Instructions for use and discussion of special features

Installation
1.  The earlier versions of  WordsWorth’s application program and its associated database  were located  either in the Root Directory of the computer’s Hard Drive or of a floppy disk.  With today’s computers having  Hard Drives of  far greater capacity, with the facility of partitioning, as well as Compact Disks, Zip Drives, etc.,  there is a  much greater user choice for file location. 

2.  On loading the WordsWorth program, the user is  prompted to type the letter of the drive containing the data files. When the location is confirmed, a request is  made to type the name of the Subdirectory  (Folder) set  for  appending new words with Option 8.  If the set of  Folders has already been created,  its typed name will be recognised and program installation will proceed. 

3.  Entering a new name will create 17 Folders in which a proposed further  listing of words will be saved.  For  example, if the name ‘Drugs’ had earlier been chosen for a set of files in which to list Medicines, typing ‘Drugs’  would skip to the next stage of the installation.  If Drugs is a new, unrecognised name, 17 new Folders,   Drugs2 to Drugs18, will be created in the confirmed location of the data files.  Installation will then proceed as follows:-

Beeps
Striking the above number displays a further feature, which was requested by purchasers of  the early versions of WordsWorth. The slower speeds of computers in those days prompted Ted to introduce audible beeps at  the termination of certain lengthy program runs. 

The beeps enabled the tackling of other work during such runs - within earshot - and returning to the program on hearing the beeps when the run was completed. 

The spouse of one purchaser complained of being awakened by these beeps when the computers  were being used in the early hours. 

So the options to have BEEPS ON or OFF is given.  Striking Y(es) or N(o)   produces a string of 80 numerals across the bottom of the screen; they are pretty random because they are based on the number of seconds which have elapsed since the previous stroke of midnight. 

The user’s choice  can be remembered by selection of  a specific letter in one of the seven words WORDSWORTH, say, for example, that number  below the S of the third word.  The difficulty for anyone trying to guess the number stems from the fact that the 80-numeral string will be different every time.  The user is at liberty to change his choice of  PSN at any time.

Personal Security Number
The user is now prompted to ‘Type Personal Security Number’.  This feature was introduced  owing to a request from Professional crossword compilers, who found WordsWorth extremely useful in  their work,  wishing to prevent unwanted words being entered into their databases by, say, younger  members of their families with access to their computers. 

This security is achieved by striking a single  numeric key, the number being chosen by the user.   (Say 0) (To be followed by the number under the D of the  seventh column of WORDSWORTHs,  i.e. whatever number appears at the head of the 80-numeral string.)

Screen Presentations
The input for any of WordsWorth’s Options are minimal; from the opening menu, the press of a single  numeric key will take the user immediately to the appropriate option, the opening screen of which displays a  full set of instructions for using that option; there is no need for the in vogue set of on-board help files. 

Four of  the options, Nos. 3; 4; 5 and 7, allow for printing their results; the immediate opening prompt in those cases  requires a Y(es)/N(o) response regarding a printing requirement. 

Once  that is answered by a single key  press, the display, as with any other option, provides a box with the cursor in the correct position for receiving  the specific search input.  Where appropriate, the cursor is in position 1 of a set of grey consecutive numbers  up to the limit of the option’s input value, thus providing a check on its validity. 

Once the full input has been  typed, the search is commenced by pressing the ENTER key; there is no need to transfer a hand from the key- board to a Mouse and search for an icon to click!
 

Multiple Pages
When a search produces more results than can be accommodated on a single screen page,  as generally may occur with Options 2; 4; 5 and 6, processing is halted to view the display; a press of  the Space Bar takes the user to the continuation on the next screen display. 

Statistics
Useful information is also given along with the required search results on the screen pages.   This may take the form of statistical details, supplementary results’ information, current state of search  progression, timing, etc.  More particulars of these types of information are given later for individual options.  Colour coding of results is also used to aid the observance of changes in certain parameters.

Multiple Windows - Multi Tasking
When running WordsWorth in MS-Windows - recommended as the preferred environment -  the multi-tasking of multiple versions of the same option, or of a number of different options, is possible, using several reduced windows on the same screen display. 

