Lines of Arabic and Code

The epic adventure of when an ex-Arabic student tries to build an Arabic translator. Here goes nothing.

[textfromxcode]

Xcode doesn’t have a dictionary but it will tell you what “catch 22″ means. 

[smscodes]

I am flattered that people ask me what I'm doing during my weekends as if I lead an exciting life. More ecstatic that they buy my, 'Oh, some Friends* and coding.' As a solid answer. 

Also, my very cool tic-tact-toe game using Swift is up and about if anyone is interested in seeing the code. As well as the odd comments I have within it. 

*Friends the TV Show and arguably the best tv show ever. 

[smscodes]

XIB/NIB are my Frenemies

I had this odd, bitter inspiration the other day when I was reading the Apple documentation that demonstrated how easy it was to incorporate emojis into one's code (in swift)... but presenting foreign languages was kind of messy. 

And that's when I realized that I should make a Tic-Tac-Toe game in Swift. Using emojis as the 'X' (dog) and 'O' (cat). For the most part, learning to code in Swift was easy. There were a few things that i felt like I needed to read a brief documentation on, and others I just guessed and got lucky. Huzzah!

(I have it that it clears the screen when the alert pops up... but the dog did win)

The real issue with this code, was that... it worked. It was the XIB/NIB file that was incorrectly linked to a few actions. Which meant that the code broke (namely, which player goes after a button is pressed) because the actions and such were wrong. Whoops! I know that this won't be the first time XIB/NIB files will be the cause of frustration (talking to other iOS folks, there is a pretty common theme of forgetting the power of those pesky files). 

But, these types of errors certainly make me feel like this: 

But that's okay. I guess that's what's coding all about? Especially the big (and small) projects. 

Until then... 

[smscodes]

Accents are Wicked

I truly mean my title in both the British and American sense. Turns out, that each accent in an Arabic letter takes on their own index in Objective-C. Which is cool.  Also, after reading the Apple Documentation on foreign languages, I have discovered the CFStrings are my new best friends. Sorry NSStrings, but you're too basic for me. You simply cannot handle my Arabic needs without insisting that they become more like the Latin Alphabet. Then, in the mist of me reading the Apple Documentation, I found out that emojis can be used as variable names within Swift. Which, let me tell you, I am so excited that Apple has put in the time in resource to enable a programming platform in which emojis can be incorporated into code but foreign languages is simply too much.  Though, I can imagine a hilarious dialogue with someone as they are debugging an emoji filled code. Like, 'Uh, excuse me, you're manipulating the heart-eyes emoji instead of the queen emoji and that's why you're getting all these errors.' 

[smscodes]

Oh hey, remember when I wrongly assumed that objective-c would take in an Arabic input? But you know what's cool? 

So at least it can tell the right orientation... even if it can't give me the correct char. Baby steps Xcode. 

[smscodes]

My Best Friends: Fathah, Kasrah, Dammah, and Shaddah

Confession: Whenever I was learning a new programming language, I would see how well it would deal with the Arabic language. Does it orient it correctly? Does it separate the letters? Does it reverse the word? Am I able to parse it correctly as if it were a string?  Most of the time, the answer was a 'Noooooo.' I had to encode it such that it could handle the Arabic strings, and even then it was struggling to orient the words and connect the letters. For the most part, xcode is doing a fine job.  Even though, the most challenging Arabic string is actually a label which was placed on the Nib file. I haven't actually had it compare Arabic strings. And frankly? I'm a little scared, mostly because of the main (note: main, not all) accents - fathah, kasrah, dammah, and shaddah.  These particular accents are placed above a letter and I'm unsure as to how xcode would parse a string with accents on it. Does the accent count as it's own place holder? Half of one? Before or after the letter? Does it depend on how the word was entered?  I am really curious about the answer, and I'll hopefully be able to present my findings soon enough! 

