Words (Unix)
Encyclopedia
words is a standard file on all Unix
and Unix-like operating systems, and is simply a newline
delimited list of dictionary words. It is used, for instance, by spell checking programs.
With Unix's text processing capabilities, one can use the words file for many purposes. For example, using the grep
tool, one can find all three letter words without any vowels, using regular expression
s:
egrep -i "^[^aeiouy']{3}$" /usr/share/dict/words
The words file is usually stored in /usr/share/dict/words, or /usr/dict/words. On the Mac OS X
system, the file path is /usr/share/dict/words.
On Debian
and Ubuntu
, the words file is provided by the wordlist package, or its Provider packages wbritish, wamerican, etc. On Fedora and Arch
, the words file is provided by the words package.
A words file is also used to contain words related to a specific topic. One such example of this is for profanity
censoring
software that replaces profanities, for example, posted on the web with strings such as "###" or some other replacement. Words that are posted in this example are compared with a "bad-words" file and then if there is an occurrence of such a word, it is summarily replaced.
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
and Unix-like operating systems, and is simply a newline
Newline
In computing, a newline, also known as a line break or end-of-line marker, is a special character or sequence of characters signifying the end of a line of text. The name comes from the fact that the next character after the newline will appear on a new line—that is, on the next line below the...
delimited list of dictionary words. It is used, for instance, by spell checking programs.
With Unix's text processing capabilities, one can use the words file for many purposes. For example, using the grep
Grep
grep is a command-line text-search utility originally written for Unix. The name comes from the ed command g/re/p...
tool, one can find all three letter words without any vowels, using regular expression
Regular expression
In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means for "matching" strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters. Abbreviations for "regular expression" include "regex" and "regexp"...
s:
egrep -i "^[^aeiouy']{3}$" /usr/share/dict/words
The words file is usually stored in /usr/share/dict/words, or /usr/dict/words. On the Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
system, the file path is /usr/share/dict/words.
On Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
and Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
, the words file is provided by the wordlist package, or its Provider packages wbritish, wamerican, etc. On Fedora and Arch
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....
, the words file is provided by the words package.
A words file is also used to contain words related to a specific topic. One such example of this is for profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
censoring
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
software that replaces profanities, for example, posted on the web with strings such as "###" or some other replacement. Words that are posted in this example are compared with a "bad-words" file and then if there is an occurrence of such a word, it is summarily replaced.