COS 226 Programming Assignment Checklist: WordNet


Frequently Asked Questions

Can I read the synset or hypernym file twice? No, file I/O is very expensive so please read each file only once and store it in an appropriate data structure.

Any advice on how to read in and parse the synset and hypernym data files? Use the readLine() method in our In library to read in the data one line at a time. Use the split() method in Java's String library to divide a line into fields. You can find an example using split() in Domain.java. Use Integer.parseInt() to convert string id numbers into integers.

It takes a very long time to read in the input files in DrJava. What should I do? Use the command line. DrJava incurs substantial overhead with input and output.

Which data structure(s) should I use to store the synsets, synset ids, and hypernyms? This part of the assignment is up to you. You must carefully select data structures to achieve the specified performance requirements.

Do I need to store the glosses? No, you won't use them on this assignment.

Can I use my own Digraph class? No, it must have the same API as our Digraph.java class; otherwise, you are changing the API to the ShorestCommonAncestor constructor (which takes a Digraph argument). Do not submit Digraph.java.

How can I make the data type ShortestCommonAncestor immutable? You can (and should) save the associated digraph in an instance variable. However, because our Digraph data type is mutable, you must first make a defensive copy by calling the copy constructor.

Should I reimplement breadth-first search in my ShortestCommonAncestor class? In the beginning, you should call the relevant methods in BreadthFirstDirectedPaths.java. However, to implement the additional performance requirement, you will need to implement your own version, perhaps in a helper class named DeluxeBFS.java.

For the "additional performance requirements," do length() and ancestor() need to take time proportional to to the number of vertices and edges reachable from the argument vertices in the worst case? Or can I use hashing? You can make standard technical assumptions (such as the uniform hashing assumption). If you do so, state any assumptions that you make in your readme.txt file.

I understand how to compute the length(int v, int w) method in time proportional to E + V in the worst case but my length(Iterable<Integer> v, Iterable<Integer> w) method takes time proportional to a × b × (E + V), where a and b are the sizes of the two iterables. How can I improve it to be proportional to E + V? The key is use a multi-source version of breadth-first search, as in the the constructor in BreadthFirstDirectedPaths that accepts an iterable of sources as an argument (instead of a single source).

Is a vertex considered an ancestor of itself? Yes.

What is the root synset for the WordNet DAG?

38003,entity,that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving) 

Can a noun appear in more than one synset? Absolutely. It will appear once for each meaning that the noun has. For example, here are all of the entries in synsets.txt that include the noun word.

35532,discussion give-and-take word,an exchange of views on some topic; "we had a good discussion"; "we had a word or two about it"
56587,news intelligence tidings word,new information about specific and timely events; "they awaited news of the outcome"
59267,parole word word_of_honor,a promise; "he gave his word"
59465,password watchword word parole countersign,a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group; "he forgot the password"
81575,word,a string of bits stored in computer memory; "large computers use words up to 64 bits long"
81576,word,a verbal command for action; "when I give the word, charge!"
81577,word,a brief statement; "he didn't say a word about it"
81578,word,a unit of language that native speakers can identify; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning"

Can a synset consist of exactly one noun? Yes. Moreover, there can be several different synsets that consist of the same noun. See the President example below.

I'm an ontologist and I noticed that your hypernyms.txt file contains both is-a and is-instance-of relationships. Yes, you caught us. This ensures that every noun (except entity) has a hypernym. Here is an article on the subtle distinction.

What should sca(), ancestor(), or outcast() return if is there is a tie for the shortest common ancestor or outcast? The API does not specify, so you are free to return any such ancestor or outcast.

To meet the "performance requirements" for sca() and distance() can I make a call to the constructor of SCA? You can not make a call to the constructor, just one method of SCA.

Do I need to throw exceptions explicitly with a throw statement? No, it's fine if they are thrown implicitly, e.g., you can rely on any method in Digraph.java to throw a java.lang.IndexOutOfBoundsException if passed a vertex argument outside of the prescribed range. A good API documents the requisite behavior for all possible arguments, but you should not need much extra code to deal with these corner cases.

Input, Output, and Testing

Some examples. Here are some interesting examples that you can use to test your code.

Possible progress steps

A video is provided for those wishing additional assistance. Be forewarned that the video was made in early 2014 and is somewhat out of date. For example the API has changed.

Enrichment