The Specific Options and Capabiliites

Option 1 - Check if a word is missing with option to add the word 

On typing a word and pressing Enter:-

1. If the word is already listed, the display indicates the existence of such word, its file location path,   the time it took to find the word and its position in the file.

2.  If the word is not listed, the display indicates the file it would be in, together with the number of its  current entries, and the user is prompted to add the word by  a press of the Space Bar, or to return to Menu by pressing the Esc Key. 

3.  Adding the word is indicated, first of all by displaying it appended to the appropriate file, then by showing it placed in its correct alphabetical position therein, accompanied by the time taken  to achieve these operations.  At this stage the user is also asked whether a printed list of the current numbers of file-words is required.

Option2 - Display contents of a database by word length.

1.  On typing the input command - pressing of the ENTER key is not required - the display shows the beginning of the required word list. 
The three-keypress input system ( initial letter plus 2-digit wordlength number) automatically triggers the command following the third press.  The results are listed, column by column across the screen, alternately coloured green and  blue, to aid reading with the columns having only a single-character space separating them.  (See Reasons for the choice of this pattern of listing of words in the database).

2.  Each screen page of the listing is held for perusal until released by pressing the Space Bar. The  colours of  the words may change from green or blue to (a) white to identify a Palindrome, i.e. a word such as  BOOB, or (b) to yellow to indicate an Alphword such as BOOR; BOOS, BOOT and BOPS.  This saves any  need to find such words by a special search.

3.  A margin is provided at the right-hand side of every screen page of  these word listings; this contains statistical positional information, concerned with the file currently being displayed, together with user commands.

Option 3 - Search for Anagrams of a word or phrase

1.  On answering the print option (Y/N ?), then typing the search input characters followed by ENTER,  the screen clears to make way for the display of the required search results and other information, such as the  portrayal of the Alphword and duplicate letters therein, together with a run-timing and number of records  searched. 

2.  As a test, type in MONASTERY, if you have the full registered version, or MONASTER if you have only the Shareware version.  The former should yield 39 anagrams; the latter only 5, if no further words have  been added.  The timing will naturally depend on the processing speed of the computer being used; on a Dell  600 PIII,  the 39 anagrams were found in 0.05 seconds, searching 29,097 records. 

Option 4 - Completion of Partial Crossword Clue Answer.

1. On answering the print option (Y/N ?), the user types in the search input, which in this case includes  both known and unknown letters of a partially-completed answer to a crossword clue.  Known letters are  entered by pressing their appropriate keys but, at the positions of unknown letters, the asterisk (*) is typed. 

2.  When all the letter positions of the search input have been filled, a press of the ENTER key clears the screen  to make way for the display of any required search results and other information, such as the time elapsed to  find them and the number of records searched.

Option 5 - Extract Words from a Longer Word or Phrase

1.  On answering the print option (Y/N ?), the user can enter an input string of up to 30 letters, from  which it is desired to find words comprised of letters, taken up to as many times as each one occurs in this  string. 

2.  Pressing ENTER, the user is then prompted to specify the numbers of letters, ranging from a minimum  to a maximum, which the required words contain. 

3.  Again pressing Enter clears the screen for displaying the  results.  If these require more than a single screen, each filling suspends the run for the user’s perusal.  A  press of the Space Bar clears the current page and displays the next one. 

4.  Colour-coding is used to indicate  changes in wordlength as the search proceeds from minimum to maximum length.  The elapsed time taken to  search the displayed number of entries in this option will include the suspensions for perusal.

Option 6 - Display all Permutations of a Character Set.

1.  This option displays all the permutations of a string of alphanumeric input.  Note the difference between permutations and combinations!  The initial input, say A1B2C, is a combination of characters, the order of which is unimportant.  Each character might  represent a different value of a coin,  but their combination will (combine to) represent a single sum of money.  The total number of 120 different orders in  which the five characters (or coins) can be arranged is the 120 different permutations of five objects.  This  option displays all possible permutations of any given number of characters in a string; the string above, for  example, can be systematically changed from a first arrangement A1B2C to a final one of C2B1A by this option.

