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Each DictionaryProvider implementation supports a different subset of features depending on its underlying storage mechanism. Use the matrix below to choose the right provider for your use case.

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Overview

The DictionaryProvider abstract base class defines the interface for dictionary data storage and retrieval. Different implementations offer different capabilities based on their underlying storage mechanism.

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Capability Matrix

MethodSQLiteProviderMemoryProviderJSONProviderCSVProvider
Core Validation
is_valid_syllable()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
is_valid_word()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
has_syllable()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
has_word()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
Frequency Data
get_syllable_frequency()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
get_word_frequency()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
Part-of-Speech
get_word_pos()✅ Full✅ Full⚠️ Optional⚠️ Optional
get_pos_unigram_probabilities()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
get_pos_bigram_probabilities()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
get_pos_trigram_probabilities()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
N-gram Context
get_bigram_probability()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
get_trigram_probability()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
get_top_continuations()✅ Full✅ Full❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported
Morphology
get_word_syllable_count()❌ Not Supported❌ Not Supported✅ If provided✅ If provided
Iteration
get_all_syllables()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
get_all_words()✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full✅ Full
Bulk Operations
is_valid_syllables_bulk()✅ Optimized✅ OptimizedDefaultDefault
is_valid_words_bulk()✅ Optimized✅ OptimizedDefaultDefault
get_syllable_frequencies_bulk()✅ Optimized✅ OptimizedDefaultDefault
get_word_frequencies_bulk()✅ Optimized✅ OptimizedDefaultDefault
get_word_pos_bulk()✅ Optimized✅ OptimizedDefaultDefault

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Legend

  • ✅ Full: Fully implemented with optimized performance
  • ⚠️ Optional: Supported if data is provided during initialization
  • ❌ Not Supported: Returns default value (0, None, or empty)
  • Default: Uses default implementation (iterates over individual calls)
  • Optimized: Uses batch queries for better performance

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Provider Selection Guide

Best for:
  • Production deployments
  • Large dictionaries (100K+ entries)
  • Concurrent access from multiple threads
  • Full spell checking with context validation
Features:
  • Disk-based storage with memory-mapped I/O
  • Connection pooling for thread safety
  • Optimized batch queries
  • Full N-gram and POS support
from myspellchecker.providers import SQLiteProvider

provider = SQLiteProvider(
    database_path="myspell.db",
    cache_size=2048,
    pool_max_size=5,
)

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MemoryProvider (Best for Testing/Development)

Best for:
  • Unit testing with controlled data
  • Development and debugging
  • Small dictionaries
  • Maximum performance (no I/O)
Features:
  • In-memory storage
  • Fast initialization
  • Full N-gram and POS support
  • No disk dependencies
from myspellchecker.providers import MemoryProvider

provider = MemoryProvider(
    syllables={"မြန်": 1000, "မာ": 500},
    words={"မြန်မာ": 800},
    bigrams={("မြန်", "မာ"): 0.5},
)

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JSONProvider (For Simple Use Cases)

Best for:
  • Simple dictionary files
  • Human-readable configuration
  • Small datasets
  • Testing with external data
Limitations:
  • No N-gram support
  • No POS probability support
  • Not optimized for large datasets
from myspellchecker.providers import JSONProvider

provider = JSONProvider(json_path="dictionary.json")

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CSVProvider (For Data Import)

Best for:
  • Importing from spreadsheets
  • Simple frequency lists
  • Data migration
Limitations:
  • Same as JSONProvider
  • Column-based format only
from myspellchecker.providers import CSVProvider

provider = CSVProvider(csv_path="dictionary.csv")

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Method Behavior When Not Supported

When a method is not supported by a provider, it returns a safe default value:
MethodDefault Return Value
get_bigram_probability()0.0
get_trigram_probability()0.0
get_top_continuations()[] (empty list)
get_word_pos()None
get_word_syllable_count()None
get_pos_*_probabilities(){} (empty dict)

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Creating Custom Providers

To create a custom provider, extend DictionaryProvider and implement all abstract methods: 
from myspellchecker.providers import DictionaryProvider

class MyCustomProvider(DictionaryProvider):
    def is_valid_syllable(self, syllable: str) -> bool:
        # Your implementation
        pass

    def is_valid_word(self, word: str) -> bool:
        # Your implementation
        pass

    # ... implement all abstract methods
See src/myspellchecker/providers/base.py for the complete interface definition.