Word Finder 1.0b6 Kiran S. Kedlaya April 22, 2003 WARNING: This software is still under development. Please read the disclaimer below before using. Word Finder is a tool for your Palm or compatible PDA to help solve crosswords and other word puzzles. It can search a word list for words fitting one of several criteria. To install Word Finder, install the files "WordFind.prc" and at least one dictionary file on your PDA. Then select the icon "Word Finder" from your Launcher screen to bring up the word finder. Before proceeding further, you will need to select a dictionary to search; click the indicator at the top right to select a dictionary. To use Word Finder, select the desired search type from the pop-up menu at the top left, enter the search pattern in the field at the top right, set the desired length of the matching word (if relevant), then press "Search". Press "Clear" to reset the search field. A search in progress can be interrupted by hitting "Stop"; the search will also be interrupted automatically if the output buffer fills up (50 lines). If a search has been interrupted, hitting "Find" without altering the parameters will resume the search where it left off. The length selector brings up a dialog box in which any combination of search lengths can be chosen. If a single length is selected, that length will be displayed; if all lengths from x to y are selected, then "x-y" will be displayed; if some lengths from x to y, but not all, are displayed, then "x..y" will be displayed; and if all lengths are selected then "All" will be displayed. Several dictionary files from Word Finder can be downloaded from the Word Finder home page: http://www.math.berkeley.edu/~kedlaya/word-finder/ Also available there is a Perl script that converts an arbitrary (sorted) word list into a Word Finder dictionary. The speed of searching depends on the size of your dictionary, the type of search chosen, and the speed of the processor in your PDA. In my experience, a search on a list of about 300,000 words takes 10-15 seconds if the length of the target word is limited, slightly longer if the length is not specified. Your mileage may vary. Word Finder is distributed free of charge, but without warranty (see disclaimer). I would welcome reports of bugs, suggestions for potential new features, or stories of how you have found the program useful. Email these to kray@post.com. ---------- The possible search types are as follows. (When allowed, a wildcard is represented by a period.) ANAGRAM: Find words whose letters can be rearranged to give the search pattern. Length ignored. BANK: Find words which have the same letters as the search pattern, but repeated any number of times. CHANGE: Find words which can be obtained from the search pattern by changing one letter. Wildcards OK; length is ignored. CONSONANT: Find words with the same consonants in the same order as the search pattern, disregarding vowels (including "y"). Wildcards OK. CRYPT: Find words with the same letter pattern as the search pattern, as in a cryptogram. (Currently, a letter is allowed to stand for itself.) Wildcards OK; length is ignored. GREP: Find words matching the regular expression specified by the search pattern. (Note: only a subset of the regular expression syntax is currently supported. Acceptable tokens include ^ for the start of a line, $ for the end of a line, and . for a wildcard.) MATCH: Find words which match the search pattern exactly. Wildcards OK; length ignored. TRANSADD: Find words which contain each letter in the search pattern at least as many times as it appears. TRANSDEL: Find words which contain only the letters of the search pattern, each at most as many times as it appears. --------- DISCLAIMER: I have tested this software using an emulator with a variety of ROMs, and on my own PDA (a Handspring Visor), but I can't guarantee it will run properly on all devices. In particular, make sure you know how to perform a soft reset on your device in case of a program failure (on mine, the reset switch can be triggered using an unbent paper clip), and always back up your data frequently. I would appreciate reports of success/failure using Word Finder on various devices, comments on how you are using the software, or suggestions for additional features; send email to kray@post.com. LEGALESE: Word Finder (the "software") is copyright 2001-2003 by Kiran S. Kedlaya (the "author"), and is distributed with no warranty, express or implied, as to its operation. By using the software, you agree to indemnify the author from any damage caused by use of the software, including, but not limited to, loss of data.