2.  As with some of the other options, filled screen pages are held for perusal.  Because this option is  likely to be of most use in forming character permutations for encryption, and the vast majority of the permutations  will be discounted as applicable, there is a secondary option to restrict the permutations to a reduced set.

 3.   Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the number of permutations of a set of characters, particularly if all are different, increases extremely rapidly as the number of characters grows.  For example, a set of  nine different characters can give rise to 362,880 different permutations.  This would take up almost 2000 screen pages; holding the Space Bar down and watching them fly by is about the only way to tackle a full listing.  Just as a matter of interest, this option can, in theory, manage strings of up to 33 characters!!!

Option 7 - Search for Word Ladder Chains.

1.  The so-called ‘Doublets’ created by Lewis Carroll, known also under several other names, may be created by this option.  They consist of a string of consecutive words which, from a given starting word, say  ‘poor’, form a chain to a finishing word, say ‘rich’, by changing one letter in the preceding word to form the  next.  The challenge is normally to achieve the change from ‘poor’ to ‘rich’ in the shortest possible chain.

2.  Because of the enormous total of possible words which may be considered as contenders for each  link in the chain for most start and finish pairings of words, this option can only tackle relatively simple pairings.   It tackles the problem - assuming the chain to be a set of words in a vertical array - by creating a few sets of  possible  words from the top down, then doing likewise from the bottom up.  The user then examines - preferably from a print-out - the sets of words in approaching rows for a common word in each set.  This would form a  connecting link between the top an bottom halves of the chain.

Option 8 - Create WordsWorth Style Word Lists.

Although provision has been made in Option 1 for users to insert their own choice of words and  phrases into the WordsWorth database, many requests were received from several of them for a facility which  enabled  them to create specific lists of words, maybe connected with their studies or hobbies, in the WordsWorth format. 
The provision of an appropriate folders/files system for such personal lists is the reason for the  feature mentioned above under point 3. of Installation.

Option 9 - Use of MS Dos Commands from within WordsWorth.

The various versions of MS-Windows continue to support, and appear to require, the MS-DOS system.  There may well be many computer buffs still using MS-DOS, as Ted does, for manipulating and editing  some of their home-created program files.  This option may not be used very often, because many people will  never realise that such a system is built in to their machines.  But it’s there!  And it hasn’t taken more than a  relatively few bytes to put access to it in WordsWorth.

Option 0 - Closing down WordsWorth.

This 10th Option, designated by a zero to follow the single-key press action of the others, provides a  safe,  reliable way of closing the WordsWorth application program, with a last-minute (Y/N ?) option to stay  with it!

Further Discussion on the WordsWorth Program

a) Need of special Attention

1.  Although WordsWorth Compendium has been around for more than a decade, and Ted is continually  being asked by its regular users whether a Windows version of the program is available, the answer has always been NO!   A start was made on a Visual Basic version, which showed that it would be quite easy to  produce a  purpose-built version in the Windows environment, which would seem to take advantage of the  Windows-style controls.  In fact, however, these controls, so far as those that could be used in a really effective manner, also worked quite well on the original basic program.  Furthermore, some commands which  had been found extremely useful for certain algorithms in the original program, were not found in VB.

2.   There seems to be no problem in installing and running the original program in Windows, so far as its  effectiveness is concerned.  If there is any problem, it may be just a reluctance, on the part of those who cut  their teeth learning computer skills with a mouse in their hand, to feel happy with an application having no  need of mouse control.  To them, it is almost second nature that the operation to cause a program to run     involves double-clicking on the program’s icon.  For a program requiring typed keyboard input, would it not be fair to say that, having typed in the required input using one’s hands on the key board, it must be easier to hit the ENTER key on that key board than to move one’s hand to a mouse, direct its pointer to an icon and  then double-click on it.  If this is accepted, it seems that all that may be necessary, to interest those who  haven’t taken to WordsWorth, simply because it has no mouse control, is to get them to try it!

