June 1, 1994
Yuko Misao
misao@d1.bs2.mt.nec.co.jp
Akira Kon
kon@d1.bs2.mt.nec.co.jp
NEC Corporation
0. Preface
This is the introduction of Canna. For installation of Canna
or changes from previous versions, see the file INSTALL or INSTALL.jp or
CHANGES.jp respectively. (Sorry, but INSTALL and README may not be
updated to Japanese. And CHANGES isn't in English.)
1. Overview
This directory includes files which are sources for a Japanese
input system named Canna. Canna provides a unified user interface
for Japanese input.
*Note: Canna was called Iroha among developers of Canna
previously.
There exists a commonly usable Japanese input system called
Wnn. Canna gives an alternative Japanese input system.
Canna is based on a client-server model for kana-to-kanji
conversion, that is, an application program which uses a Japanese
input system communicates with a kana-to-kanji conversion server,
which is a separate process from the application program. Canna has
several features as follows:
1) Based on client-server model kana-to-kanji conversion
2) Supporting automatically kana-to-kanji conversion
3) Providing a unified user interface to input Japanese
4) Supporting customization by users
5) Based on lisp language customization
6) A mechanism to add a suitable part of speech to each registered
words by users
7) Providing a library which supports a unified user interface
8) Maintenance tools for conversion dictionaries
9) A customizing tool which supports easy customization
10) Supporting Nemacs(Mule), kinput2 and uum
Below, I would like to describe details of Canna's features.
2. Features of Canna
2.1 Based on client-server model kana-to-kanji conversion
Canna converts kana to kanji based on a client-server model.
That is, an application program communicates with a kana-to-kanji
conversion server and achieves Japanese input.
2.2 Supporting automatically kana-to-kanji conversion
Canna is the first Japanese input system which supports
automatically kana-to-kanji conversion, it is also a free software
for Japanese input which based on client-server model. Generally,
it is not easy to input Japanese with kana-to-kanji conversion
automatically in PC environment. However, Canna makes it easier for
supporting better user interface which extended their
generally(unautomatically) conversion.
2.3 Providing a unified user interface to input Japanese
Developers of Canna, including myself, used to use Egg on
Nemacs when we had to input Japanese. Egg was very harmonious with
Nemacs and its user interface was convenient.
*Note: Nemacs is a Japanese version of Emacs. Egg is an interface
between Nemacs and Wnn. Egg provides a user interface by
itself.
On the other hand, if we had to input Japanese without Nemacs,
for example, to input Japanese in command line of shell, we were not
able to use Egg because Egg was usable only in Emacs environment.
Though there is also a Japanese input system for TTYs called Uum,
Uum has a different user interface from Egg and we did not become
accustomed with it.
Especially in using X clients, we were eager to use Egg's user
interface to use them. We found a lot of good tools on the X window
system such as xmh and xcalendar. Our desire was to localize those
clients into our national language and to operate them with Egg's
user interface.
<<Let's create another Egg by ourselves>>
Thus, we decided to create an Egg like system and to provide it in a
library. This is the Canna. Now, Canna provides more features than
Egg. Canna can be used in Emacs, in X environments, and on TTYs.
2.4 Supporting customization by users
As well as key binding, it is possible to customize
romaji-to-kana conversion rules, status describing strings,
dictionaries, etc. A customization is described in a customization
file. A customization file can be shared among applications using
Canna.
2.5 Based on lisp language customization
Because of new syntax, old application programs will have to be
re-written to incorporate the new rules and conditions of Canna.
According to use new customization syntax based on lisp
language, it is possible to ignore the descriptions which old
version's Canna cannot understand. With new syntax, you can show
version of Canna or connected server, and customize on conditions of
these versions.
2.6 A mechanism to add a suitable part of speech to each registered
words by users
When we made our own user interface, we added one new idea into
the word registration part of Canna.
In kana-to-kanji conversion system, more detailed parts of
speech are used than what are used in school grammars. Canna uses
almost 400 parts of speech. On the other hand, it might be almost
impossible and unkind to ask users what kind of a part of speech
must be used for the registered word.
In Canna, we made a new mechanism to add a suitable part of
speech to registered words. Canna shows several sentences using
newly registered word, and ask user the usage is correct or not.
Asking several questions to user helps Canna to decide what part of
speech is suitable for the newly registered word.
