PRS-650 Access to the Dictionary files

[Papi]

Anyone knows how to access the PRS 650 dictionaries files ? I would like to study the possibility of adding dictionaries to the reader, and the first step would be to analyze the structure of the "built-in" dictionaries. I'm willing to spend some time on it, I have some "computer knowledge" if that means anything (well I know some programming and UNIX at least), but I don't know where to start. Would I have to install some hack to access those files ?

[Mark Nord]

Hi Papi!

I assume you are looking for these files:

			<variable name="bbebDictionaryRootFile" value="/opt1/dict/LIBRARY.MBF"/>
			<variable name="bbebDictionaries" value="CDUS125D00001:STR_DICTIONARY_US:English-US,CDUS125D00002:STR_DICTIONARY_BRITISH:English-UK,CDUS125D00009:STR_DICTIONARY_EN_TO_FR:English-UK,CDUS125D0000A:STR_DICTIONARY_FR_TO_EN:French-France,CDUS125D00003:STR_DICTIONARY_EN_TO_GM:English-UK,CDUS125D00004:STR_DICTIONARY_GM_TO_EN:German-Germany,CDUS125D0000B:STR_DICTIONARY_EN_TO_SP:English-UK,CDUS125D0000C:STR_DICTIONARY_SP_TO_EN:Sapanish-Spain,CDUS125D00005:STR_DICTIONARY_EN_TO_IT:English-UK,CDUS125D00006:STR_DICTIONARY_IT_TO_EN:Italian-Italy,CDUS125D00007:STR_DICTIONARY_EN_TO_DT:English-UK,CDUS125D00008:STR_DICTIONARY_DT_TO_EN:Dutch-Netherlands"/>
			<variable name="bbebDictionaryDefault" value="CDUS125D00001"/>

Info taken from kconfig.xml

Further I assume they will be in some kind of BBEB/LRF format, as there is a "FskBBeBDictionary.so" binary in the "\opt\sony\ebook\application" path.

The dictionary-files are not included in the "standard" cramfs-image, so they will be stored in some other part of the file-system and mounted in place.

You will have to "russify" your reader to enable the test/autorun mode.
With a modified testscript you can get access to the filesystem and find and possibly copy out the dictionary files.

[Edit]As Unix-User you will also consider setting up a serial-console.
See Xaphiosis Post here [\Edit]

You should also have a look on the cramfs-tools and igorsk fine deFSK-Scripts.

Hope that gives you a start

[jgray]

That would be wonderful if someone could figure out the structure of the dictionary file. That way we could possibly add our own dictionaries. Please keep us informed of any progress.

Joe

[Papi]

Mark : thanks a lot for the information, which is exactly what I needed to start.
jgray : I hope to get somewhere, and if I will definitely post progress I make if there is some.

[zcqsimon]

I'm also quite interesting with the dictionary of PRS-650, hope you can give some hints or tool to do it, good luck

Originally Posted by Papi

Mark : thanks a lot for the information, which is exactly what I needed to start.
jgray : I hope to get somewhere, and if I will definitely post progress I make if there is some.

[jackinca]

Originally Posted by Papi

Anyone knows how to access the PRS 650 dictionaries files ? I would like to study the possibility of adding dictionaries to the reader, and the first step would be to analyze the structure of the "built-in" dictionaries. I'm willing to spend some time on it, I have some "computer knowledge" if that means anything (well I know some programming and UNIX at least), but I don't know where to start. Would I have to install some hack to access those files ?

Beyond adding dictionaries, would it be of any interest to you to determine a fix whereby words on the "Word List" on the 650,350 or 950 could be saved to the computer similarly to the current ability to save highlights and notes to the computer. In this manner, the word list could be reviewed periodically without it being automatically overwritten after 100 word limit is reached. Thank you.

[jgray]

Originally Posted by Papi

Anyone knows how to access the PRS 650 dictionaries files ? I would like to study the possibility of adding dictionaries to the reader, and the first step would be to analyze the structure of the "built-in" dictionaries. I'm willing to spend some time on it, I have some "computer knowledge" if that means anything (well I know some programming and UNIX at least), but I don't know where to start. Would I have to install some hack to access those files ?

Just wondering if any progress has been made with this? If you have managed to extract the dictionary files and any associated files, I'd be willing to try figuring out the structure. PM me about this if you like.

Joe

[Papi]

Sorry, I forgot to reply to this thread : unfortunately, I gave up. I didn't even succeed at accessing the dictionary files, so that's it basically. If I ever find more informations on how to do it I'll post any progress, but for now the best bet is maybe one of the alternative firmware maker will have interest in doing this.

[kartu]

Papi

didn't even succeed at accessing the dictionary files

Papi, I can send you one from PRS-600, if it would help. (have in mind, that the stuff is copyrighted)

[Pumpa]

I have all from 950 version. 150MB of size, contact me via PM.

[Papi]

I didn't have much time to spend on this, but I'm more or less stuck now, the problem is to understand the structure of a MSD (BBeB dictionary) file. If it's anything like a LRF file, it should be something like a header and then compressed XML data if I understood correctly. Now it seems to me difficult to go further without knowing what's in the header first, like a "XOR key" if such thing was used, or the size of the compressed XML. I think the first progresses in understanding LRF structure was done by reverse engineering, creating basic LRF files and analyzing the output. I don't know of any software to create BBeB dictionary files though. I even tried to decompile FskBBeBDictionary.so, but IDA / Hex-Rays which could eventually give me some comprehensible C code costs way too much, the free version gives me only ASM code, and that's beyond my knowledge. So basically if anyone has any idea to go further...I heard there was a "Sony BBeB dictionary Viewer for Windows" software available at some point, but I can't find it, and I'm note sure it would be of any use anyway.

[Papi]

Originally Posted by Pumpa

I have all from 950 version. 150MB of size, contact me via PM.

Sorry I didn't saw your post before, and thanks for the help, but I already have an example of a MSD file.

[TJ27]

Papi
Sony BBeB dictionary Viewer include in japan software installation disk for Sony Clie TH55DK, Memory Stick dictionary and stanalone viewer for this.

[Papi]

I couldn't find a download of Sony BBeB dictionary Viewer, but I found a software called BBeB dictionary studio which should allow to create dictionaries. Though I thought as a first step I should try to replace a working dictionary with another one (for example : replacing Dutch -> English with English -> French) and it didn't work. When I double-tap a word (even words that existe in Dutch, French and English), no definition displays. I tried messing with the header of the msd file, with no result though.

[TJ27]

Papi
BBeb Dictionary studio worj in 'shiftJS' encoding (tittle, autor and words) - sony prs use unicode. Need big "path" bbebdic.dll
Official selling sony dictionary only japan -
And header working dictionary and "made in studio" - different, not only CDUS <-> FDJP
Only library.mbf work - i remove dictionary and mbf file edited correctly
I attach 'patched' bbedic.dll (only not need correct CDUS <-> FDJP)