[smscodes]

A Lesson in the Ten Forms

I talk about my life, sometimes, with the customers who walk through my place of work. I currently work as a barista, and in between the lattes and hot chocolates, I tend to geek out about my projects. Which means, I have spent a fair amount of time explaining a critical component of Arabic in a minute and a half (or even less) with an espresso machine working hard in the background. Let's see if I can top it. In Arabic, there are the roots and the forms. A root is usually three letters long, sometimes four if it is irregular. The root on it's own has it's own meaning and when you apply one of the ten forms to it, then it takes on a new meaning. When applying a form, it means that sometimes extra letters or accents are added. When a form is applied to a root, then the root is transformed to take on a whole new meaning. It just depends on what form you are dressing it in. Keep in mind, that not every root can take on every form. Form 1 - Expresses the general meaning of the word, usually the root. Form 2 - The causative/intensive version of Form 1. Form 3 - Gives associative meaning to the Form 1 verb; describes someone doing the act in question to or with someone else. Form 4 - Usually a causative version of Form 1. Form 5 - The reflexive version of the Form 2 verb, or the intensive version of a Form 1. Form 6 - Usually a reflexive version of the form 3 verb. Form 7 - Usually a reflexive and/or passive version of the Form 1 verb. Form 8 - Often a reflexive version of the form 1 verb but it can sometimes just have it's own special meaning. Form 9 - A form ONLY for colours (reddens, blackens, etc.). Form 10 - Often a considerative version of the Form 1 verb; means "to consider or to deem someone to have the quality" of the form 1 verb in question. Often a requestive version of a form 1 verb; means "to request or to seek something" for oneself.

Help for explaining this concept comes from old Arabic notes and Arabic online study guides like this one.

[smscodes]

Xcode Errors (1/??)

Success!  Well, as far as getting the bare skeletons of the project started. Which, for me, was to simply code something that resembled the UI I was aiming for for the main tab (secondary tabs will come about). And then, committing these files to Github. It surprisingly took a lot longer than I anticipated.  Part of it was the fact that I ran into the bizarre Apple-O Matcher Linker Error. I wish I could tell you that I brilliant navigated myself out of it. But, despite cleaning the project, changing the architecture aspect a gazillion and one times, and deleting the library derived data... I kept on getting that error.  My solution? Well, since I wasn't far, at all, on the project - I simply created a clean new project. And the code suddenly compiled and the simulator was working again. Problem solved.  My wild guess as to why I got the error... I think I started the project as a multi-tab one versus a single page. Word of advice, it is always easy to build the tab on with a single page. The multi-tab project, I suspect, has some sort of magic to hide the user the tab control menu and all. The code is simply not there. When I deleted the tabviews and inserted my own, I imagine xcode was all in a huff about it. Xcode has a lot of these to be fair. Not sure what I was astounded that I was wrestling with xcode over issues that really shouldn't exist.  Then, there were some bugs of committing to Git. Mostly, because I haven't been using my Vim terms in a while and I haven't really explored Git as a means of backing up projects. I rely on an external hard-drive... so using Git feels odd for me.  But hey, you gotta learn sometime, right? 

[smscodes]

About Me + First Post

As someone who has studied Arabic for three solid years, I can proudly show off my battle scars. From the tears on my Arabic homework to the countless grammar books that I have purchased blindly. I have invested quite of bit of my sanity to crack the language. I understand first hand what a misplace accent can do to your homework: a verb turns into a noun and then, that adjective you were proud to learn turns into a noun. Whoops?  I have had one too many arguments with Google translator. The amount of times I relied on the program to translate a simple word... only to get gibberish. Or to get a verb when I knew it was an adjective. And that's alright. This, is sadly, quite normal with Arabic. And Google translator.  I have also spent quite a bit of time refining my programming/coding skills. Having gotten a minor in computer science, I understand first hand what a misplaced semi-colon can do to your program.

Thus, from my frustrations with Arabic and semi-successes in programming: it became this dream to create a somewhat decent Arabic translator. Better yet, I hope to one day build a translator that could correctly translate the following: 'Yanni, baba, ma-b3araf! Leesh?'. And I tell my goal proudly to people and I always get the wide eyed surprised look, and if the person is so bold, a scoff to go along with it.  And I get it. I completely get it. I mean, this is a huge feat. And I recognize it. There are a about a thousand different issues that I need to flag for when it comes to this project. There are a million different components that I need to worry about. And yet, I'm going to deal with project the way I deal with every project that comes my way.  Break it down to manageable pieces. And with a little help of taylorswift's music, I might be able to accomplish this huge feat.  One piece at a time.