website to interact with words spell checker

WebHelper Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 91

Your expert advice is required again,

I generally learn by example code with a specific goal in mind. I have little server side language experience and have been learning JavaScript (as can be seen from my last post). I want to learn a new language that will enable me to do more complicated things. An idea I would like to explore and see if it is possible with server side languages is explained below. I want to learn the languages required to achieve this task.

The task
If I wanted to set up a website to say interact with words spell checker and keep a log of the miss spelt words over a specified time period and then transmit these words to an online database or excel file (for users to login at a later date and view a log of their miss spelt words and the correct spellings)? could this be done with a server side languages or would I need to learn a compiled language such as C (I have used C & Pascal in the distant past)?

1) Is it possible?

2) What should I be learning to achieve it?

3) Can someone provide some code examples that could be adapted so I can work through them line by line and pick up the language on the way?

4) Would you suggest working through tutorials before attempting this and if so which ones?

Thanks as always,

Dom.

Team Member Joined: 06 Jan 2002 Posts: 2564

As far as I know, what you're describing isn't possible, since Word isn't a program which is meant to interact with anything else (booh Microsoft! Rolling Eyes

)

WebHelper Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 91

Not even visual basic or maybe a word macro setting up an interface file that say perl can access (for transmission to the web)?

I know Perl can open and read / write to excel just not sure how word checks the spellings and what code / files it uses (I think it is something to do with OLE)

Look at the the following example for excel (from Martin C Browns perl book)

I have not worked through the code yet myself.

See what you think,

Thanks,

Dom..

use Win32::OLE;
$file = shift || "C:\\temp\\cost_of_powwer.xls";
$excel = Win32::OLE->GetActiveObject('Excel.Application');
unlink($file) if (-e $file);
unless($excel)
{
$excel = new Win32::OLE('Excel.Application', \&QuitApp)
or die "Could not create Excel Application object";
}

$excel->{Visible} = 1;
$excel->{SheetsInNewWorkBook} = 1;
$workbook = $excel->Workbooks->Add();
$worksheet = $workbook->Worksheets(1);
$worksheet->{Name} = "Directory listing";

@files = glob(shift || '*');

$range=$worksheet->Range('A1:C1');
$range->{Value} = ['Filename', 'Size', 'Time'];

my $cellrow = 2;

foreach $file (@files)
{
my ($size,$mtime) = (stat($file))[7,9];
$range=$worksheet->Range(sprintf("%s%d:%s%d",'A',$cellrow,'C',$cellrow));
$range->{Value} = [$file,$size,scalar localtime $mtime];
$cellrow++;
}
$workbook->SaveAs($file);

sub QuitApp
{
my ($object) = @_;
$object->Quit();
}

Team Member Joined: 06 Jan 2002 Posts: 2564

Yes, a macro might work, but the thing is I'm not sure if macros have access to things like spell checking. How would you get Word to run the macro every time a word is misspelt, and then get your macro to obtain the misspelt word.

In any case, this isn't really a web development problem, since the hardest programming you'll have to do will be with Word - once you've sent the information to a script the rest should be relatively easy Smile

.

WebHelper Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 91

So if I can find out how to get the info into a text file then the server side languages can pick that up from there?

With this in mind:

What should I be learning to achieve it (server side assuming a text file with the data in it)?

Would you suggest working through tutorials before attempting this and if so which ones?

Thank you fore your help, I appreciate it,

perhaps this goal will make me a better speller Smile

Dom.

Team Member Joined: 09 Jan 2002 Posts: 147 Location: UK

Forget about learning a langauge yet.

Firstly research how/if it's possible to interact with Word's spell checker.

Only once you've done this start to think about the coding required.

WebHelper Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 91

thanks Peter,

I am trying to do that Wink