3
\$\begingroup\$

This program estimates the likelihood for a string to belong to a certain natural language by computing the cosine similarity between an input string's and several natural languages' letter frequency, and it allows the storage of a prediction as a list in a .txt file. I would like to know whether improvements (both formal and functional) are possible. My experience with programming is pretty limited, even though I've been programming intermittently for a couple of years now.

Here's the code:

import time
import string
import os
from scipy import spatial

baseDict = {"a":0, "b":0, "c":0, "d":0, "e":0, "f":0, "g":0, "h":0, "i":0, "j":0, "k":0, "l":0, "m":0, "n":0, "o":0, "p":0, "q":0, "r":0, "s":0, "t":0, "u":0, "v":0, "w":0, "x":0, "y":0, "z":0}
baseChars = ["a",   "b",    "c",    "d",    "e",    "f",    "g",    "h",    "i",    "j",    "k",    "l",    "m",    "n",    "o",    "p",    "q",    "r",    "s",    "t",    "u",    "v",    "w",    "x",    "y",    "z",    "à",    "â",    "á",    "å",    "ä",    "ã",    "ą",    "æ",    "œ",    "ç",    "ĉ",    "ć",    "č",    "ď",    "ð",    "è",    "é",    "ê",    "ë",    "ę",    "ě",    "ĝ",    "ğ",    "ĥ",    "î",    "ì",    "í",    "ï",    "ı",    "ĵ",    "ł",    "ñ",    "ń",    "ň",    "ò",    "ö",    "ô",    "ó",    "õ",    "ø",    "ř",    "ŝ",    "ş",    "ś",    "š",    "ß",    "ť",    "þ",    "ù",    "ú",    "û",    "ŭ",    "ü",    "ů",    "ý",    "ź",    "ż",    "ž"]

