<Note>Input/Output Methods for Thai : Development of a Database and a Computer Concordance for the Three Seals Law of Thailand

Abstract

An intelligent Thai computer terminal and a Thai text editor with the function of automatic and consecutive conversion from Roman spelling to Thai letters have been developed which are operable on a micro computer. These employ the Transliteration Method (TM) or the Simplified Transliteration Method (STM), which are based on a newly devised transliteration table from Roman spelling. We are now developing a database and a computer concordance of the Three Seals Law (Kotmai Tra Sam Duang), and making a machine-readable Thai dictionary using this terminal and editor. The Transliteration and Simplified Transliteration Methods were both estimated to require a greater number of key strokes in the making of the machine-readable Thai dictionary than the method used for the ordinary IBM electronic Thai typewriter, here called the Direct Mapping Method (DMM). However, an evaluation of learning effects from the number of key strokes and the measurement of learning curves in the input of the Thai dictionary indicated that although the Transliteration Method required a 42.9% greater number of key strokes than the Direct Mapping Method, a 9.8% higher input rate in terms of characters per minute. For the output of Thai letters, the design and implementation of a printing system for a Japanese laser beam printer run from a main-frame computer and a CRT display for a micro computer are described.