Lexicon (SimpleNLG 4.5.0 API)

java.lang.Object
- simplenlg.lexicon.Lexicon

Direct Known Subclasses:

MultipleLexicon, NIHDBLexicon, XMLLexicon
```
public abstract class Lexicon
extends Object
```
This is the generic abstract class for a Lexicon. In simplenlg V4, a Lexicon is a collection of WordElement objects; it does not do any morphological processing (as was the case in simplenlg V3). Information about WordElement can be obtained from a database ( NIHDBLexicon) or from an XML file ( XMLLexicon). Simplenlg V4 comes with a default (XML) lexicon, which is retrieved by the getDefaultLexicon method.
There are several ways of retrieving words. If in doubt, use lookupWord. More control is available from the getXXXX methods, which allow words to retrieved in several ways
1. baseform and LexicalCategory; for example "university" and Noun
2. just baseform; for example, "university"
3. ID string (if this is supported by the underlying DB or XML file); for example "E0063257" is the ID for "university" in the NIH Specialist lexicon
4. variant; this looks for a word given a form of the word which may be inflected (eg, "universities") or a spelling variant (eg, "color" for "colour"). Acronyms are not considered to be variants (eg, "UK" and "United Kingdom" are regarded as different words).
  Note: variant lookup is not guaranteed, this is a feature which hopefully will develop over time
5. variant and LexicalCategory; for example "universities" and Noun
For each type of lookup, there are three methods
- getWords: get all matching WordElement in the Lexicon. For example, getWords("dog") would return a List of two WordElement, one for the noun "dog" and one for the verb "dog". If there are no matching entries in the lexicon, this method returns an empty collection
- getWord: get a single matching WordElement in the Lexicon. For example, getWord("dog") would a for either the noun "dog" or the verb "dog" (unpredictable). If there are no matching entries in the lexicon, this method will create a default WordElement based on the information specified.
- hasWord: returns true if the Lexicon contains at least one matching WordElement
Author: Albert Gatt (simplenlg v3 lexicon), Ehud Reiter (simplenlg v4 lexicon)










Constructor Summary

Constructors 

Constructor and Description


Lexicon() 









Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Concrete Methods 

Modifier and Type
Method and Description


void
close()
close the lexicon (if necessary) if lexicon does not need to be closed,
 this does nothing



protected WordElement
createWord(String baseForm)
create a default WordElement.



protected WordElement
createWord(String baseForm,
          LexicalCategory category)
create a default WordElement.



static Lexicon
getDefaultLexicon()
returns the default built-in lexicon



WordElement
getWord(String baseForm)
get a WordElement which has the specified base form (of any category)



WordElement
getWord(String baseForm,
       LexicalCategory category)
get a WordElement which has the specified base form and category



WordElement
getWordByID(String id)
get a WordElement with the specified ID



WordElement
getWordFromVariant(String variant)
returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or
 spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of any category.



WordElement
getWordFromVariant(String variant,
                  LexicalCategory category)
returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or
 spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of the specified
 category



List<WordElement>
getWords(String baseForm)
returns all Words which have the specified base form



abstract List<WordElement>
getWords(String baseForm,
        LexicalCategory category)
returns all Words which have the specified base form and category



abstract List<WordElement>
getWordsByID(String id)
returns a List of WordElement which have this ID.



List<WordElement>
getWordsFromVariant(String variant)
returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that
 matches the specified variant, of any category.



abstract List<WordElement>
getWordsFromVariant(String variant,
                   LexicalCategory category)
returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that
 matches the specified variant, and are in the specified category.



boolean
hasWord(String baseForm)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has
 the specified base form (in any category)



boolean
hasWord(String baseForm,
       LexicalCategory category)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has
 the specified base form and category



boolean
hasWordByID(String id)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which the
 specified ID



boolean
hasWordFromVariant(String variant)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which
 matches the specified variant form (in any category)



boolean
hasWordFromVariant(String variant,
                  LexicalCategory category)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which
 matches the specified variant form and category



