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user:zeman:interset:how-to-write-a-driver [2007/09/26 20:41] zeman Link. |
user:zeman:interset:how-to-write-a-driver [2007/10/01 14:29] zeman Replacing values. |
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====== How to write a driver ====== | ====== How to write a driver ====== | ||
- | Perl is the language to write a driver. A driver is a simple Perl module (.pm). It should implement the following functions: decode(), encode(), list(). | + | Perl is the language to write a driver. A driver is a simple Perl module (.pm). It should implement the following functions: |
- | Input/output tag can be any string. If the information is stored in several kinds of tags, they can be passed in one string, using some unique delimiters. We recommend " | + | <code perl>use tagset:: |
+ | |||
+ | The input/output tag can be any string. If the information is stored in several kinds of tags, they can be passed in one string, using some unique delimiters. We recommend " | ||
Empty feature value means " | Empty feature value means " | ||
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If the tagset encodes features separately (e.g., each character is a value of a particular feature): The decoder should be tolerant to unexpected combinations of features (or should be able to be tolerant if asked for it). | If the tagset encodes features separately (e.g., each character is a value of a particular feature): The decoder should be tolerant to unexpected combinations of features (or should be able to be tolerant if asked for it). | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
===== encode() ===== | ===== encode() ===== | ||
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The encoder should be able to process all possible values from the [[features|central pool]]. If the tagset does not recognize a value, the most appropriate substitute should be chosen. | The encoder should be able to process all possible values from the [[features|central pool]]. If the tagset does not recognize a value, the most appropriate substitute should be chosen. | ||
- | Since any feature can in theory have an array of values instead of a single value, the encoder should either be prepared to arrays (more precisely: array references) anywhere, or call tagset:: | + | Since any feature can in theory have an array of values instead of a single value, the encoder should either be prepared to arrays (more precisely: array references) anywhere, or call '' |
- | **WARNING: | + | **WARNING: |
===== list() ===== | ===== list() ===== | ||
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**Note:** This approach cannot encode situations where some combinations of feature values are plausible and some are not! For instance, if positions [2] and [3] in a tag encode gender and number, respectively, | **Note:** This approach cannot encode situations where some combinations of feature values are plausible and some are not! For instance, if positions [2] and [3] in a tag encode gender and number, respectively, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Replacing feature values with defaults ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The encoder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | - A table of replacement values for each value, ordered by precedence. There is a default table in '' | ||
+ | - The list of all tags in the tag set (implemented by the '' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Building the list of permitted values is expensive (all tags must be decoded!) and you should do it only once when your driver initializes. In your '' | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code perl> | ||
+ | use tagset:: | ||
+ | BEGIN | ||
+ | { | ||
+ | # Store the hash reference in a global variable. | ||
+ | $permitvals = tagset:: | ||
+ | } | ||
+ | ... | ||
+ | $replacement = tagset:: | ||
+ | </ | ||
===== Common problems ===== | ===== Common problems ===== |