pons-dictionary

A simple PONS dictionary interface to access the PONS API

Setup

1. Create an account with PONS and activate the API. All further information at PONS' API info site. Then you will have 1000 requests/month. Should you want to go productive with your project, contact sales at PONS, they will send you a contract which you will need to sign and the official logo, which you will need to add to your site. The official documentation of the PONS API.

2. Copy the code to a webserver of your choice and activate SSL encryption with a certificate.

3. Configure the defaults.php in /php to your needs, here are some examples:

   1. Without a caching database:

      <?php
      // PONS API Key for authentication
      $PONS_API_KEY = '<<api-key>>';
      
      // Typo dictionary for language 'deen' (German)
      $TYPO_DICT = [
          'deen' => [
              'nähmlich' => 'nämlich'
          ]
      ];
      
      // Set the connection string to '' or null
      // This says that no connection should be made
      $DB_CONNECTION_STRING = '';

   2. With a caching database:

      <?php
      // PONS API Key for authentication
      $PONS_API_KEY = '<<api-key>>';
      
      // Typo dictionary for language 'deen' (German)
      $TYPO_DICT = [
          'deen' => [
              'nähmlich' => 'nämlich'
          ]
      ];
      
      // Database configuration
      $DB_USERNAME = 'pons_api_user';
      $DB_PASSWORD = 'password';
      $DB_SERVERNAME = 'localhost';
      $DB_DATABASE_NAME = 'pons_api_cache';
      
      // Database table names for caching
      // These tables represent different dictionaries used for translation
      $DB_TABLE_NAMES = [
          'deen',  // German to English (and vice versa)
          'defr'   // German to French (and vice versa)
      ];
      
      // Database connection string
      // If caching is disabled, set this to an empty string or null
      $DB_CONNECTION_STRING = "mysql:host=$DB_SERVERNAME;dbname=$DB_DATABASE_NAME";
      
      // Cache duration settings
      $DB_CACHE_DAYS = 5;
      $DB_CACHE_SECONDS = $DB_CACHE_DAYS * 60 * 60 * 24;

4. Add your URL to your Moodle Test activity > description or define the URL in your MDM and you are good to go.