001    // This file is part of the Attempto Java Packages.
002    // Copyright 2008-2009, Attempto Group, University of Zurich (see http://attempto.ifi.uzh.ch).
003    //
004    // The Attempto Java Packages is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
005    // terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
006    // either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
007    //
008    // The Attempto Java Packages is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
009    // WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
010    // PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
011    //
012    // You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with the Attempto
013    // Java Packages. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
014    
015    package ch.uzh.ifi.attempto.ape;
016    
017    /**
018     * This class contains ACE-related utility methods.
019     * 
020     * @author Tobias Kuhn
021     */
022    public class ACEUtils {
023    
024            private ACEUtils() {}  // no instances allowed
025    
026            /**
027             * This method can be used to determine whether an indefinite article has the form "a" or
028             * "an" if it is followed by the given word. Heuristics are used and the result might not
029             * be correct in 100% of the cases.
030             * 
031             * @param word The word that immediately follows the indefinite article.
032             * @return true if "an" should be used; false for "a".
033             */
034            public static boolean useIndefiniteArticleAn(String word) {
035                    if (word == null || word.equals("")) return false;
036                    boolean an = false;
037                    word = word.toLowerCase();
038                    if (word.matches("[aeiou].*")) an = true;
039                    if (word.matches("[fhlmnrsx]")) an = true;
040                    if (word.matches("[fhlmnrsx]-.*")) an = true;
041                    if (word.equals("u")) an = false;
042                    if (word.matches("u-.*")) an = false;
043                    if (word.matches("u[rtn]i.*")) an = false;
044                    if (word.matches("use.*")) an = false;
045                    if (word.matches("uk.*")) an = false;
046                    return an;
047            }
048    
049    }