
Hello Alan,


Please find the latest versions of AsciiSort and CreateXLex.  The former
hasn't changed (I think) since I last sent it, but it's here just to make
sure.  CreateXLex has been changed so that in the case of a stack overflow
it won't crash.  It won't work either, but that's another thing.  =)

If you're going to release the programs so that others can create lexicons,
here's the How To Use.

Any word list (or plain text for that matter) should be processed by
AsciiSort first.  Entering 'AsciiSort <filename>' on a command line will do
the trick, provided AsciiSort is in the Run$Path or CSD.  The first two
variable assignments set (not surprisingly) the minimum and maximum word
length.  Since your !XWords board has a maximum size of 15, that's the
preset.
During processing dots are printed for every 16 kByte read and write. 
Sorting may take some time for large lists; something like up to fifteen
seconds for a major (200000+ words) list.

The resulting word list can be converted to a lexicon with CreateXLex. 
Again, it's supposed to be entered on a command line as 'CreateXLex
<filename>'.  The result will be saved under the same name with '/xlex' as a
suffix.  Non-RO4 users should be careful with original file names of 10
characters in length, as this will erase the original text file.

Now, if a stack overflow occurs (it shouldn't if the word list has been
processed by AsciiSort, but you never know), the way to overcome this is as
follows.
The first two variable assignments in CreateXLex set the number of different
characters possible (this is 26, but I've set it to 32) and the maximum word
length (this is 15, but I've set it to 16).
Jacking the values up will do the trick.  The first one is the most
effective, but if someone - for whatever reason - has changed the maximum
length in AsciiSort, the corresponding value in CreateXLex must be changed
as well.  One higher just to be on the safe side.  Any lexicon which has to
have MaxDiffChars% higher than 32 will most likely not conform to your
!XWords, but I hate crashes.  If someone wants to, it's now possible.

And that's it.  =)  If you run these programs through that BASIC mangler,
make sure those first two assignments are easy to identify in both programs. 
It'll save you a lot of questions from the unsuspecting user.  =)

Thank for the challenge; my regular job is writing programs to shift data
from A to B.  And of course back from B to A again.

Dutch-lexicon-compilingly,


Hans van Gink

-- 
E-mail: hvgink@xs4all.nl

	Choices al-
	ways were a problem for you.
	What you need
	is someone strong to guide you.
	Deaf and blind
	and dumb and born to follow.
	What you need
	is someone strong to guide you.
	Like me.

