New release of cjklib with dictionary support

We would like to announce the new 0.3 release of cjklib, a Python-based programming library providing higher-level support of Chinese characters, also called Han characters.

After adding lots of new features and fixing some bugs we believe that what is now version 0.3 is fit for public consumption. To name a few additions and changes:

• easy and powerful dictionary access to EDICT and CEDICT style dictionaries,
• support for MS Windows including exe installer,
• new documentation under cjklib.org [1],
• a new wiki for contributing language data,
• pronunciation data for Shanghainese, and finally
• broad coverage of stroke order data and corrections to component data.

See [2] for an extensive list of changes.

Several people contributed to the newest release:

• Uriah Eisenstein
• Hugo Lopez
• Hans-Jörg Happel
• Kellen Parker
• Allan Simon
• Christoph Burgmer

New dictionary support

An important resource for CJK languages is provided by bilingual dictionaries. With the newest release cjklib can now also offer easy access to EDICT, CEDICT and other compatible dictionaries. Exact searches in translations and wildcard searches in all columns provide a flexible and powerful way to query those sources. Mixing of characters and readings in a single request are also supported.

CharacterDB

A new project called CharacterDB [3] was started to gather data on characters for cjklib. It is based on MediaWiki, known from Wikipedia, and will offer easy access to the data employed in cjklib. While still in beta stage we plan to manage all glyph information through the wiki by the next release.

About cjklib

Cjklib tries to fill a current void in supporting Chinese characters by focusing on visual appearance and reading-based data. While many lexical sources already exists, there is no layer which provides the data in an accessible and consistent way, burdening the developer with reinventing many basic functions. This project wants to channel different efforts in order to provide the developer with a consistent view, independent of the chosen language. This library directly targets developers and experienced users, its overall goal being to improve the coverage of applications for the end user.

Cjklib is open source, released under the GNU LGPL. You are free to use this software and invited to take part in its further development.

If you wish to know more about cjklib then its website [1] is a good starting point. To have a quick overview on some of the functions offered you might want to look at [4].

Packages are readily available. See [5] on how to install.

The cjklib developers
cjklib-devel@googlegroups.com

[1] http://cjklib.org/
[2] http://cjklib.googlecode.com/svn/tags/release-0.3/changelog
[3] http://characterdb.cjklib.org/
[4] http://code.google.com/p/cjklib/wiki/Screenshots
[5] http://code.google.com/p/cjklib/wiki/QuickStart