GNU Aspell, usually called just Aspell, is a

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

spell checker In software, a spell checker (or spelling checker or spell check) is a software feature that checks for misspellings in a text. Spell-checking features are often embedded in software or services, such as a word processor, email client, electronic ...

designed to replace

Ispell Ispell is a spelling checker for Unix that supports most Western languages. It offers several interfaces, including a programmatic interface for use by editors such as Emacs. Unlike GNU Aspell, ispell will only suggest corrections that are based ...

. It is the standard spell checker for the

GNU GNU ( ) is an extensive collection of free software (394 packages ), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popu ...

operating system. It also compiles for other

Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X, *nix or *NIX) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Uni ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

s and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. The main program is licensed under the

GNU Lesser General Public License The GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) is a free-software license published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the LGPL into their own ...

(GNU LGPL), the

documentation Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...

under the

GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights ...

(GNU FDL). Dictionaries for it are available for about 70

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

s. The primary maintainer is Kevin Atkinson.

Comparison to Ispell

Unlike

, Aspell can easily check

UTF-8 UTF-8 is a character encoding standard used for electronic communication. Defined by the Unicode Standard, the name is derived from ''Unicode Transformation Format 8-bit''. Almost every webpage is transmitted as UTF-8. UTF-8 supports all 1,112,0 ...

documents without having to use a special dictionary. But the mechanism behind is still 8-bit. Aspell will also do its best to respect the current locale setting. Other advantages over Ispell include support for using multiple dictionaries at once and intelligently handling personal dictionaries when more than one Aspell process is open at once. However, Ispell follows the Unix convention of being a command applied to a file, e.g., , whereas Aspell requires other command-line options, and the "" option is more comprehensive. Sample uses include: * Interactively run through the checking the spelling (). * Allow typing a word (followed by newline and ) to find words that sound the same ().

Windows ports

, the latest official Windows port of GNU Aspell was still 32-bit version 0.50.3 (Dec 2002), with dictionaries of similar age. The developer says he has "no time and very little interest in maintaining a Windows port", and has been looking for somebody to maintain it. However, the

LyX LyX (styled as LYX; pronounced ) is an open-source software, open source, graphical user interface document processor based on the LaTeX typesetting system. Unlike most word processors, which follow the WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") ...

project maintains a separate fork of Aspell for Windows and dictionaries, and says "the LyX project has long solved the Windows packaging problem by forking Aspell." LyX is being maintained and the latest version is 2.3.7, dated 7 January 2023. The regularly updated

Cygwin Cygwin ( ) is a free and open-source Unix-like environment and command-line interface (CLI) for Microsoft Windows. The project also provides a software repository containing open-source packages. Cygwin allows source code for Unix-like operati ...

port of aspell can also be used in

and it is the latest version.

Integration

Aspell has been integrated into

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

such as

Gajim Gajim is an instant messaging client for the XMPP protocol which uses the GTK toolkit. The name Gajim is a recursive acronym for ''Gajim's a jabber instant messenger''. Gajim runs on Linux, BSD, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. Released under the ...

Notepad++ Notepad++ (sometimes npp or NPP) is a text and source code editor for use with Microsoft Windows. It supports tabbed editing, which allows working with multiple open files in one window. The program's name comes from the C postfix increment op ...

Claws Mail Claws Mail is a free and open-source, C_(programming_language), C/GTK-based e-mail client, which is both lightweight and highly configurable. Claws Mail runs on both Microsoft Windows, Windows and Unix-like systems such as Linux, BSD, and Solaris ...

and previously

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

gedit gedit ( or ) is a text editor designed for the GNOME desktop environment. It was GNOME's default text editor and part of the GNOME Core Applications until GNOME version 42 in March 2022, which changed the default text editor to GNOME Text Edi ...

and AbiWord.

Notes and references

External links

Aspell Homepage

Aspell Spell Helper

Test Results of Aspell Compared to Other Spell Checkers

under the

GNU Aspell download page
(

FTP The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and dat ...

link)
LyXWinInstaller (includes Aspell for Windows)

GNU Aspell summary page
at

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Mac OS X interface for Aspell

Original Unix spell (1978-81), on which Aspell is based
{{GNU GNU Project software Spell checkers Free software programmed in C++ Free spelling checking programs Language software for Linux Language software for macOS Language software for Windows Software using the GNU Lesser General Public License

Comparison to Ispell

Windows ports

Integration

See also

Notes and references

External links