dictEN = {"a":8.167,    "b":1.492,  "c":2.782,  "d":4.253,  "e":12.702, "f":2.228,  "g":2.015,  "h":6.094,  "i":6.966,  "j":0.153,  "k":0.772,  "l":4.025,  "m":2.406,  "n":6.749,  "o":7.507,  "p":1.929,  "q":0.095,  "r":5.987,  "s":6.327,  "t":9.056,  "u":2.758,  "v":0.978,  "w":2.36,   "x":0.15,   "y":1.974,  "z":0.074,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictFR = {"a":7.636,    "b":0.901,  "c":3.26,   "d":3.669,  "e":14.715, "f":1.066,  "g":0.866,  "h":0.737,  "i":7.529,  "j":0.613,  "k":0.049,  "l":5.456,  "m":2.968,  "n":7.095,  "o":5.796,  "p":2.521,  "q":1.362,  "r":6.693,  "s":7.948,  "t":7.244,  "u":6.311,  "v":1.838,  "w":0.074,  "x":0.427,  "y":0.128,  "z":0.326,  "à":0.486,  "â":0.051,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0.018,  "ç":0.085,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0.271,  "é":1.504,  "ê":0.218,  "ë":0.008,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0.045,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0.005,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0.023,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0.058,  "ú":0,  "û":0.06,   "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictDE = {"a":6.516,    "b":1.886,  "c":2.732,  "d":5.076,  "e":16.396, "f":1.656,  "g":3.009,  "h":4.577,  "i":6.55,   "j":0.268,  "k":1.417,  "l":3.437,  "m":2.534,  "n":9.776,  "o":2.594,  "p":0.67,   "q":0.018,  "r":7.003,  "s":7.27,   "t":6.154,  "u":4.166,  "v":0.846,  "w":1.921,  "x":0.034,  "y":0.039,  "z":1.134,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0.578,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0.443,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0.307,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0.995,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictES = {"a":11.525,   "b":2.215,  "c":4.019,  "d":5.01,   "e":12.181, "f":0.692,  "g":1.768,  "h":0.703,  "i":6.247,  "j":0.493,  "k":0.011,  "l":4.967,  "m":3.157,  "n":6.712,  "o":8.683,  "p":2.51,   "q":0.877,  "r":6.871,  "s":7.977,  "t":4.632,  "u":2.927,  "v":1.138,  "w":0.017,  "x":0.215,  "y":1.008,  "z":0.467,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0.502,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0.433,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0.725,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0.311,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0.827,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0.168,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0.012,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictPT = {"a":14.634,   "b":1.043,  "c":3.882,  "d":4.992,  "e":12.57,  "f":1.023,  "g":1.303,  "h":0.781,  "i":6.186,  "j":0.397,  "k":0.015,  "l":2.779,  "m":4.738,  "n":4.446,  "o":9.735,  "p":2.523,  "q":1.204,  "r":6.53,   "s":6.805,  "t":4.336,  "u":3.639,  "v":1.575,  "w":0.037,  "x":0.253,  "y":0.006,  "z":0.47,   "à":0.072,  "â":0.562,  "á":0.118,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0.733,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0.53,   "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0.337,  "ê":0.45,   "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0.132,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0.635,  "ó":0.296,  "õ":0.04,   "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0.207,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0.026,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictIT = {"a":11.745,   "b":0.927,  "c":4.501,  "d":3.736,  "e":11.792, "f":1.163,  "g":1.644,  "h":0.636,  "i":10.143, "j":0.011,  "k":0.009,  "l":6.51,   "m":2.512,  "n":6.883,  "o":9.832,  "p":3.056,  "q":0.505,  "r":6.367,  "s":4.981,  "t":5.623,  "u":3.011,  "v":2.097,  "w":0.033,  "x":0.003,  "y":0.02,   "z":1.181,  "à":0.635,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0.263,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0.03,   "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0.002,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0.166,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictTK = {"a":12.92,    "b":2.844,  "c":1.463,  "d":5.206,  "e":9.912,  "f":0.461,  "g":1.253,  "h":1.212,  "i":9.6,    "j":0.034,  "k":5.683,  "l":5.922,  "m":3.752,  "n":7.987,  "o":2.976,  "p":0.886,  "q":0,  "r":7.722,  "s":3.014,  "t":3.314,  "u":3.235,  "v":0.959,  "w":0,  "x":0,  "y":3.336,  "z":1.5,    "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":1.156,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":1.125,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":5.114,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0.777,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":1.78,   "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":1.854,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictSW = {"a":9.383,    "b":1.535,  "c":1.486,  "d":4.702,  "e":10.149, "f":2.027,  "g":2.862,  "h":2.09,   "i":5.817,  "j":0.614,  "k":3.14,   "l":5.275,  "m":3.471,  "n":8.542,  "o":4.482,  "p":1.839,  "q":0.02,   "r":8.431,  "s":6.59,   "t":7.691,  "u":1.919,  "v":2.415,  "w":0.142,  "x":0.159,  "y":0.708,  "z":0.07,   "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":1.338,  "ä":1.797,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":1.305,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictPL = {"a":10.503,   "b":1.74,   "c":3.895,  "d":3.725,  "e":7.352,  "f":0.143,  "g":1.731,  "h":1.015,  "i":8.328,  "j":1.836,  "k":2.753,  "l":2.564,  "m":2.515,  "n":6.237,  "o":6.667,  "p":2.445,  "q":0,  "r":5.243,  "s":5.224,  "t":2.475,  "u":2.062,  "v":0.012,  "w":5.813,  "x":0.004,  "y":3.206,  "z":4.852,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0.699,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0.743,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":1.035,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":2.109,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0.362,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":1.141,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0.814,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0.078,  "ż":0.706,  "ž":0}
dictNL = {"a":7.486,    "b":1.584,  "c":1.242,  "d":5.933,  "e":18.91,  "f":0.805,  "g":3.403,  "h":2.38,   "i":6.499,  "j":1.46,   "k":2.248,  "l":3.568,  "m":2.213,  "n":10.032, "o":6.063,  "p":1.57,   "q":0.009,  "r":6.411,  "s":3.73,   "t":6.79,   "u":1.99,   "v":2.85,   "w":1.52,   "x":0.036,  "y":0.035,  "z":1.39,   "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictDK = {"a":6.025,    "b":2,  "c":0.565,  "d":5.858,  "e":15.453, "f":2.406,  "g":4.077,  "h":1.621,  "i":6,  "j":0.73,   "k":3.395,  "l":5.229,  "m":3.237,  "n":7.24,   "o":4.636,  "p":1.756,  "q":0.007,  "r":8.956,  "s":5.805,  "t":6.862,  "u":1.979,  "v":2.332,  "w":0.069,  "x":0.028,  "y":0.698,  "z":0.034,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":1.19,   "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0.872,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0.939,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictIS = {"a":10.11,    "b":1.043,  "c":0,  "d":1.575,  "e":6.418,  "f":3.013,  "g":4.241,  "h":1.871,  "i":7.578,  "j":1.144,  "k":3.314,  "l":4.532,  "m":4.041,  "n":7.711,  "o":2.166,  "p":0.789,  "q":0,  "r":8.581,  "s":5.63,   "t":4.953,  "u":4.562,  "v":2.437,  "w":0,  "x":0.046,  "y":0.9,    "z":0,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":1.799,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0.867,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":4.393,  "è":0,  "é":0.647,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":1.57,   "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0.777,  "ô":0,  "ó":0.994,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":1.455,  "ù":0,  "ú":0.613,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0.228,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictFI = {"a":12.217,   "b":0.281,  "c":0.281,  "d":1.043,  "e":7.968,  "f":0.194,  "g":0.392,  "h":1.851,  "i":10.817, "j":2.042,  "k":4.973,  "l":5.761,  "m":3.202,  "n":8.826,  "o":5.614,  "p":1.842,  "q":0.013,  "r":2.872,  "s":7.862,  "t":8.75,   "u":5.008,  "v":2.25,   "w":0.094,  "x":0.031,  "y":1.745,  "z":0.051,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0,  "å":0.003,  "ä":3.577,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0,  "ď":0,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":0,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":0,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0,  "ò":0,  "ö":0.444,  "ô":0,  "ó":0,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0,  "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0,  "ß":0,  "ť":0,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0,  "ý":0,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0}
dictCZ = {"a":8.421,    "b":0.822,  "c":0.74,   "d":3.475,  "e":7.562,  "f":0.084,  "g":0.092,  "h":1.356,  "i":6.073,  "j":1.433,  "k":2.894,  "l":3.802,  "m":2.446,  "n":6.468,  "o":6.695,  "p":1.906,  "q":0.001,  "r":4.799,  "s":5.212,  "t":5.727,  "u":2.16,   "v":5.344,  "w":0.016,  "x":0.027,  "y":1.043,  "z":1.503,  "à":0,  "â":0,  "á":0.867,  "å":0,  "ä":0,  "ã":0,  "ą":0,  "æ":0,  "œ":0,  "ç":0,  "ĉ":0,  "ć":0,  "č":0.462,  "ď":0.015,  "ð":0,  "è":0,  "é":0.633,  "ê":0,  "ë":0,  "ę":0,  "ě":1.222,  "ĝ":0,  "ğ":0,  "ĥ":0,  "î":0,  "ì":0,  "í":1.643,  "ï":0,  "ı":0,  "ĵ":0,  "ł":0,  "ñ":0,  "ń":0,  "ň":0.007,  "ò":0,  "ö":0,  "ô":0,  "ó":0.024,  "õ":0,  "ø":0,  "ř":0.38,   "ŝ":0,  "ş":0,  "ś":0,  "š":0.688,  "ß":0,  "ť":0.006,  "þ":0,  "ù":0,  "ú":0.045,  "û":0,  "ŭ":0,  "ü":0,  "ů":0.204,  "ý":0.995,  "ź":0,  "ż":0,  "ž":0.721}