WordElement
lookupWord(String baseForm)
General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order)
 Creates new word if can't find existing word



WordElement
lookupWord(String baseForm,
          LexicalCategory category)
General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order)
 Creates new word if can't find existing word







Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait














Constructor Detail





Lexicon
public Lexicon()









Method Detail





getDefaultLexicon
public static Lexicon getDefaultLexicon()
returns the default built-in lexicon

Returns:
default lexicon








createWord
protected WordElement createWord(String baseForm,
                                 LexicalCategory category)
create a default WordElement. May be overridden by specific types of
 lexicon

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word
category - - category of word
Returns:
WordElement entry for specified info








createWord
protected WordElement createWord(String baseForm)
create a default WordElement. May be overridden by specific types of
 lexicon

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word
Returns:
WordElement entry for specified info








lookupWord
public WordElement lookupWord(String baseForm,
                              LexicalCategory category)
General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order)
 Creates new word if can't find existing word

Returns:
word








lookupWord
public WordElement lookupWord(String baseForm)
General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order)
 Creates new word if can't find existing word

Returns:
word








getWords
public abstract List<WordElement> getWords(String baseForm,
                                           LexicalCategory category)
returns all Words which have the specified base form and category

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
collection of all matching Words (may be empty)








getWord
public WordElement getWord(String baseForm,
                           LexicalCategory category)
get a WordElement which has the specified base form and category

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
if Lexicon contains such a WordElement, it is returned (the first
                match is returned if there are several matches). If the Lexicon
                does not contain such a WordElement, a new WordElement is created
                and returned








hasWord
public boolean hasWord(String baseForm,
                       LexicalCategory category)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has
 the specified base form and category

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
true if Lexicon contains such a WordElement








getWords
public List<WordElement> getWords(String baseForm)
returns all Words which have the specified base form

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
Returns:
collection of all matching Words (may be empty)








getWord
public WordElement getWord(String baseForm)
get a WordElement which has the specified base form (of any category)

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
Returns:
if Lexicon contains such a WordElement, it is returned (the first
                match is returned if there are several matches). If the Lexicon
                does not contain such a WordElement, a new WordElement is created
                and returned








hasWord
public boolean hasWord(String baseForm)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has
 the specified base form (in any category)

Parameters:
baseForm - - base form of word, eg "be" or "dog" (not "is" or "dogs")
Returns:
true if Lexicon contains such a WordElement








getWordsByID
public abstract List<WordElement> getWordsByID(String id)
returns a List of WordElement which have this ID. IDs are
 lexicon-dependent, and should be unique. Therefore the list should
 contain either zero elements (if no such word exists) or one element (if
 the word is found)

Parameters:
id - - internal lexicon ID for a word
Returns:
either empty list (if no word with this ID exists) or list
                containing the matching word








getWordByID
public WordElement getWordByID(String id)
get a WordElement with the specified ID

Parameters:
id - internal lexicon ID for a word
Returns:
WordElement with this ID if found; otherwise a new WordElement is
                created with the ID as the base form








hasWordByID
public boolean hasWordByID(String id)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which the
 specified ID

Parameters:
id - - internal lexicon ID for a word
Returns:
true if Lexicon contains such a WordElement








getWordsFromVariant
public abstract List<WordElement> getWordsFromVariant(String variant,
                                                      LexicalCategory category)
returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that
 matches the specified variant, and are in the specified category. 

 Note: the returned word list may not be complete, it depends on
 how it is implemented by the underlying lexicon

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
list of all matching Words (empty list if no matching WordElement
                found)








getWordFromVariant
public WordElement getWordFromVariant(String variant,
                                      LexicalCategory category)
returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or
 spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of the specified
 category

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
a matching WordElement (if found), otherwise a new word is
                created using thie variant as the base form








hasWordFromVariant
public boolean hasWordFromVariant(String variant,
                                  LexicalCategory category)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which
 matches the specified variant form and category

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
category - - syntactic category of word (ANY for unknown)
Returns:
true if Lexicon contains such a WordElement








getWordsFromVariant
public List<WordElement> getWordsFromVariant(String variant)
returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that
 matches the specified variant, of any category. 

