Lexicons on web
The editor Alinea (Egmont group) has chosen Progresso’s solution to publish online dictionaries. Alinea is Denmark’s largest provider of educational materials for the Danish public schools.
English and German School Dictionaries
These lexicons use Flash technology to obtain very fast search without stressing the web server.
NB: New products from Progresso use HTML5 technology since Flash is no longer supported by various browsers/platforms. See e.g. RO+
Alinea’s requirements were:
- a web system that would work just as well as Alinea’s CD-ROM solution (also a Progresso product)
- high speed search in the dictionary
- the search results must show up immediately while the search text is typed
- integration with Alinea’s
Student Universe
(Content Management System) - integration with a central Danish login site for educational institutions
- integration with Microsoft Word ©
These requirements were met through the use of RIA technology (with a Flash front-end). The web pages are shown without noticeable delay, and any search takes only a fraction of a second even with a 100.000 entries, for instance.
By using Flash the load and the primary database functionality are moved to the users’ computers. Only files reside on the server – no database system needed!
Thus, the system also works on the simplest of web servers – like basic web hotels.
Try out a demo of the English School Dictionary
Try out a demo of the German School Dictionary
NB: The demo requires that your browser accepts Flash (new products from Progresso use HTML5 technology, see e.g. RO+). The dictionaries with full functionality are available in Alinea Student Universe (in Danish). Access requires a subscription provided by Alinea.
Windows plug-in
For the integration with Microsoft Word® etc. Progresso has produced
a special plug-in
for automated lookups
in the dictionaries. Any user may freely download this plug-in for Windows.