print. What I should do? Do you recommend me to the Fieldworks? Can my data file be opened in the Fieldworks program? 

Regards,

  Inam Ullah 

Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing  (CRULP) 
FAST National University, Faisal Town, Lahore Pakistan. 
Cell: +92 0314 7651446

--- On Mon, 10/12/09, Ronald Moe <ron_moe at sil.org> wrote:

From: Ronald Moe <ron_moe at sil.org>
Subject: RE: [Lexicog]  email to send to Lexicography list
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, October 12, 2009, 11:22 AM






 




    
                  







Naomi Keith wrote: 

“Our team has a
question about MDF - is MDF being maintained or is it basically a dead format
now? Other than Toolbox, what programs can manipulate or import MDF files?” 

   

My understanding is that MDF is no longer
being maintained. I know of one person who made some changes a few years ago. The
problem is that the Consistent Changes tables that are used to prepare the
database for printing are very complicated. So trying to change one thing may
require searching lots of code for unexpected consequences. 

   

Another problem with MDF is that the user
is limited to the standard fields. If you want to do anything nonstandard (for
instance if your language family has a tradition of dictionaries that is
different than the MDF format), you must “misuse” one of the
standard fields or otherwise play with the standard fields to get MDF to format
your dictionary the way you want it. 

   

MDF was designed to be used with the Shoebox/Toolbox
program. You can import an MDF database into Lexique Pro and FieldWorks. However
I have never seen a Shoebox or Toolbox database that was clean and consistent. In
my experience it has always required some cleanup and manipulation of the data
to bring it up to the MDF standard. If you neglect to do this, you are very
likely to get errors when trying to print with MDF or import the database into
another program. Consequently newer programs like FieldWorks and WeSay use a
standardized format to ensure that the data is consistent. In fact a number of
programmers are working on a new standard for lexical data called LIFT. WeSay
keeps its data in the LIFT format standard. FieldWorks can export and import
from the LIFT standard, and Lexique Pro can import a LIFT file. 

   

Toolbox users have also developed other
tools to work with MDF files. For instance I know of one tool that helps to
clean up an MDF file, but I’ve never used it. There is a Toolbox users
email discussion list similar to this one. You might want to join it. 

   

Having said all this, MDF is still useful
and many people have successfully used it to organize and print their
dictionaries, including me. However I have switched to FieldWorks, which I
consider a vastly superior program for handling dictionaries. I still use
Toolbox for other kinds of databases, but not for dictionaries. 

   

Ron Moe 

   









From:
lexicographylist@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:lexicograph ylist at yahoogroup s.com] On Behalf Of Naomi Keith

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009
8:49 AM

To:
lexicographylist@ yahoogroups. com

Cc: 'Robert Hunt'

Subject: [Lexicog] email to send
to Lexicography list 



   

   











Hi, 

Our team has a question about MDF - is MDF being maintained or is
it basically a dead format now? Other than Toolbox, what programs can
manipulate or import MDF files? 

Thanks very much, 

Naomi Keith 

  








	
	


 

      

    
    
	
	 
	
	








	


	
	


      
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