3.  It was felt that one of the best features of the WordsWorth Compendium is the provision of full instructions for their use on the opening screen of every option - no manual to find and thumb through! - no  drop-down ‘Help’ files to browse through!   But who ‘really reads’ these instructions and follows them to the  letter?   There are two features which seem to have caused some confusion.  The first, being encountered during the loading procedure, is probably the most important because any misunderstanding could mean the  intended user abandoning the package before being able to appreciate its worth.  This feature was introduced  following requests for the prevention of unauthorised access.  It concerns a user’s Personal Security Number.   Visitors to the Website WordsWorthWhile who download the free Shareware  Version 14 of WordsWorth are      allocated PSN 0 (zero), with the Access Number being the leading digit of the 80-digit string.  Purchasers of  the full registration version can request a specific PSN and are then advised of their Access Number.  If they  subsequently forget these security numbers, help is at hand via email or telephone.  The obvious thing to do,  as with PIN numbers for banks’ ATMs, is to keep a safe record of one’s PSN when it is given.

4.  The second feature, which seems to have taken some users by surprise, is the required method of  inputting the command to produce the wordlistings  of Option 2.  The screened instructions are quite explicit on  this point, indicating that ONLY THREE KEYPRESSES are required; the initial letter of the words in the list  sought, plus the two-digit number of letters in those words - in the format: 02, 03, etc through to 18.   Some users have not been accustomed to typing input at the keyboard without having to follow up by pressing the ENTER key.  WordsWorth counts the key presses and commences the search immediately following the third; Ted has always tried to reduce the effort necessary to operate his programs successfully, even to the extent of saving a single keypress.   If users do follow the third keypress by hitting the ENTER key,  the only misfortune to beset them is that the second page of the required listing is the first one they’ll see,  because the paging instruction in the source code  - screened as ‘Space Bar Continues’ - works by hitting  any key, apart from Esc to Re-Start.

b) Reasons for Layout Choices.

1.  The basic conception for WordsWorth was essentially the provision of a comprehensive aid to the  solving and creation of crossword puzzles by means of a computer-based program.  This initial involvement  with crosswords is the main reason behind many facets of the rather unique presentations chosen for the data base.  The first stages of the task involved the formulation of satisfactory search algorithms for the extraction  of information from the database and its manipulation into the required solutions.  Thus WordsWorth began, its  now more than a decade of existence, as a crossword solving utility with a database of around 30,000 words  and phrases.

2.  At about that time, Ted became very actively involved with the wordsquare of Order 10, for which he  required very large lists of 10-letter words.  The natural location for these words was Words Worth’s database,  because it was obviously convenient to have a single source of words, rather than separate lists having, more  than likely, several duplicate repetitions.  The WordsWorth database now contains more than 515,000 words  and phrases, of which a number exceeding 73,000 have ten letters.  So the WordsWorth database became a  primary source of material for use in other lexical puzzles.  An obvious benefit of this is that editing is confined  to one corpus.  Just imagine the task of simply adding a new word to all previous editions of a standard dictionary!  Computer storage has tremendous advantages compared with paper volumes.

3.  Wordlists specifically produced to help find solutions for puzzles, generally consist of individual listings of common length words.  Standard dictionaries, which list words merely in alphabetical order, are not  all that suitable for quickly finding a specific word, say of ten letters, because it will not be an easy task to find it in a mass of headwords of varying lengths.  The WordsWorth database is, therefore, housed in individual  folders according  to wordlength.  A further refinement has sets of 26 separate files, each devoted to a specific initial letter; for example, ten-letter words having the initial letter ‘A’ are in a named ‘A10.DAT’ within a folder  named ‘LEN10’.   This arrangement is another way to achieve speedier searches.

