shalmaneser 0.0.1.alpha → 1.2.0.rc1

data/lib/frprep/AbstractSynInterface.rb

@@ -1,1227 +0,0 @@
-# Katrin Erk Oct/Nov 05
-#
-# Abstract classes for interfaces for systems that provide syntactic
-# analysis.
-#
-# There are two types of interfaces to syntactic analysis systems:
-# - interfaces:
-#   offer methods for syntactic analysis.
-#
-#   SynInterfaceTab:
-#   input and output format is (FN)TabFormat.
-#   SynInterfaceSTXML:
-#    input format is TabFormat, output format is 
-#    Salsa/Tiger XML, also provided as 
-#    SalsaTigerSentence objects
-#
-# - interpreters:
-#   interpret the resulting Salsa/Tiger XML (represented as
-#   SalsaTigerSentence and SynNode objects), e.g.
-#   generalize over part of speech; 
-#   describe the path between a pair of nodes both as a path 
-#   and (potentially) as a grammatical function of one of the nodes;
-#   determine whether a node describes a verb, and in which voice;
-#   determine the head of a constituent
-
-require "tempfile"
-
-require "frprep/ruby_class_extensions"
-
-require "frprep/ISO-8859-1"
-require "frprep/Parser"
-require "frprep/SalsaTigerRegXML"
-require "frprep/TabFormat"
-
-#############################
-# abstract class, to be inherited:
-#
-# tabular format or SalsaTigerXML interface for modules
-# offering POS tagging, lemmatization, parsing etc.
-class SynInterface
-
-  ###
-  # returns a string: the name of the system
-  # e.g. "Collins" or "TNT"
-  def SynInterface.system()
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # returns a string: the service offered
-  # one of "lemmatizer", "parser", "pos tagger"
-  def SynInterface.service()
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # initialize to set values for all subsequent processing
-  def initialize(program_path, # string: path to system
-		 insuffix,      # string: suffix of input files
-		 outsuffix,     # string: suffix for processed files
-		 var_hash = {}) # optional arguments in a hash
-	
-    @program_path = program_path
-    @insuffix = insuffix
-    @outsuffix = outsuffix	 
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # process each file in in_dir with matching suffix,
-  # producing a file in out_dir with same name but the suffix replaced
-  #
-  # returns: nothing
-  def process_dir(in_dir,        # string: name of input directory
-		  out_dir)       # string: name of output directory
-
-    Dir[in_dir+"*#{@insuffix}"].each {|infilename|
-      outfilename = out_dir + File.basename(infilename, @insuffix) + @outsuffix
-      process_file(infilename,outfilename)
-    }
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # process one file, writing the result to outfilename
-  #
-  # returns: nothing
-  def process_file(infilename,   # string: name of input file
-		   outfilename)
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ######
-  protected
-
-  def SynInterface.announce_me()
-    if defined?(SynInterfaces)
-      # yup, we have a class to which we can announce ourselves
-      SynInterfaces.add_interface(eval(self.name()))
-    else
-      # no interface collector class
-      $stderr.puts "Interface #{self.name()} not announced: no SynInterfaces."
-    end
-  end
-end
-
-#############################
-# abstract class, to be inherited:
-#
-# SalsaTigerXML interface for modules
-# offering parsing etc.