2.7 Providing a library which supports a unified user interface
A user-interface library is provided. With this library,
programmers can easily add a Japanese input system with unified user
interface to application programs.
This library has higher-level functions than Wnn's high-level
library has, and interpretation of each input key is also processed
inside of this library.
An interface to this library is simple. Giving input key to
this library returns several pieces of information to display
pre-edit status. Interpretations of key functions are hidden inside
of this library, and it is not necessary for application programs to
be conscious of them.
This library meets the case of treating inputs from several
windows. By giving context identifiers which correspond to each
window with key inputs to this library makes it possible to process
plural kana-to-kanji conversion concurrently in a process.
2.8 Maintenance tools for conversion dictionaries
Canna provides more than ten tools to maintenance
kana-to-kanji conversion dictionaries. Using these tools, you can
do the following things.
- Conversion between text format dictionaries and binary format
ones.
- Creating, deleting, listing, renaming dictionaries by remote
operation
- Uploading and downloading dictionaries
- Adding/deleting items to/from a dictionary by a batch procedure
2.9 A customizing tool which supports easy customization
In place of editing a customization file directly, it is
possible to set up customization by using a customizing tool.
2.10 Supporting Nemacs(Mule), kinput2 and uum
Canna provides a patch for Nemacs(Mule), which makes
Nemacs(Mule) possible to input Japanese in Canna's unified user
interface. And, after Mule 0.9.5, the distribution of Mule includes
interface to Canna.
If kinput2 use Canna as kana-to-kanji conversion engine,
application programs which use kinput can use Canna's unified user
interface to input Japanese
Additionally, Canna supports a patch for uum, which makes
possible to input Japanese in Canna on TTYs. For uum, see
canuum/README.jp. (Sorry, but canuum/README.jp is in Japanese.)
3. Contents of Canna
Canna contains the following things.
- Kana-to-kanji conversion server (cannaserver)
- User interface library (libcanna.a, libcanna.so.1)
- Remote version of dictionary accessing library (libRKC.a)
- Local version of dictionary accessing library (libRK.a)
- Wnn version of dictionary accessing library (RKwnn.o)
- Maintenance tools for conversion dictionaries
- Patch files for uum of Canna version
- A sample program
4. Documents
Under this directory, there are several documents. Most of
them are in Japanese.
1) Document of Canna (in Japanese)
The document is in jlatex format and is in doc/man/guide.
This document describes the general comments of how to use Canna.
2) Documents for commands
The documents are in man macro format of roff and are in the
respective directory. Source codes are also available in same
directory. Japanese documents have suffix .jmn, and English have
.man.
3) Documents for application interface library
The documents are in man macro format of roff and are in
lib/canna and lib/RK.
4) Document for kana-to-kanji conversion protocol (in Japanese)
The document is in jlatex format and is in doc/intern. Canna
has the protocol versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0 and 3.2. The
document of the protocol version 1.0 and 1.1 is the file
proto12.tex. Other version's document is protocol.tex.
5) Document for lisp language of customization file (in Japanese)
The document is in jlatex format and is in doc/lisp as
canlisp.tex.
6) Document for uum of Canna version
The notes is in text file format and is in canuum as README.jp.
7) Other Documents
The documents are in jlatex format and are in doc/misc.
5. Bugs
Canna have some bugs as follows:
(1) Canuum doesn't run on Solaris 2.1.
(2) Canuum doesn't run on SunOS 4.2 with compiler gcc.
(3) On SONY NEWS, the terminal mode on pseudo tty is different which
make by canuum.
(4) No English documents as follows:
canuum/canuum.man
(5) When use automatically kana-to-kanji conversion, you may not
convert correctly.
(6) On Solaris 2.3, you will have some cores.
(7) When you compile, you will have a warning message "Undefined row
vectors: BM". Don't worry it.
6. Acknowledgements
Canna have been released as a Alpha Release on January 1994, and as
a Beta Release on March. Many people have cooperated and worked to
make this release in canna mailing list since Alpha Release. They
had reported the compilation in respective version, the problems to
compile, and the bugs which is not easy to find out and they had
suggested their idea to correct as patch. Our thanks go out to the
following people.