 Note: the returned word list may not be complete, it depends on
 how it is implemented by the underlying lexicon

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
Returns:
list of all matching Words (empty list if no matching WordElement
                found)








getWordFromVariant
public WordElement getWordFromVariant(String variant)
returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or
 spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of any category.

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
Returns:
a matching WordElement (if found), otherwise a new word is
                created using thie variant as the base form








hasWordFromVariant
public boolean hasWordFromVariant(String variant)
return true if the lexicon contains a WordElement which
 matches the specified variant form (in any category)

Parameters:
variant - - base form, inflected form, or spelling variant of word
Returns:
true if Lexicon contains such a WordElement








close
public void close()
close the lexicon (if necessary) if lexicon does not need to be closed,
 this does nothing

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`void`	`close()` close the lexicon (if necessary) if lexicon does not need to be closed, this does nothing
`protected WordElement`	`createWord(String baseForm)` create a default WordElement.
`protected WordElement`	`createWord(String baseForm, LexicalCategory category)` create a default WordElement.
`static Lexicon`	`getDefaultLexicon()` returns the default built-in lexicon
`WordElement`	`getWord(String baseForm)` get a WordElement which has the specified base form (of any category)
`WordElement`	`getWord(String baseForm, LexicalCategory category)` get a WordElement which has the specified base form and category
`WordElement`	`getWordByID(String id)` get a WordElement with the specified ID
`WordElement`	`getWordFromVariant(String variant)` returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of any category.
`WordElement`	`getWordFromVariant(String variant, LexicalCategory category)` returns a WordElement which has the specified inflected form and/or spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of the specified category
`List<WordElement>`	`getWords(String baseForm)` returns all Words which have the specified base form
`abstract List<WordElement>`	`getWords(String baseForm, LexicalCategory category)` returns all Words which have the specified base form and category
`abstract List<WordElement>`	`getWordsByID(String id)` returns a List of WordElement which have this ID.
`List<WordElement>`	`getWordsFromVariant(String variant)` returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that matches the specified variant, of any category.
`abstract List<WordElement>`	`getWordsFromVariant(String variant, LexicalCategory category)` returns Words which have an inflected form and/or spelling variant that matches the specified variant, and are in the specified category.
`boolean`	`hasWord(String baseForm)` return `true` if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has the specified base form (in any category)
`boolean`	`hasWord(String baseForm, LexicalCategory category)` return `true` if the lexicon contains a WordElement which has the specified base form and category
`boolean`	`hasWordByID(String id)` return `true` if the lexicon contains a WordElement which the specified ID
`boolean`	`hasWordFromVariant(String variant)` return `true` if the lexicon contains a WordElement which matches the specified variant form (in any category)
`boolean`	`hasWordFromVariant(String variant, LexicalCategory category)` return `true` if the lexicon contains a WordElement which matches the specified variant form and category
`WordElement`	`lookupWord(String baseForm)` General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order) Creates new word if can't find existing word
`WordElement`	`lookupWord(String baseForm, LexicalCategory category)` General word lookup method, tries base form, variant, ID (in this order) Creates new word if can't find existing word

Class Lexicon

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Constructor Detail

Lexicon

Method Detail

getDefaultLexicon

createWord

createWord

lookupWord

lookupWord

getWords

getWord

hasWord

getWords

getWord

hasWord

getWordsByID

getWordByID

hasWordByID

getWordsFromVariant

getWordFromVariant

hasWordFromVariant

getWordsFromVariant

getWordFromVariant

hasWordFromVariant

close