-#
-# The input format for these classes is TabFormat or FNTabFormat
-class SynInterfaceSTXML < SynInterface
-  ###
-  # initialize to set values for all subsequent processing
-  def initialize(program_path, # string: path to system
-		 insuffix,      # string: suffix of input files
-		 outsuffix,     # string: suffix for processed files
-		 stsuffix,      # string: suffix for Salsa/Tiger XML files
-		 var_hash = {}) # optional arguments in a hash
-    super(program_path, insuffix, outsuffix, var_hash)
-    @stsuffix = stsuffix
-  end
-
-  def to_stxml_dir(in_dir,   # string: name of dir with parse files
-		   out_dir)  # string: name of output dir
-    
-    Dir[in_dir+"*#{@outsuffix}"].each { |parsefilename|
-      stxmlfilename = out_dir + File.basename(parsefilename, @outsuffix) + @stsuffix
-      to_stxml_file(parsefilename, stxmlfilename)
-    }
-  end
-
-  def to_stxml_file(infilename, 
-		    outfilename)
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # standard mapping:
-  #
-  # to be used as the mapping from tab sentence words to 
-  # SalsaTigerSentence nodes returned by each_sentence():
-  # map the n-th word of the tab sentence to the n-th terminal of
-  # the SalsaTigerSentence
-  def SynInterfaceSTXML.standard_mapping(sent, tabsent)
-    retv = Hash.new
-    if sent.nil?
-	return nil
-    end
-    terminals = sent.terminals_sorted()
-    if tabsent
-      tabsent.each_line_parsed { |l|
-        if (t = terminals[l.get("lineno")])
-          retv[l.get("lineno")] = [t]
-        else
-          retv[l.get("lineno")] = []
-        end
-      }
-    end
-    return retv
-  end
-
-
-  ###
-  # for a given processed file:
-  # yield each sentence as a tuple
-  #  [SalsaTigerSentence object, FNTabFormatSentence object, mapping]
-  # of 
-  # - the sentence in SalsaTigerXML, 
-  # - the matching tab format sentence
-  # - a mapping of terminals: 
-  #   hash: line in tab sentence(integer) -> array:SynNode
-  #   mapping tab sentence nodes to matching nodes in the SalsaTigerSentence data structure
-  #
-  # default version: write Salsa/Tiger XML to tempfile, read back in
-  # and assume that each sentence in the tab file has a correspondent
-  # in the processed file (may not hold e.g. if the parser leaves out
-  # sentences it cannot process)
-  def each_sentence(infilename,  # string: name of processed file
-		    tab_dir = nil) # string: name of dir with input files 
-                                 # (set either here or on initialization)
-    if tab_dir
-      @tab_dir = tab_dir
-    end
-
-    # write Salsa/Tiger XML to tempfile
-    tf = Tempfile.new("SynInterface")
-    tf.close()
-    to_stxml_file(infilename, tf.path)
-    tf.flush()
-
-    # get matching tab file, read
-    tab_reader = get_tab_reader(infilename)
-    tab_sentences = Array.new
-    tab_reader.each_sentence { |s| tab_sentences << s }
-
-    # read Salsa/Tiger sentences and yield them
-    reader = FilePartsParser.new(tf.path)
-    sent_index = 0
-    reader.scan_s { |sent_string|
-      yield [
-        SalsaTigerSentence.new(sent_string, tab_sentences[sent_index]), 
-        tab_sentences[sent_index], 
-        SynInterfaceSTXML.standard_mapping(sent, tab_sentences[sent_index])
-      ]
-      sent_index += 1
-    }
-
-    # remove tempfile
-    tf.close(true)
-  end
-
-  #####################
-  protected
-
-
-  ###
-  # get tab format file for a given processed file
-  def get_tab_reader(infilename) # string: name of processed file
-    # find matching non-processed file for processed file
-    # assumption: directory with non-processed files
-    # has been set as @tab_dir
-
-    # sanity checks
-    unless @tab_dir
-      raise "Need to set tab directory"
-    end
-
-    # get matching tab file for this parser output file
-    tabfilename = @tab_dir+File.basename(infilename, @outsuffix)+ @insuffix
-    return FNTabFormatFile.new(tabfilename)
-  end
-
-
-  ###
-  # provide a XML representation for a sentence that couldn't be analyzed
-  # assuming a flat structure of all terminals, adding a virtual top node
-  def SynInterfaceSTXML.failed_sentence(tab_sent,sentid)
-
-    sent_obj = SalsaTigerSentence.empty_sentence(sentid.to_s)
-
-    sent_obj.set_attribute("failed","true")
-    
-    topnode = sent_obj.add_syn("nt",
-                               "NONE", # cat
-                               nil, # word (doesn't matter)
-                               nil, # pos (doesn't matter)
-                               "500") # nonterminal counter
-
-    t_counter = 0
-
-    tab_sent.each_line_parsed {|line|
-      t_counter += 1
-      word = line.get("word")
-      pos = line.get("pos")
-      node = sent_obj.add_syn("t",
-                              nil,  # cat (doesn't matter here)
-                              SalsaTigerXMLHelper.escape(word), # word
-                              pos,  # pos
-                              t_counter.to_s)
-      topnode.add_child(node,nil)
-      node.add_parent(topnode, nil)
-    }
-    return sent_obj
-  end
-end
-
-#############################
-# abstract class, to be inherited:
-#
-# tabular format interface for modules
-# offering POS tagging, lemmatization etc.
