Mathieu Tozer's Dev Blog

Has words gotten to the point where I can almost say I have basic
word management working? Because then I have to move to a slightly
higher level and add in the stuff that makes that basic functionality
more usable.

Dictionary management is hard. I think that's why I'm sort of
ignoring it a bit.
But I have to have it work!

Which means thinking about how the system will add certain
dictionaries to itself when the program loads (for the first time).
Or is it better to ship words with a bundle of dictionary entities,
all neatly archived up, which are added to the user's own data
model.... this way the the sql database can still be kept in
Application support, but the available dictionaries can be added and
changed by me through the bundle.

I would have to fully specify and insert all the server and
dictionary database, set which languages it can translate to and
from, test them, paste all the needed info into the dictionary
(dictProtocolDictionary) and then put it in an archive that perhaps
the user can download.
The user could specify his own dictionary objects through the add
custom, or just download the ones I've specified and import them in.
That way, the user can abstract as a 'word's dictionary.

The dictionary files themselves objects would have to be kept in some
seperate store.

It would be nice to be able to:
Define a custom dictionary in words. EXPORT IT as a bundle.
Upload it to the net, have everyone else download it.
IMPORT the dictioanry file into their own words model

Having said that, I should be working towards building an import and
export function in words for dictionaries.

Essentially, it should be something along the lines of, for the user
(myself included!)
EXPORT
Select a dictionary in the dictionary preferences view.
Click export
choose a location for the file (filename wordsdict)
click export

IMPORT
Select import Dicitonary from the file menu
Select the wordsdict to import
click import
Give confirmation of the import
See the dictionary in the dictioanry preferences window.