README for Text::Shoebox

Time-stamp: "2004-03-24 15:43:30 AST"

                            Text::Shoebox
        Read and write SIL Shoebox Standard Format (.sf) files

[Partially excerpted from the POD.]

The Summer Institute of Linguistics (C<http://www.sil.org/>) makes a piece of free software called "the Linguist's Shoebox", or just "Shoebox" for short. It's a simple database program generally used for making lexicon databases (altho it can also be used for databases of field notes, etc.).

Shoebox can export its databases to SF (Standard Format) files, a simple text format.

Reading and writing those SF files is what this Perl module, Text::Shoebox, is for. (I have heard that Standard Format predates Shoebox quite a bit, and is used by other programs. If you use SF files with something other than Shoebox, I'd be interested in hearing about it, particularly about whether such files and Text::Shoebox are happily compatible.)

See also the tidier, object-oriented interface presented by Text::Shoebox::Lexicon.

[end POD excerpt]

PREREQUISITES

This suite requires Perl 5; I've only used it under Perl 5.004, so for anything lower, you're on your own.

Text::Shoebox doesn't use any nonstandard modules.

INSTALLATION

You install Text::Shoebox and its classes Text::Shoebox::Lexicon and Text::Shoebox::Entry, as you would install any perl module library, by running these commands:

perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install

If you want to install a private copy of Text::Shoebox in your home directory, then you should try to produce the initial Makefile with something like this command:

perl Makefile.PL LIB=~/perl

Then you may need something like
setenv PERLLIB "$HOME/perl"
in your shell initialization file (e.g., ~/.cshrc).

For more info, see perldoc perlmodinstall.

DOCUMENTATION

POD-format documentation is included in the .pm files. POD is readable with the 'perldoc' utility. See ChangeLog for recent changes.

SUPPORT

Questions, bug reports, useful code bits, and suggestions for Text::Shoebox should just be sent to me at sburke@cpan.org

AVAILABILITY

The latest version of Text::Shoebox is available from the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). Visit <http://www.perl.com/CPAN/> to find a CPAN site near you.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2000-, Sean M. Burke <sburke@cpan.org>, all rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

AUTHOR

Sean M. Burke <sburke@cpan.org>

I hasten to point out, incidentally, that I am not in any way affiliated with the Summer Institute of Linguistics.