-class SynInterfaceTab < SynInterface
-
-  ##########
-  protected
-
-  # fntab_words_for_file:
-  # given a file in tab format, columns as in FNTabFormat,
-  # get the "word" entries and write them to a given file,
-  # one word per line, as input for processing
-  def SynInterfaceTab.fntab_words_to_file(infilename, # string: name of input file
-					    outfile,    # stream: output file
-					    sent_marker = "", # string: mark end of sentence how?
-					    iso = nil)  # non-nil: assume utf-8, transform to iso-8859-1
-    corpusfile = FNTabFormatFile.new(infilename)
-    corpusfile.each_sentence {|s|
-      s.each_line_parsed {|line_obj|
-	if iso
-	  outfile.puts UtfIso.to_iso_8859_1(line_obj.get("word"))
-	else
-	  outfile.puts line_obj.get("word")
-	end
-      }
-      outfile.puts sent_marker
-    }
-  end
-end
-
-#############################
-# class describing a path between two nodes
-#
-# provides access and output facilities for different aspects of the path
-#
-# this is the return value of SynInterpreter.path_between()
-class Path
-  attr_reader :startnode
-
-  ###
-  # initialize to empty path
-  def initialize(startnode)
-    @path = Array.new
-    @cutoff_last_pt = false
-    set_startnode(startnode)
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # deep_clone:
-  # return clone of this path object,
-  #  with clone of this path rather than the same path
-  def deep_clone()
-    new_path = self.clone()
-    new_path.set_path(@path.clone())
-
-    return new_path
-  end
-
-  ###
-  def set_startnode(startnode)
-    @startnode = startnode
-
-    return self
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # iterate through the current path
-  #
-  # yield tuples
-  # [direction, edgelabel, nodelabel, endnode]
-  #  direction: string, U/D
-  #  edgelabel: string
-  #  nodelabel: string
-  #  endnode:   SynNode
-  def each_step()
-    @path.each { |step|
-      yield step
-    }
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # empty?
-  # any steps in here?
-  def empty?
-    return @path.empty?
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # add one step to the beginning of the current path
-  def add_first_step(start_node,#SynNode
-		     direction, # string: U, D
-		     gf,        # string: edge label
-		     pt)
-    @path.prepend([direction, gf, pt, @startnode])
-    set_startnode(start_node)
-
-    return self
-  end
-
-
-  ###
-  # add one step to the end of the current path
-  def add_last_step(direction, # string: U, D
-		     gf,        # string: edge label
-		     pt,        # string: node label (of end_node)
-		     end_node)  # SynNode
-    @path << [direction, gf, pt, end_node]
-
-    return self
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # path length
-  def length()
-    return @path.length()
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # 
-  def print(print_direction, # boolean. true: print direction
-	    print_gf,        # boolean. true: print edgelabel
-	    print_pt)        # boolean. true: print nodelabel
-    
-    return print_aux(@path, print_direction, print_gf, print_pt)
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # print path from roof node to end
-  def print_downpart(print_direction,
-		     print_gf,
-		     print_pt)
-
-    roof, roof_index = compute_roof()
-    if roof.nil? or @path.empty?