Shin Yoshimura (IIJ), Tomotake Furuhata (IBM), Nobuhiro Yasutomi
(ISAC), Takanori Nishijima (Canon), Yoshinari Inoue (Kyoto
University), Yuuji Hirose (Keio University), Tetsuaki Kiriyama
(SONY), Fumitaka Murayama (Chubu University), Tetsuji Takada (The
University of Electro-Communications), Takashi Taniguchi (The
University of Electro-Communications), Akihisa Tsuboi (The
University of Electro-Communications), Fumihiro Ueno (The
University of Tokyo), Yasuharu Sasaki (The University of Tokyo),
Yoshinari Kanaya (Tohoku University), Takeshi Hagiwara (Tokyo
Institute of Technology), Yukinobu Moriya (Tokyo Institute of
Technology), Takuya Harakawa (Tokyo Institute of Technology),
Yasuhiro Matsuoka (Nagoya Institute of Technology), Yoshinori
Sakamoto (Nara Institute of Science and Technology), Kenjirou
Tsuji (Nihon SunSoft), Masayuki Koba (Hitachi Software Engineering
Co., Ltd.), Toshihiko Kodama (Fujitsu), Noriaki Seki (Fuji Xerox
Co.,Ltd.), Kenji Rikitake (TDI Kyoto Network Technology
Laboratory), Atsushi Nakamura (Matsushita Research Institute
Tokyo, Inc.), Kenichi Tanino (Musashi Institute of Technology),
Masakazu Kano (Musashi Institute of Technology), Noriyoshi
Kumazawa (Meiji University), Yoshikazu Tabata (Yokogawa Digital
Computer Corporation), Hiroki Kanou (Waseda University), Masaki
Takayama (NEC Software, Ltd.), Ryuichi Matsumoto (NEC Scientific
Information System Development, Ltd.), Masao Negishi (DNP),
Junji Sakai (NEC).
Hajime Oiwa (Keio Univ.) agreed to support TUT code as a function of
Canna. Thank you very much. The function to input TUT code have
supported since Canna Version 2.2 patch level 2.
Tomotake Furuhata (The Univ. of Tokyo) pointed out bugs in Imakefile
on Canna Version 1.2 and sent the patch to correct (Canna have a
large number of Imakefile). Imakefiles after Canna Version 2.2
based on his patch. Thank you very much.
Yasuhiro Masutani (Osaka Univ.) and Masaki Takayama (NEC Software,
Ltd.) maintenanced the documents. There is a problem that the
installed directories do not agree with the description in
documents, since the directories of Canna are changeable according to
the environments of installation. They cleared the problem. Thank
you very much.
Takashi Matsuzawa made the part of engine switcher on HP-UX. He
gave them the advice. Thank you very much.
Isao Seki (PRUG), Yuuji Hirose (Keio Univ.) and Yasuhiro Matsuoka
(Nagoya Institute of Technology) pointed out bugs on NEmacs or Mule
with Canna, and sent the patch to correct them. Thank you very
much. NEmacs and Mule aren't included in this release, but we will
improve them.
Yoshinori Sakamoto (Nara Institute of Science and Technology),
Makoto Ishisone (SRA), Hisashi Minamino (SRA), Yoshinari Kanaya
(Tohoku Univ), Junn Ohta (RICOH), Yoshitaka Tokugawa (DIT) and
Takahiro Kanbe (FXIS) gave advice about the separation of
cannaserver from TTY and the portable program of variable argument.
Thank you very much.
We debugged the problem on DEC Alpha, 64 bit workstation of Digital
Equipment Co., at Alpha resource center in Digital Equipment
Corporation Japan. We thank Hiroaki Obata, Tsutomu Okihara and
Satoshi Watanabe for their efforts.
Masato Minda (ASTEC) set up and manage "Canna" mailing list.
Therefore, we get many useful information such as above. We thank
him for his efforts.
Kazuhiro Fujieda (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology, Hokuriku), Hiroki Kanou (Waseda Univ.), Masaki Takayama
(NEC Software, Ltd.) and Hiroshi Yamada (NEC Corporation) gave the
suggestions about certain part of speech and conjunction of words.
Especially, Mr. Fujieda put the symbols which show the end of
sentence in the kana-to-kanji conversion logic of Canna. Thank you
very much.
/* Copyright 1994 NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
*
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($Id: README,v 2.15 1994/07/26 00:31:08 misao Exp $)