[Resolved] Dictionary for word game - where can I find it?

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

I’m thinking of creating a scrabble type game, and I’m wondering where I might find a dictionary that I may bundle with the game? I need to spell-check words (any valid English words) created by users.

Or… does dictionary for spell checking come with iOS and Android devices? And if so, could it be that all I need to do is to use some sort of spell checker system call??

Is there a sample code for using system dictionary? If not, is there some sort of tutorial for bundling a dictionary & spell-checking?

I googled but couldn’t find what I’m looking for.

I’d so appreciate any help and pointers.

Naomi

Edit: I just came across this site (but I’m still seeking answers to the question posted above):

http://www.kongregate.com/forums/4-game-programming/topics/257414-word-game-dictionary
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#2

Maybe you can use one of these:

http://scrabblehelper.googlecode.com/svn-history/r20/trunk/ScrabbleHelper/src/dictionaries/sowpods.txt

tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/systems/win32/winedt/dict/uk.zip

free.pages.at/rnbmusiccom/fulldictionary00.zip

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#3

Hey Naomi,

The Boggle clone sample I have on Techority might be useful here; it has a wordlist in it (one of the scrabble tournament ones) and has a check function to make sure a word is in the list that you could easily copy.

Peach :slight_smile: [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 103905[/import]

#4

@Dr.Mabuse, thank you for the links! Do you have a feel for which word list might serve as a better dictionary over the other?

And… I take it there’s no system dictionary that we could use?

Thanks again!

Naomi

Edit: By the way, googling “word list” seems to bring up more helpful links. Thank you, @Dr.Mabuse! [import]uid: 67217 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 103908[/import]

#5

Thank you, Peach! I’ll search for your Boggle clone sample on Techority.

Naomi [import]uid: 67217 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 103910[/import]

#6

The technique Peach uses to determine whether a word is valid or not is brilliant. Someone with a computer science background or something would probably start thinking about doing a binary search, or similar, but that’s smacking a gnat with a sledgehammer.

Really *see* what she’s doing and suddenly your mind starts whirling with ways that technique could be useful for all kinds of things.

Jay
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#7

Can’t wait to start learning from it. I’m currently collecting resources for my next project as I finish up the current one.

Thanks!
Naomi [import]uid: 67217 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 103920[/import]

#8

@Naomi - no worries, please let me know how you get on. (It uses Tweet and Get It - are you on Twitter? If not let me know and will email you a direct link. If you are, what’s your handle? I don’t know if I’m following you yet or not.)

@Jay - appreciate the praise, thank you :slight_smile: [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 103973[/import]

#9

Thank you, Peach. I downloaded the file. Will let you know how it goes.

Cheers,
Naomi [import]uid: 67217 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 104021[/import]

#10

Other word dictionary options include:

The General Service List (GSL) – 2000+ of the most frequent english word families. That means it’s not bloated with plurals and different verb forms. You get “boat” but not “boats”, “boating”, or “boated”. Depending on your use case, this can be valuable. Definitely not a Scrabble-type dictionary.

The Academic Word List (AWL) is a list of 570 words with high frequency in “academic” texts and there’s no overlap with the GSL. The GSL + AWL gets you something like 3000 words.

You can Google these terms and get the lists. I mention them not because they’re ideal for a general-purpose word game dictionary, but because sometimes they’re what you want (e.g., because they’re the most frequently used words, they make a good “easy” dictionary relative to a more Scrabble-complete dictionary). [import]uid: 44647 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 104027[/import]

#11

Hey, @toby2, thank you for the info. Very good to know.

Thanks again.

Naomi [import]uid: 67217 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 104038[/import]

#12

Peach,

I have been to your web site, great tutorials. Nice site. I do not have twitter or facebook as of yet, and I do not see an email for you. How can I get a download of that Boggle tutorial? And, do you have a link I can go to and pull that word list you got for scrabble? my email ripps7@hotmail.com

Thanks!!! [import]uid: 35148 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 104046[/import]

#13

I just sent you a link; FYI my email is on the Contact Me page, the Hire Me page and of course I can also be found at peach[at]anscamobile.com.

Peach :slight_smile: [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 25699 reply_id: 104156[/import]