-      # no roof set
-      return ""
-
-    else
-      # roof node is in the middle
-      return print_aux(@path[roof_index..-1], 
-		       print_direction, print_gf, print_pt)
-    end
-  end
-  
-  ###
-  def lca()
-    return compute_roof().first
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # cut off last node label in print() and print_downpart()?
-  def set_cutoff_last_pt_on_printing(bool) # Boolean
-    @cutoff_last_pt = bool
-  end
-
-  ########
-  protected
-  
-  def set_path(new_path)
-    @path = new_path
-  end
-
-
-  ########
-  private
-
-  ###
-  # step through the path as long as direction is up.
-  # when direction starts to go "D", take current node as roof node
-  #
-  # returns: pair [roof node, roof node index] (SynNode, integer)
-  def compute_roof()
-    node = @startnode
-    index = 0
-
-    each_step { |direction, edgelabel, nodelabel, endnode|
-      if direction =~ /D/
-        # down! the previous node was roof
-        return [node, index]
-      else
-        node = endnode
-        index += 1
-      end
-    }
-    
-    # last node is roof
-    return [node, index]
-    
-  end
-
-  ###
-  def print_aux(path,
-		print_direction,
-		print_gf,
-		print_pt)
-    retv = ""
-    path.each { |step|
-      direction, gf, pt, node = step.map { |entry| 
-	if entry.nil?
-	  "-"
-	else
-	  entry
-	end
-      }
-      if print_direction
-	retv << direction + " "
-      end
-      if print_gf
-	retv << gf + " "
-      end
-      if print_pt
-	retv << pt + " "
-      end
-    }
-
-    if @cutoff_last_pt and print_pt and
-        retv =~ /^(.+ )\w+ $/
-      return $1
-    else
-      return retv
-    end    
-  end
-
-end
-
-
-#############################
-# abstract class, to be inherited:
-#
-# interpretation for a POS tagger/lemmatizer/parser combination
-class SynInterpreter
-
-  ###
-  # systems interpreted by this class:
-  # returns a hash service(string) -> system name (string),
-  # e.g.
-  # { "parser" => "collins", "lemmatizer" => "treetagger" }
-  def SynInterpreter.systems()
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # names of additional systems that may be interpreted by this class
-  # returns a hash service(string) -> system name(string)
-  # same as names()
-  def SynInterpreter.optional_systems()
-    raise "Overwrite me"
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # generalize over POS tags.
-  #
-  # returns one of:
-  #
-  # adj:  adjective (phrase)
-  # adv:  adverb (phrase)
-  # card: numbers, quantity phrases
-  # con:  conjunction
-  # det:  determiner, including possessive/demonstrative pronouns etc.
-  # for:  foreign material
-  # noun: noun (phrase), including personal pronouns, proper names, expletives
-  # part: particles, truncated words (German compound parts)
-  # prep: preposition (phrase)
-  # pun:  punctuation, brackets, etc.
-  # sent: sentence
-  # top:  top node of a sentence
-  # verb: verb (phrase)
-  # nil:  something went wrong
-  #
-  # default: return phrase type as is
-  #
-  # returns: string or nil
-  def SynInterpreter.category(node) # SynNode
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    return eval(self.name()).pt(node)
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # is relative pronoun?
-  #
-  # default: false
-  def SynInterpreter.relative_pronoun?(node) # SynNode
-    return false
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # lemma_backoff:
-  #
-  # if we have lemma information, return that,
-  # and failing that, return the word
-  #
-  # returns: string or nil
-  def SynInterpreter.lemma_backoff(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    lemma = node.get_attribute("lemma") 
-    if (lemma.nil? or lemma =~ /unknown/) and
-        node.is_terminal?
-      return node.word()
-    else
-      return lemma
-    end
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # phrase type:
-  # constituent label for nonterminals,
-  # part of speech for terminals
-  #
-  # returns: string
-  def SynInterpreter.pt(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    if node.is_terminal?
