Apple spelling checker?

[Alex Rice]

On Dec 18, 2003, at 12:31 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:

> How difficult/desireable would it be to have a means of using OS X's
> Spelling Checker application service within Rev?

In OS X a "Service" sometimes refers to the Services menu seen in many 
OS X apps. Is that what you mean? I don't have a spell check service in 
there.

But many OS X apps utilize a spell checker that maintains per-user 
dictionaries and preferences. I think it's part of the Cocoa 
frameworks; the Objective C class NSSpellChecker. I think it should be 
possible to write a simple Rev external to talk to NSSpellChecker. I 
don't know if Carbon has this capability. A quick API search says 
Carbon does not.

Another alternative, which does *not* interface with the user's 
dictionary and preferences, is the GNU ispell program, which is a 
command-line tool that could be called with shell(). It's a fine 
utility, it's just not installed by default, and is disconnected from 
the rest of the OS X system spell checking facilities.

> I have a client gearing up for a heavy production cycle and we're 
> looking at
> options for incorporating QA conveniences into his workflow.

I got partway through a spell checking plugin for Rev, transcript only, 
before I put it on the back burner. You are welcome to the unfinished 
source code if you want it.

For OS X only, I think a NSSpellChecker external would provide the best 
user experience because it would be consistent with other spell 
checking going on in the workflow- maybe.

Alex Rice <alex at mindlube.com> | Mindlube Software | 
<http://mindlube.com>

what a waste of thumbs that are opposable
to make machines that are disposable  -Ani DiFranco