freqEN = list(dictEN.values())
freqFR = list(dictFR.values())
freqDE = list(dictDE.values())
freqES = list(dictES.values())
freqPT = list(dictPT.values())
freqIT = list(dictIT.values())
freqTK = list(dictTK.values())
freqSW = list(dictSW.values())
freqPL = list(dictPL.values())
freqNL = list(dictNL.values())
freqDK = list(dictDK.values())
freqIS = list(dictIS.values())
freqFI = list(dictFI.values())
freqCZ = list(dictCZ.values())

freqList = [freqEN, freqFR, freqDE, freqES, freqPT, freqIT, freqTK, freqSW, freqPL, freqNL, freqDK, freqIS, freqFI, freqCZ]
langDict = {"EN: ":0,"FR: ":0, "DE: ":0, "ES: ":0, "PT: ":0, "IT: ":0, "TK: ":0, "SW: ":0, "PL: ":0, "NL: ":0, "DK: ":0, "IS: ":0, "FI: ":0, "CZ: ":0}
langNames = list(langDict.keys())

def detectLang(s):
    freqText = []
    cosines = []
    #String preprocessing: removing punctuation, whitespace, and digits
    s = s.lower()
    s = ''.join([i for i in s if i not in string.punctuation and i not in string.whitespace and i not in string.digits])
    #Count every instance of a letter in the input string, then estimate frequency
    for i in baseChars:
        j = s.count(i)
        freqText.append((j*100)/len(s))
    #Calculate cosine similarity between input string's and each language's letter frequency 
    for i in range(len(freqList)):
        langDict[langNames[i]] = 1-spatial.distance.cosine(freqList[i], freqText)

    newLangDict = sorted(langDict.values(), reverse = True)
    newLangNames = sorted(langDict, key=langDict.get, reverse = True)

    print("Cosine similarity (descending order):")
    for i in range(len(freqList)):
        print(newLangNames[i], newLangDict[i])
    print()
    time.sleep(5)
    finalDict = dict(zip(newLangNames, newLangDict))
    finalDict = str(finalDict)
    return(finalDict)

def main():
    flag = True

    print("**************")
    print("*ClassifyLang*")
    print("**(ver. 1.0)**")
    print("**************")
    time.sleep(2)
    os.system('cls')
    print("Can recognize the following languages: English (EN), French (FR), German (DE), Spanish (ES), Portuguese (PT), Italian (IT), Turkish (TK), Swedish (SW), Polish (PL), Dutch (NL), Danish (DK), Icelandic (IS), Finnish (FI), Czech (CZ)")
    time.sleep(5)

    while flag:
        os.system('cls')
        print("*MENU*")
        print("Detect string's language [1]")
        print("Detect .txt file's language [2]")
        print("Exit [0]\n")
        try:
            ans = int(input(""))
            print()
            if(ans == 1):
                s = input("Enter string: ")
                print()
                if(len(s) <= 50):
                    print("[For more reliable results, the string should be longer]")
                    time.sleep(2)
                    print()
                print("Save detection to file? [Y][N]\n")
                save = input()
                save = save.upper()
                if(save == "Y"):
                    filename = input("File name?\n")
                    with open(filename, 'w') as file:
                        file.write(detectLang(s))
                        file.close()
                    print()
                else:
                    if(s == "0"):
                        flag = False
                    else:
                        detectLang(s)
            elif(ans == 2):
                filename = input("Enter the file's name: ")
                if(not os.path.exists(filename)):
                    print("File", filename, "does not exist in working directory!\n")
                    time.sleep(2)
                else:
                    __location__ = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.getcwd(), os.path.dirname(__file__)))
                    with open(os.path.join(__location__, filename)) as file:
                        text = file.read()
                        print("Save detection to file? [Y][N]\n")
                        save = input()
                        save = save.upper()
                        if(save == "Y"):
                            filename = input("File name?\n")
                            file = open(filename, 'w')
                            file.write(detectLang(text))
                            file.close()
                            print()
                        else:
                            detectLang(text)
            else:
                flag = False
        except(SyntaxError, TypeError, ValueError, NameError, ZeroDivisionError):
            print("Invalid input! Try again...")
main()
\$\endgroup\$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4
\$\begingroup\$

Welcome to Code Review!

This is an interesting program; thanks for sharing!

To help you maintain it ...

baseDict appears to be unused, and can be removed. Ditto for cosines

baseChars is a list of characters, which appears needs to be in exactly the same order as the dictEN, dictFR, dictDE, ... and distCZ dictionary keys. Prior to Python 3.6, the order of keys in a dictionary was arbitrary. You should not rely on the dictionary key order, or else you should indicate that this software requires Python 3.6+ in the documentation. (And you should add documentation. """docstrings""" and # comments.)

You have many dictionaries named dictXX. You then uses these dictionaries to create many freqXX lists. And finally you need to store these lists in another freqList list. And then you create another langDict which you again hope stores its keys in the same order, which you then extract into a langNames list. This is a maintenance nightmare. You need to two letter language codes 5 times ... no sorry 6 times if you include the print("Can recognize...") statement. Adding a new supported language requires adding additional code in many different areas.

Instead, consider the following code:

addLanguage('EN', 'English', a=8.167, b=1.492, ..., z=0.074)
addLanguage('FR', 'French', a=7.636, b=0.901, ..., z=0.326, à=0.486,  â=0.051, ..., û=0.06)
     :       :       :        :
     :       :       :        :
addLanguage('CZ', 'Czech', a=8.421, b=0.822, ..., z=1.503, á=0.867, č=0.462,  ...,  ž=0.721)

The language is mentioned exactly once, where it is completely defined. Abbreviation, full name, and letter frequency.