-      return node.part_of_speech
-    else
-      return node.category
-    end
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # simplified phrase type:
-  # like phrase type, but may simplify
-  # the constituent label
-  # default: just the same as pt()
-  #
-  # returns: string or nil
-  def SynInterpreter.simplified_pt(node)
-    return eval(self.name()).pt(node)
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # particle_of_verb:
-  #
-  # given a node and a nodelist,
-  # if the node represents a verb:
-  # see if the verb has a particle among the nodes in nodelist
-  # if so, return it
-  # default: no recognition of separate particles
-  #
-  # returns: SynNode object if successful, else nil
-  def SynInterpreter.particle_of_verb(node,
-				      node_list)
-    return nil
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # auxiliary?
-  # 
-  # returns true if the given node is an auxiliary
-  # default: no recognition of auxiliaries
-  #
-  # returns: boolean
-  def SynInterpreter.auxiliary?(node)
-    return false
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # modal?
-  #
-  # returns true if the given node is a modal verb
-  # default: no recognition of modals
-  #
-  # returns: boolean
-  def SynInterpreter.modal?(node)
-    return false
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # head_terminal
-  #
-  # given a constituent, return the terminal node
-  # that describes its headword
-  # default: a heuristic that assumes the existence of a 'head' 
-  #   attribute on nodes:
-  #   find the first node in my yield corresponding to my head attribute..
-  #
-  # returns: a SynNode object if successful, else nil
-  def SynInterpreter.head_terminal(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    if node.is_terminal?
-      return node
-    end
-
-    head = node.get_attribute("head")
-    unless head
-      return nil
-    end
-      
-    return node.yield_nodes.detect { |t|
-      t.get_attribute("word") == head
-    }
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # voice
-  #
-  # given a constituent, return 
-  # - "active"/"passive" if it is a verb
-  # - nil, else
-  #
-  # default: treat all as active
-  def SynInterpreter.voice(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    if eval(self.name()).category(node) == "verb"
-      return "active"
-    else
-      return nil
-    end
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # gfs
-  #
-  # grammatical functions of a constituent:
-  # 
-  # returns: a list of pairs [relation(string), node(SynNode)]
-  # where <node> stands in the relation <relation> to the parameter
-  # that the method was called with
-  #
-  # default: children of this node, with edge labels as relations,
-  # prepositions tacked on for pps
-  def SynInterpreter.gfs(node,    # SynNode
-                         sent)    # SalsaTigerSentence
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    return node.children_with_edgelabel().map { |rel, gf_node|
- 
-     if eval(self.name()).category(gf_node) == "prep"
-        [rel + "-" + eval(self.name()).preposition(gf_node).to_s, gf_node]
-
-      else
-        [rel, gf_node]
-      end
-    }
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # informative_content_node
-  #
-  # for most constituents: the head
-  # for a PP, the NP
-  # for an SBAR, the VP
-  # for a VP, the embedded VP 
-  #
-  # Default: returns the first non-head child
-  def SynInterpreter.informative_content_node(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    headlemma = eval(self.name()).lemma_backoff(node)
-
-    first_nonhead_child = node.children().detect { |n| 
-      nnh = eval(self.name()).head_terminal(n)
-      nnh and 
-        eval(self.name()).lemma_backoff(nnh) != headlemma 
-    }
-
-    return first_nonhead_child
-  end
-
-  #####################################
-  # verbs(sent)  sent is a sentence in SalsaTigerSentence format
-  #
-  # return a list of the nodes of full verbs in a given sentence:
-  # it is a list of lists. An item in that list is
-  # - either a pair [verb, svp]
-  #   of the node of a verb with separable prefix 
-  #   and the node of its separate prefix
