Popup Chinese Translator for Firefox!!

[Luobot]

I'd be happy to link it up to the main project so that updates to the main dictionary get released in an updated PeraKun package nightly.

Great offer! This would solve one of the main problems with chinesepera-kun, which is that it never gets updated. It seems that the original author of chinesepera-kun is MIA. Maybe it would make sense to release the Adso-based version of chinesepera-kun as a separate version (could called it, chineseperadso-kun, or whatever).

And maybe someone will get really ambitious and figure out how to solve the problem that every window and tab needs to turn chinesepera-kun on and off individually, rather than it working globally across all windows and tabs.

[imron]

Rather than forking the project, it might be worth getting in touch with the addons.mozilla people and see if 1) they have a different contact email for the original author or 2) they agree that the original maintainer is MIA and so allow others to provide updates. I'm sure they'd have a policy regarding this.

[PangPang]

I found another e-mail address for the original author on addons.mozilla.org, and just sent a note to it. Hasn't bounced (yet).

With regard to having a global setting so that you don't always have to toggle the popups on in each tab/window, I believe I've found a solution to that.

As far as compiling the data files -- it's actually fairly straightforward. Each line of the main dictionary file has the following format:

traditional simplified [pinyin] /english definition1/english definition2/.../.../

I believe that may in fact be the format of CEDICT.

To create the data file, I took the following steps using the tables from the latest adso:

- removed all entries without any english definitions

- removed entries where the chinese word actually didn't appear to have any chinese characters

- for entries without pinyin, I ran the simplified chinese through adso to get the pinyin

- removed duplicates

- for entries with the same simplified and pinyin, I joined the english definitions together

Mind you, I don't know if this is the same way the data was cleansed originally -- but it seems to give decent results for me.

After that, two index files are created, one for simplified, and one for traditional, where each line contains the simplified (or traditional) item and an integer offset to the first occurrence of the beginning of the corresponding line in the dictionary data file. It's pretty clear how it works after you look at the contents of the extension files.

[ABCinChina]

You guys are all bringing forward great suggestions!

In my ideal Chinese learning/translation environment, the Adso database would be used to translate everything in Traditional and Simplified through pop-up in the computer (MSN, Outlook, QQ, System Menus, etc.) and not just through the Firefox browser. That way, I am almost certain that everybody will be constantly updating the Adso database with many obscure words that we all may come across. Finally, there would be a system to rate new entries to the Adso database to prevent goofballs from adding words that are incorrect.

[trevelyan]

PangPang,

If you've already automated the output, can you just send me the files/scripts that you used (david.lancashire | at | gmail.com)? It shouldn't be very much work to hook them up to a cron job and produce a nightly content-dump.

@imron - I was in touch with Justin about four months ago and will send him a note, although it was at the email address listed below. Maybe he's just having trouble keeping up with correspondence.

--dave

[PangPang]

Just a quick update...

First, I was able to get in contact with Justin, and it looks like he has started working on chinesepera-kun again (yay!).

Second, I've sent him my updated dictionary files and a proof-of-concept patch so that the on/off toggle will toggle all windows and tabs at the same time. I don't want to make it sound like my changes will definitely get integrated, however, since they've undergone only rather limited testing and I don't know if they fit into his plans.

trevelyan -- I'll send you the Java code I've written to (semi-)automate the dictionary generation.

[trevelyan]

I've just sent Justin an email - should be able to take care of this pretty quickly once the materials fall into place.

@PangPang -- don't think I've received those files yet. Can you send them to me via email? david . lancashire | at | gmail.com.

[flameproof]

In my ideal Chinese learning/translation environment, the Adso database would be used to translate everything in Traditional and Simplified through pop-up in the computer (MSN, Outlook, QQ, System Menus, etc.) and not just through the Firefox browser.

The freeware http://wakan.manga.cz does that already. But I wish it would be as fast responding as Perakun. Seems also that the Wakan development has stopped, no updates since 2006

What I like about Perakun that it does popup translation - and I mean JUST popup translation. Wakan hast simply too many fuctions which (I suspect) slow down the software and make it more difficult to use.

[sui.generis]

I'm glad I came across this thread. I was actually just looking for something like rikaichan.

[flameproof]

Is it compatible with the new Firefox 3.0 ?

The download page was last updated 2006. So nothing mentioned about 3.0.

Anybody here using 3.0 RC2 or RC3 and run Perapera-kun successfully?

[necroflux]

Still not working for RC1-RC3 - updates here (look at the right side for latest posts):

http://perapera.wordpress.com/chinesepera-kun/

[trevelyan]

Panda sent over the code to regenerate the dictionary from the Adso db format. If no-one else takes care of this, I can probably get this fixed in about ten days or so.

--dave

[necroflux]

Much appreciated Dave - is that the problem with the release candidates though? From what I can see the problem is in the CSS layout coding - everything still works, the popup window just ends up on the bottom of the page out of view.

[flameproof]

Firefox 3.0 is out now. The only thing preventing me from installing it is that Perakun can't be installed. Please post an update!

[trevelyan]

It will be released on the 25th guys.

[necroflux]

Just installed the new one - looks great! Unfortunately traditional characters aren't working at the moment. But thanks for your hard work!

[flameproof]

It works in Firefox 3.0 perfectly on simplified characters! (not traditionals yet though)

I just installed Firefox 3.0. To make it work you do.................:

1. Go to this page: http://perapera.wordpress.com

2. Download: chineseperakun 1.0.xpi (from the blue box on the left)

3. After D/L, double click it (since it doesn't understand the *.xpi extension it will ask you what program to use to open it)

4. open it with Firefox. It will install automatically.

That's it!

[ironfrost]

Could anyone download the new version and mirror it somewhere that's accessible from the mainland? Wordpress is GFWed, and it's taking ages to download the file through Tor

[necroflux]

I feel your pain, so I put up a mirror here:

http://www.tritonlabs.com/drvelocity/chineseperakun.xpi

[ironfrost]

Thanks so much:D