FreeDict HOWTO

This document describes how to build, install and improve FreeDict project dictionaries. It is aimed at developers rather than end users and was written from the point of view of a GNU/Linux based platform. Generally the information should be portable across any unix-alike operating system. The approach is reasonably comprehensive. Information is given on installation issues, XML basics, editor selection/setup, developer tools etc.

This documentation is meant to be queried in order. In particular, chapters that the reader is familiar with, can be skipped.

Please see the Copyright for licencing information.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Part I. Basic Requirements

  This part describes the basic requirements for inclusion in the FreeDict Project. Before we can accept a dictionary, we ask that it meets a common set of specifications. This section gives an overview of those requirements. Essentially, a dictionary must meet clear copyright and licensing guidelines and must be presented in a particular XML format.

  • 1. Licensing And Copyright
  • 2. XML Markup
  • 3. Unicode

• Part II. Constructing a translating dictionary

  • 4. Writing a FreeDict Dictionary
  • 5. Writing Text Encoding Initiative XML Files

• Part III. FreeDict Build System and Submitting New Dictionaries

  As soon as you have got a dictionary database fulfilling the requirements for inclusion into FreeDict, you can read now about the steps and background to get your dictionary into FreeDict.

  • 6. FreeDict Build System
  • 7. Project Structure, VCS, Bugs And More

• Part IV. Developer's toolkit

  This part discusses building, editing and maintaining translating dictionaries. The scripts and stylesheets mentioned in the following chapters can be found in the tools Git repository of the FreeDict project.

  • 8. Editing TEI XML
  • 9. Validating TEI Dictionaries
  • 10. Stylesheets