-  # - or a singleton [verb]
-  #   of the node of a verb without separate prefix 
-  def SynInterpreter.verbs(sent)
-
-    return sent.syn_nodes.select { |node|
-      eval(self.name()).category(node) == "verb"
-    }.map { |node|
-      [node]
-    }
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # governing verbs
-  #
-  # returns a list of pairs [rel, verb_node]
-  # such that the given node fills the grammatical function rel
-  # for this verb_node
-  # or an empty list if there is no such verb
-  def SynInterpreter.governing_verbs(node,
-                                     sent)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    retv = Array.new
-
-    # each verb of the sentence:
-    eval(self.name()).verbs(sent).each { |verb_node, prefix_node|
-      # each gf of this verb:
-      eval(self.name()).gfs(verb_node, sent).each { |rel, other_node|
-        # if it points to the given node, record
-        if other_node == node or
-            eval(self.name()).informative_content_node(other_node) == node
-          retv << [rel, verb_node]
-          break
-        end
-      }
-    }
-
-    return retv
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # path_between
-  #
-  # construct path in syntactic structure between two nodes, 
-  # using 
-  # - node labels
-  # - edge labels
-  # - direction Up, Down
-  #
-  # use_nontree_edges: set to true to use coreference edges
-  # and other non-tree edges returned by the parser
-  # in path computation. (Will produce no change if the parser
-  # does not produce any non-tree edges.)
-  #
-  # returns: Path object
-  def SynInterpreter.path_between(from_node, # SynNode
-                                  to_node,   # SynNode
-				  use_nontree_edges = false) # boolean
-    
-    unless from_node.kind_of? SynNode and to_node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    path = eval(self.name()).search_up(from_node,to_node, nil)
-    
-    if path.nil?
-      # no path found
-#      STDERR.puts "Warning: no path found between #{to_node.id} and #{from_node.id}"
-    end
-
-    return path
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # surrounding_nodes:
-  #
-  # construct paths in syntactic structure between a node and each of its neighbors
-  # path construction as in path_between.
-  # Neighbors: parent, child, plus potentially neighbors by nontree edges
-  # use_nontree_edges: again, same as in path_between
-  #
-  # returns: list of pairs [neighbor(SynNode), path(Path)]
-  def SynInterpreter.surrounding_nodes(node, # SynNode
-                                       use_nontree_edges = false) # boolean
-  
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    retv = Array.new
-
-    # parent
-    if (p = node.parent)
-      retv << [
-        p, 
-        Path.new(node).add_last_step("U", node.parent_label(),
-                                     eval(self.name()).simplified_pt(p), p)
-      ]
-    end
-
-    # children
-    node.each_child_with_edgelabel { |label, c|
-      retv << [
-        c,
-        Path.new(node).add_last_step("D", label, 
-                                     eval(self.name()).simplified_pt(c), c)
-      ]
-    }
-
-    return retv
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # relative_position
-  # of a node with respect to an (anchor) node:
-  # left, right, dom
-  def SynInterpreter.relative_position(node,        # SynNode
-                                       anchor_node) # SynNode
-
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode and anchor_node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    # compute up to a root node
-    root = node
-    while (p = root.parent())
-      root = p
-    end
-
-    # determine position of {leftmost, rightmost} terminal of 
-    # {node, anchor_node} in the list of all terminals
-    all_yieldnodes = root.yield_nodes_ordered()
-
-    pos_nodefirst = all_yieldnodes.index(eval(self.name()).leftmost_terminal(node))
-    pos_anchorfirst = all_yieldnodes.index(eval(self.name()).leftmost_terminal(anchor_node))
-    pos_nodelast = all_yieldnodes.index(eval(self.name()).rightmost_terminal(node))
