==== Repository moved to Codeberg ==== https://codeberg.org/proteusx/tlg2u
A command line utility to decode beta encoded classical text and print to the standard output.
tlg2gu converts beta encoded classical texts, from the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) and the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI5/7) Latin, epigraphical and papyrological corpora in CD-ROM, to utf-8 encoded text suitable for further processing by word processor, Latex, etc., and prints the results to the standard output. It can convert whole files when giving a filename or single texts by specifying the corpus, the author id and the work id.
Beta Code is an character encoding for classical texts where text and formatting information onto combinations of ascii characters whereas indexing information is stored as binary data interleaved with the ascii data.
To use tlg2u you will need to have the CD-ROMs containing the text corpora. As far as I know these are no longer sold but they are easily found via bit torrent.
Optionally tlg2u can emit text with Latex markups (option -p). You need to add appropriate preamble and postamble before passing this output through XeLaTex to produce a pdf document.
Although tlg2u can be easily used as a standalone utility, it is meant to be used in conjunction other commands or with a GUI utility through which the user can select authors and works from a list.
tlg2u is written in C and to compile it you need GNU Make and the GCC compiler. If compiling for Micro$oft Windows you will need the MinGW GCC compiler instead. Groff is also needed to build the documentation.
- Download the tlg2u source from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com:proteusx/tlg2u
cd tlg2u/src- Edit the makefile depending on whether you are compiling for Linux or Windows, 32 bit or 64 bit. The makefile defaults to 64bit Linux.
- Issue the command
maketo compile the source. This will build the documentation and the ELF executabletlg2u(or the MZ executabletlg2u.exefor Windows) which can be run in situ or copied somewhere in your existing search path.
The following examples assume that you have access to the CD-ROMs through the directory ./cdroms/
tlg2u -a 0012 -b 001 -c tlg -d ./cdroms/tlge > Iliad.utf
Convert Homer's Iliad to utf-8 encoded text (the default). Homer is found in the TLG CDROM with author id=0012 and the Iliad has book id=001. The path of the input file is ./cdroms/tlge/tlg0012.txt. The results are sent to the file Iliad.utf which can be viewed with Open/LibreOffice Writer or any other unicode capable editor/word processor.
tlg2u -a 0448 -b 001 -L -C -c lat -d ./cdroms/phi5 > DeBello.txt
Convert Caesar's De Bello Galico to utf-8. Append all citation numbers on the left margin. The input file is ./cdroms/phi5/lat0448.txt.
tlg2u -a 0016 -b 001 -P -l -c tlg -d ./cdroms/phi5 > herod_hist.txt
Convert Herodotus' Historiae, append section numbers to the left margin and line numbers to the right margin. The input file is ./cdroms/tlge/tlg0448.txt.
tlg2u -L doccan2.txt > canon.txt
Translate the TLG canon to unicode and write to file canon.txt (i.e. print the author catalogue). You need to do this first to know the author and book ids. The -L option is set because the canon contains mainly Latin text. The few titles in Greek are indicated in the source file by language change marks and so will be printed correctly.
For more information about tlg2u's options see the man page in the documentation directory distributed with the source code.
Texts extracted with tlg2u can be edited with a polytonic typing aid like Palamedes (Windows only) or with the Vim editor and the polytonic Greek keymap. There is also the Microsoft Greek polytonic keymap but it is counterintuitive and awkward to use. Also have a look at the polytonic Greek spell checker for Vim. This spell checker covers the complete vocabulary from Homeric through to modern Greek.