pravyn-p / cli-dictionary-tool Goto Github PK

• This project provides a flexible and user-friendly way to interact with the Merriam-Webster Dictionary API from the command line. Users can specify a wordand, optionally, a part of speech to filter the definitions.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction:
   • 1.1 Purpose
   • 1.2 Features
2. Installation:
   • 2.1 Prerequisites
   • 2.2 Setup
3. Usage:
   • 3.1 Command Line Arguments
   • 3.2 Example
4. Code Structure
5. Dependencies
6. Error Handling
7. Future Enhancements
8. Contribution Guidelines
9. Contact Information

1. Introduction:

• 1.1 Purpose:

  • The purpose of this project is to create a command-line dictionary tool that fetches word definitions using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary API.

• 1.2 Features:

  • Fetches and displays the definition of a given word.
  • Handles errors gracefully, such as API errors or invalid JSON responses.
  • Provides a user-friendly command-line interface using argparse.

2. Installation:

• 2.1 Prerequisites:

  • Ensure the following prerequisites are met before using the script:
  • Python (version 3.6 or higher): Install the Python and set up the environment variable. Check python installation status, execute the command ('python --version').
  • Get the Merriam-Webster API_URL and API_Key from https://dictionaryapi.com/.

• 2.2 Setup:

  • Ensure that the required dependencies, such as 'requests' and 'argparse' libraries are installed. You can install using 'pip' i.e 'pip install requests' and 'pip install argparse'.

3. Usage:

• 3.1 Command Line Arguments:

  • To use the command-line dictionary tool, run the script with the following command:

    'python script_name.py word_to_define'.

  • Replace script_name.py with the actual name of your Python script, and word_to_define with the word for which you want to fetch the definition.

• 3.2 Example:

  • For example if your script_name.py is 'DictionaryTool.py' and the word_to_define is 'Exercise', then use the below command: 'python DictionaryTool.py Exercise'

4. Code Structure:

   • Key components in the code structure are:
     • fetch_definition function: Fetches the word definition from the Merriam-Webster API.
     • main function: Parses command-line arguments and calls fetch_definition.
     • API_KEY and API_URL definitions.

5. Dependencies:

   • Here the 'requests' library is the external dependency, required for the script to run. Used for making HTTP requests.
   • To use the 'Merriam-Webster' dictionay, you need to obtain an API key. Replace the 'API_KEY' variable in the script with your valid key.

6. Error Handling:

   • The script handles various error scenarios gracefully, including HTTP request failures, JSON decoding errors, and cases where the word has no definition.

7. Future Enhancements:

   • Here are some potential improvements or features that could be added in the future.
     • Interactive Mode: Implement an interactive mode where the user can enter multiple words without restarting the script for each query.
     • Synonyms and Antonyms: Include synonyms and antonyms along with definitions to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the word.
     • Custom Output Formats: Allow users to specify different output formats (e.g., JSON, plain text) for the fetched definitions.
     • Language Support: Extend the script to support multiple languages and dictionaries.
     • Enhanced CLI Interface: Use a more sophisticated command-line interface library (e.g., click) to provide a better user experience.

8. Contribution Guidelines:

   • This is an open source project, you can also provide your contributions, including reporting the issues or submiting the pull requests.

9. Contact Information:

   • Contact information of the project maintainer or contributor: [email protected]

• This Python script is a command-line tool that fetches and displays word definitions using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary API. It has several features, including the ability to filter definitions by part of speech. Below is a breakdown and explanation of the script:

• Explanation:

1. Imports:

   • 'requests' library is used to make HTTP requests to the Merriam-Webster API. 'argparse' library is used to parse command-line arguments.

2. API Key and URL:

   • 'API_KEY' and 'API_URL' are constants defining the Merriam-Webster API key and URL.

3. 'fetch_definition' Function:

   • Makes an HTTP request to the Merriam-Webster API with the specified word and API_KEY.
   • Parses the JSON response and extracts the definitions, filtering by part of speech if specified.
   • Handles errors such as bad responses, JSON decoding errors, and cases where the word has no definition.

4. 'main' Function:

   • Sets up the command line argument parser using 'argparse'.
   • Defines two command-line arguments: the word to fetch the definition for ('word') and an optional part of speech filter ('--pos').
   • Parses the command-line arguments.
   • Calls the 'fetch_definition' function with the specified word and part of speech.
   • Prints the results to the console.

5. Execution:

   • The 'main' function is called when the script is executed.
   • If the script is run from the command line ('python script_name.py word_to_define'), it fetches and displays word definitions based on the provided arguments.