-    pos_anchorlast = all_yieldnodes.index(eval(self.name()).rightmost_terminal(anchor_node))
-
-    # determine relative position
-    if pos_nodefirst and pos_anchorfirst and pos_nodefirst < pos_anchorfirst
-      return "LEFT"
-    elsif pos_nodelast and pos_anchorlast and pos_anchorlast < pos_nodelast
-      return "RIGHT"
-    else
-      return "DOM" 
-    end
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # leftmost_terminal
-  #
-  # given a constituent, determine its leftmost terminal, 
-  # excluding punctuation
-  def SynInterpreter.leftmost_terminal(node)
-    leftmost = node.yield_nodes_ordered().detect {|n| eval(self.name()).category(n) != "pun"}
-    unless leftmost
-      leftmost = node.yield_nodes_ordered().first
-    end
-    return leftmost
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # rightmost_terminal
-  #
-  # given a constituent, determine its rightmost terminal, 
-  # excluding punctuation
-  def SynInterpreter.rightmost_terminal(node)
-    rightmost = node.yield_nodes_ordered().reverse.detect {|n| eval(self.name()).category(n) != "pun"}
-    unless rightmost
-      rightmost = node.yield_nodes_ordered().last
-    end
-    return rightmost
-  end
-
-  ###
-  # preposition
-  #
-  # if the given node represents a PP, return the preposition
-  #
-  # default: assume that either the PP node will have the preposition as its lemma,
-  # or that the head terminal of the PP will be the preposition
-  def SynInterpreter.preposition(node)
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    # preposition as lemma of this node?
-    if eval(self.name()).category(node) == "prep" and
-        (lemma = eval(self.name()).lemma_backoff(node)) and
-        not(lemma.empty?)
-      return lemma
-    end
-
-    # head terminal is preposition and has a lemma?
-    hl = eval(self.name()).head_terminal(node)
-    if hl and
-        eval(self.name()).category(hl) == "prep" and
-        (lemma = eval(self.name()).lemma_backoff(hl)) and
-        not(lemma.empty?)
-      return lemma
-    end
-
-    # no luck
-    return nil
-  end
-
-
-  ###
-  # main node of expression
-  #
-  # returns: SynNode, main node, if found
-  # else nil
-  def SynInterpreter.main_node_of_expr(nodelist, 
-                                       no_mwes = nil) # non-nil: don't handle multiword expressions beyond verbs with separate particles
-
-    # map nodes to terminals
-    nodelist1 = nodelist.map { |n| n.yield_nodes() }.flatten
-
-    # single node? return it
-    if nodelist1.length == 1
-      return nodelist1.first
-    end
-
-    # more than one word
-
-    # see if we can get a headword of a single constituent
-    if nodelist.length() == 1 and
-	(headword = eval(self.name()).head_terminal(nodelist.first()))
-      return headword
-    end
-
-    # filter out auxiliaries and modals, see if only one node remains
-    nodelist2 = nodelist1.reject { |t| 
-      eval(self.name()).auxiliary?(t) or
-	eval(self.name()).modal?(t)
-    }
-
-    # one verb, one prep or particle? then 
-    # assume we have a separate verb prefix, and take the lemma of the verb
-    if nodelist2.length == 2
-      verbs = nodelist2.select { |t| eval(self.name()).category(t) == "verb"}
-      if verbs.length() == 1
-	# found exactly one verb, so we have one verb, one other
-	if eval(self.name()).particle_of_verb(verbs.first, nodelist2)
-	  # we have found a particle/separate verb prefix
-	  # take verb as main node
-	  return verbs.first
-	end
-      end
-    end
-
-    if no_mwes
-      # I was told only to look for separate verb particles,
-      # not for anything else, so return nil at this point
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    # filtered out everything? oops -- return to previous node list
-    if nodelist2.empty?
-      nodelist2 = nodelist1
-    end
-
-    # if the nodelist describes an mwe, try to find its headword:
-    # look for the lowest common ancestor of all nodes in nodelist2
-    # if its head terminal is in nodelist2, return that
-    lca = nodelist2.first
-    lca_found = false
-    while lca and not(lca_found)
-      yn = lca.yield_nodes()
-      # lca's yield nodes include all nodes in nodelist2? 