4.  The display of words and phrases to the screen has also been given careful consideration.  The  space required to display a word or phrase, say of ten letters, will be influenced by factors other than the number and  size and style of its letters.   The entries of words and phrases consists of their letters only; no punctuations such as hyphenation, possessive apostophes, exclamation or diacritic marks are included. There are good reasons for the adoption of this filing system, especially in regard to the display of words and phrases emanating from the searches.Along with this, as shown by this initial example, the type of font employed  has a distinct bearing on  screen-space requirements.  The column-width requirements for different  fonts and hyphens is shown quite starkly by the few ten-letter words below, which are listed in CHAMBERS WORDS; even though this work uses  the  fixed-space font Courier New,  the hyphens disturb the vertical alignment of the ten letters, while the Arial font in the right-hand column is hopelessly out of  kilter. 

Crossword puzzles  do not  generally require a hyphenated word to have a grid cell occupied solely by the hyphen; neither for the spaces between words in a  multi-word phrase to  be accommodated by  leaving grid cells empty.   The choice was made at the outset, therefore, to ignore any characters other than the 26 letters of the alphabet when placing words into the database.  This allowed the neat column arrangement, with  the greatest economy of screen filling, which has been used from  the start, as shown below left.  If readers are fairly AMIABLE, they will  know whether it is meant to indicate AM I ABLE?  Shouldn’t they be?

5.  Another decision Ted made is apparent from the illustration below.  ALL entries in the database are in uppercase (capital) letters.  This  choice was adopted for a number of reasons, such as consistency,   making for an evenness of display, clarity, with the larger letters, and  because it was felt that there was no need to differentiate between  similar names applying to both common and proper nouns, such as  phoenix and PHOENIX for example, which could have different alpha betic positions in the lists owing to the ASCII coding of characters.   Option 8, and other wordlist creation programs, automatically  change inputs to uppercase, even if typed in lowercase.

c) Conclusions.

1.  The WordsWorth Compendium has undoubtedly stood the test of time;  this must firstly be due to an  insatiable interest of people from all cross-sections of the world’s population in two major facets of the  English language; its idiosyncrasies and the wide diversion of games and puzzles which have conjured up  from it, for example, crosswords and Scrabble©, to name but three!   (There are many types of crossword  puzzle -  too many to give a specific number, so mentioned collectively - but just two distinct versions of the game of  Scrabble©  in the English language,  the ’English’ English and the Yankee one, having different sets of  permissible words allowed.  Chambers OSW (Official Scrabble  Words) is the ‘Bible’ for the former, whereas  the OSPD (Official Scrabble Players Dictionary - a false title, since it is but a simple listing of allowable words)  serves as the arbitrator in the United States.

2.  While there are other quite excellent application programs, designed specifically in the Windows  format, (the two Ted would recommend being Ross Beresford’s TEA (The Elecronic Alveary) and William  Tunstall-Pedoe’s Anagram Genius), both of which give certain anagram search results somewhat superior to  WordsWorth’s Option 3, they operate on much smaller databases than WordsWorth’s.  Ted uses these two  programs along with his own creation.  The results given by WordsWorth contain much more information,  especially in statistical data, timings, etc. than either Ross or William provides.  Admittedly, much of this is of  academic interest, but it enables the user to have real insights into the program structure.

3.  Most users’ praise has been given to the ease by which the WordsWorth database accepts new data  and places it immediately into the correct file and correct alphabetical order.  Or, should the user wish, the simple sequential text file structure allows editing to a very high degree.  Whole blocks of text can be added, removed or modified - a misspelled word can be corrected - with ease, using a wordprocessor or the text editor applets, NotePad and WordPad, supplied with Windows operating systems.

4.  Ted sees no reason to change the format or environment attributes of the Wordsworth Compendium,  even though it is, by any standards, somewhat long in the tooth.   He has been really surprised, as he has  updated his hardware over the years, to find that all of the moves from an older to a newer computer have only seemed to improve the speed of processing WordsWorth’s search commands.  Furthermore, he has been  able to multi-task with WordsWorth running, for example to send or receive some e-mail, as well as being able  to have multiple runs of WordsWorth, in reduced windows on the screen at the same time.  He would be  interested to hear whether other programs are still up and running as efficiently as WordsWorth after as many  years.

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