How do I integrate speech technology with Chant Developer Workbench 2011?

Last reviewed: 7/15/2011

HOW Article ID: H071101

The information in this article applies to:

  • Developer Workbench 2011
  • GrammarKit 4
  • LexiconKit 4
  • ProfileKit 4
  • SpeechKit 7
  • VoiceMarkupKit 4

Summary

Chant Developer Workbench 2011 ushers in a host of new customer-requested enhancements aimed at accelerating speech app development and adoption.

More Information

Chant Developer Workbench 2011 is comprised of a development and testing environment and five component libraries for integrating speech technology directly into most any application type written in most any programming language.

It includes Windows 32-bit, 64-bit, and Mobile versions of development and testing environment and component libraries: GrammarKit, LexiconKit, ProfileKit, SpeechKit, and VoiceMarkupKit.

The following top customer enhancements are addressed in Chant Developer Workbench 2011:

Enhancement RequestFeature Summary
Simplify licensing The number one enhancement request was to simplify the licensing model.

The new Chant software license continues to give you the right to construct executable applications that use the applicable component library and distribute it with executable applications without royalty obligations to Chant.

It is a single end-user license. Each developer who installs and uses the product must have their own license.

You may license the Chant Developer Workbench that includes GrammarKit, LexiconKit, ProfileKit, SpeechKit, and VoiceMarkupKit component libraries, or each product individually.

A product license unlocks all platforms: 32-bit, 64-bit, and Mobile and types: ActiveX, CBuilder, CDLL, Delphi, Java, .NET (WinForms and WPF), Silverlight, and Web.

There are no subscriptions.
Simplify packaging The number two enhancement request was to simplify the packaging.

Now there is a single installer for all products.

Libraries and samples are organized by platform: Win32, Win64, and WinCE, and by type: ActiveX, CBuilder, CDLL, Delphi, Java, .NET (WinForms and WPF), Silverlight, and Web.

Java and .NET libraries are organized by runtime versions. See feature summary:

H071109 Targeting .NET Framework Versions
Give access to more capabilities within Speech APIs There are numerous enhancement requests spanning a variety of features in speech APIs. Here are some of the links to new feature summaries:

H071129 Enumerating SAPI grammar rules and phrase properties
H071130 Interpreting recognition result confidence
H071122 Importing training documents
H071116 Managing dictation shortcuts
H071131 Implementing 1-Shot (2-pass) recognition
Support new speech APIs Speech technology vendors continue to enhance and evolve their speech APIs that provide new capabilities as well as deprecating others. Chant component libraries now support Nuance VoCon 3200 V4 and dynamic API detection for Dragon NatuallySpeaking. Here are some of the links to new feature summaries:

H071102 Developing VoCon 3200 V4 applications that manage grammars
H071115 Developing VoCon 3200 V4 applications that manage lexicons
H071121 Developing VoCon 3200 V4 applications that manage profiles
H071127 Developing VoCon 3200 V4 applications that recognize speech
H071128 Developing Dragon NaturallySpeaking applications that recognize speech
Provide better documentationDocumentation for all products is reorganized and reformatted to improve ease of use.

The product information is organized into the following areas:
  • Product Overview - defines the features, architecture, system requirements, installation steps, product registration steps, and support procedures.
  • Product Integration - defines the steps to integrate the component libraries within your application (project setup, references, includes, etc.).
  • Application Scenarios - defines how and why speech technology can be applied.
  • Class Library Reference - defines the class objects, properties, and methods with code examples.

A new tab interface is used for organizing syntax and code examples by platform and programming language. The tab selections persist across page views.
Expand platforms supportedEven though the component libraries are coded with a logical independence from platform functions, the classes and types used were influenced by Microsoft Windows.

The new class libraries are comprised of classes that are re-factored for performance and for platform-specific implementations. This allows for maximum portability and efficiency of common code for product delivery on new platforms.