The jargon file version 2.3.1 03 JAN 1991 follows in 11 parts

[Steve Hayman]

>|>Has anyone tried to put this under the webster server?
>       
>	1. Hack the hell out of the webster server to understand the jargon
>	   file format.  
>	2. Hack the hell out of the jargon file to impose the Webster format
>	   on it.

One other possibility is to provide hooks in the webster server
to call arbitrary external programs to do 'extra' word lookups.
This probably wouldn't be too hard to add, and would be flexible
enough to handle other external dictionary files that might
come along.

i.e. for the jargon file, you write a little "jargon-lookup"
filter that knows the format of the jargon file.  Then "webster foo"
looks up "foo" in the usual way, and also runs "jargon-lookup foo"
to consult the jargon file.  

Of course it's a bit inefficient running an extra process every time
you look up every word.  Mumble.  Maybe the webster daemon only runs
"jargon-lookup foo" if you ask it to define the word "jargon: foo".

Anyway, I think it would be possible to structure things so that
various other databases could be consulted, all within the regular
webster framework.

Steve "NeXT webster daemon guy" Hayman
-- 
Steve Hayman    Workstation Manager    Computer Science Department   Indiana U.
sahayman at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu                                    (812) 855-6984
NeXT Mail: sahayman at spurge.bloomington.in.us