DICT (protocol)

DICT is a dictionary network protocol described in 1997 in RFC 2229 . It was developed by the DICT Development Group . The aim of the protocol is to replace the Webster protocol . The DICT protocol uses the TCP port 2628.

Selection of dictionaries which are available via DICT

• Bouvier's Law Dictionary
• CIA World Factbook
• Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Elements database
• WordNet

DICT server implementations

• dictd - The first (official) server of the DICT Development Group
• DictD ++ - A server in C ++
• GNU Dico

DICT client implementations

• cURL
• dictc
• GNOME Dictionary

DICT file format

The dictionaries consist of two .index files and one .dict file. These files must first be compiled with dictfmt .

The source code files have a very simple structure:

:wort1:Definiton
:Eumel:unsympathischer Mensch

Each line starts with a colon followed by the word. This is followed by another colon with the definition. A line is ended with a newline .

Web links

• Rickard E. Faith, Bret Martin, U. North Carolina:  RFC 2229 . - A Dictionary Server Protocol . [Errata: RFC 2229 ]. October 1997. (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rickard E. Faith, Bret Martin, U. North Carolina:  RFC 2229  - A Dictionary Server Protocol . October 1997. Section 2.1: Link Level. (English).