So how do we do this?

language = { }   # Storage for all languages

def addLanguage(abbrev, name, **frequencies):

    language[abbrev] = {
        'name': name,
        'freq': []          # we'll fill this in later
    }

This will create a new entry in our language dictionary, in which we can store the name of the language and its letter frequency.

Later, we can use this code to display the supported languages:

supported = ", ".join("{} ({})".format(key, language[key][name])
                      for key in language)

print("Can recognize the following languages:", supported)

When creating the letter frequency list, let's not rely on the order of dictionary keys to support all versions of Python 3. You have the baseChars list already defining the order. We'll use it to extract the letter frequencies from frequencies in the proper order. Using dict.get(key, default) will allow us to omit the zero frequencies from from the addLanguage(...) call, and use the default value of 0 for the missing letter=frequency argument pairs.

def addLanguage(abbrev, name, **frequencies):

    language[abbrev] = {
        'name': name,
        'freq': [ frequencies.get(letter, 0) for letter in baseChars]
    }

freqList, langDict and langNames are global variables, but they are only used inside def detectLang(): method. Let's create them as local variables (if they are even necessary).

langDict was initialized as a global variable, and updated with this code:

    for i in range(len(freqList)):
        langDict[langNames[i]] = 1-spatial.distance.cosine(freqList[i], freqText)

Let's create it on the spot, but call it scores, which is what it is holding. No need for range() and len(); we'll just iterate over language dictionary items():

    scores = { abbr: 1-spatial.distance.cosine(lang['freq'], freqText)
               for abbr, lang in language.items() }

Now, get the list of language abbreviations, in decreasing score order:

    abbrevs = sorted(scores, key=langDict.get, reverse=True)

Finally, the detectLang(s) should not print the results; the caller should. It most definitely should not have a sleep(5) in the middle. It should simply return the language abbreviations and score. Again, to avoid the ordered dictionary keys issue in pre Python3.6, we will not use a dictionary:

    finalList = [ (abbr, scores[abbr]) for abbr in abbrevs ]
    return finalList

Your def main(): is large enough to be split into multiple functions, say a detect_from_string() and detect_from_file(). You should factor out and call save_detection_to_file() from each as well.

                with open(filename, 'w') as file:
                    file.write(detectLang(s))
                    file.close()

The file.close() is unnecessary. The file will automatically be closed at the end of the with block. Where as the following code should be done using the with open(filename, 'w') as file: construct you already used above:

                        file = open(filename, 'w')
                        file.write(detectLang(text))
                        file.close()

If the file exists, why this song and dance?

            if(not os.path.exists(filename)):
                #...
            else:
                __location__ = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.getcwd(), os.path.dirname(__file__)))
                with open(os.path.join(__location__, filename)) as file:

If os.path.exists(filename) returns True, the file can be found! Its path has already been sufficiently specified.

            if not os.path.exists(filename):
                # ...
            else:
                with open(filename) as file:

I'm confused by this block:

                if(s == "0"):
                    flag = False

The variable ans gets the 1, 2, 0 menu choice, not s.

Your code is structured to call detectLang() in multiple places.

            if(save == "Y"):
                ...
                    file.write(detectLang(s))
            else:
                ...
                    detectLang(s)

You should instead call the method once, and save the result. Then, you can ask the user if they wish to save the result.

            detection_result = detectLang(s)
            display_detection_results(detection_results)

            print("Save detection to file? [Y][N]\n")
            save = input().upper()
            if save == "Y":
                filename = input("File name?\n")
                with open(filename, 'w') as file:
                    file.write(detection_result)

This is a poor practice:

    except(SyntaxError, TypeError, ValueError, NameError, ZeroDivisionError):
        print("Invalid input! Try again...")

A SyntaxError should not be generatable by your program. You should not catch it. A NameError is an indication of a bug in your program, not invalid input to your program. Only check exceptions which can be generated by bad user input.

Not checked for would be FileExistsError or PermissionError or IsADirectoryError which could be raised when trying to "Save detection to file". Again, you should create a save_detection_to_file() method and catch these OSError exceptions there, not in the main program.

Calling the main() program unconditionally is a bad practice. This makes the file unusable as a module in a large program. Instead, write:

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

This will only call main() if this file is the program being executed.

\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for your detailed review! As a self-taught amateur, I certainly benefit from advice from experienced professionals. \$\endgroup\$
    – Passa
    Commented Aug 27, 2018 at 9:12

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.