The GF Cloud: web Apps and APIs

GF Summer School 2017

Thomas Hallgren

Where is the GF cloud

On our server
- cloud.grammaticalframework.org
On your on computer
- Download and install GF (cabal install gf -fserver)
- run gf -server
- Open it your browser

What is in the GF cloud

Minibar
Syntax editor
Simple Translation Tool
Translation Quiz
GF online editor simple multilingual grammars
Wide Coverage Translation Demo (requires App16.pgf)
Some documentation

Some other web applications

Available from www.grammaticalframework.org/demos.
Tourist Phrasebook, Mathbar (from MOLTO)
Phrasomatic
Syllogisms (JavaScript + Haskell + ...)
Multilingual Wiki
Numeral translator, Letter editor (older, Java applets)

Using GF grammars in web applications

Compiling grammars to PGF (Portable Grammar Format) files
Using the PGF web API

The Portable Grammar Format

GF compiles grammar source files into PGF files (Portable Grammat Format).
PGF files can be used with the PGF run-time library.
Example:
- gf -make FoodsEng.gf FoodsSwe.gf
- Creates Foods.pgf

PGF run-time libraries

PGF (Haskell implementation)
PGF2 (C implementation)
- Haskell binding
- Java binding
- Python binding
- .NET binding

PGF web service API

For client-side web applications in JavaScript
For (server-side) applications in other programming languages
Operations:
- list available grammars,
- parse, linearize, translate,
- completion, random generation, ...
Access to both PGF and PGF2
- c-parse, c-linearize, c-translate, ...

PGF JavaScript library

PGF service access

pgf_online.js, support.js
- Documentation: PGF web API examples
gftranslate.js

User interface components

minibar_input.js: user input with magnets and completion
minibar_translations.js: display translations
minibar.js: complete Minibar web app
syntax-editor/editor.js: syntax tree editor
minibar_support.js, support.js: auxiliary functions
Documentation: Minibar API

Running the PGF service on your own computer

GF server mode

Standalone HTTP Server included in GF distributions (>=3.2)
gf -server This is GF version 3.9. Document root = .../lib/gf-3.9/share/www Starting HTTP server, open http://localhost:41296/ in your web browser.
Copy your .pgf files to grammars under the document root shown when starting gf -server
This gives you the same web apps and services as provided on cloud.grammaticalframework.org.

Web applications without a web server

Translating grammars to JavaScript, example:

gf -make --output-format=js FoodEng.gf FoodIta.gf
Used in
- Muste
- The Multilingual Restaurant Wiki
  - Also uses a server-side database
Limited functionality
Currently not maintained?

The End

Questions?

More info

GF book (Chapter 7: Embedded grammars and code generation)
www.grammaticalframework.org (main GF web site)
cloud.grammaticalframework.org (demo apps and web API documentation)
PGF run-time library in Haskell
PGF run-time library in C (old page)
Python binding

Extra