-      # then lca is indeed the lowest common ancestor
-      if nodelist2.big_and { |t| yn.include? t }
-        lca_found = true
-      else
-        lca = lca.parent()
-      end
-    end
-    # nodelist2 includes lca's head terminal? then return that
-    if lca_found and 
-        (h = eval(self.name()).head_terminal(lca)) and
-        nodelist2.include? h
-      return h
-    end
-      
-
-    # try first verb, then first noun, then first adjective
-    ["verb", "noun", "adj"].each { |cat|
-      nodelist.each { |t|
-        if eval(self.name()).category(t) == cat
-          return t
-        end
-      }
-    }
-
-    # return first node
-    return nodelist.first
-  end
-
-  ########
-  # max constituents:
-  # given a set of nodes, compute the maximal constituents
-  # that exactly cover them
-  #
-  # If include_single_missing_children is set to true,
-  # then a node that has at least one child whose yield is in nodelist,
-  #   and has only one child whose yield is not in nodelist,
-  #   will be considered as having its yield in nodelist.
-  #
-  # Optionally, a procedure accept_anyway_proc can be given.
-  # Like the option include_single_missing_children, it can lead to nodes being
-  # included in the list of nodes whose yield nodes are all also yield nodes of node_list (NYNAAYNN)
-  # even though not all of their yield nodes are yield nodes of the node_list.
-  # accept_anyway_proc can implement arbitrary rules for including nodes in NYAAYNN.
-  # The procedure is called with three arguments:
-  #   accept_anyway_proc(node, ch_in, ch_out)
-  # node is a SynNode that would not normally be in NYAAYNN.
-  # ch_in is the list of its children that are in NYAAYNN.
-  # ch_out is the list of its children that are not.
-  # If the procedure exists and returns true, node is put into NYAAYNN.
-  #
-  # 
-  # default: use the SalsaTigerSentence method for this
-  def SynInterpreter.max_constituents(nodeset, # Array:SynNode
-                                      sent,    # SalsaTigerSentence
-                                      idealize_maxconst = false, # boolean
-                                      accept_anyway_proc = nil)  # procedure
-
-    if idealize_maxconst
-      return sent.max_constituents_smc(nodeset, idealize_maxconst, 
-                                       false, # do not ignore empty terminals
-                                       accept_anyway_proc)
-    else
-      return sent.max_constituents_for_nodes(nodeset)
-    end
-  end
-
-  ########
-  # prune?
-  # given a target node t and another node n of the syntactic structure,
-  # decide whether n is likely to instantiate a semantic role
-  # of t. If not, recommend n for pruning. 
-  #
-  # This method is supposed to implement a method similar
-  # to the one proposed by Xue and Palmer (EMNLP 2004).
-  #
-  # returns: true to recommend n for pruning, else false
-  #
-  # Since the implementation is highly parser-specific,
-  # all that we can do in the default method is 
-  # always to return false.
-  def SynInterpreter.prune?(node, # SynNode
-                            paths_to_target, # hash: node ID -> Path object: paths from nodes to target
-                            terminal_index)  # hash: terminal node -> word index in sentence
-
-    unless node.kind_of? SynNode
-      $stderr.puts "Warning: unexpected input class #{node.class} to SynInterpreter"
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    return false
-  end
-
-  
-  ####################3
-  protected
-
-  def SynInterpreter.announce_me()
-    if defined?(SynInterfaces)
-      # yup, we have a class to which we can announce ourselves
-      SynInterfaces.add_interpreter(eval(self.name()))
-    else
-      # no interface collector class
-      $stderr.puts "Interface #{self.name()} not announced: no SynInterfaces."
-    end
-  end
-
-  ####################3
-  private
-  
-  ###
-  # search upward:
-  # look for path from from_node to to_node
-  # already_covered is either nil or
-  # a node whose subtree we have already searched
-  def SynInterpreter.search_up(from_node, # SynNode
-                               to_node,   # SynNode      
-			       already_covered) # SynNode
-    # returns (1) the path from from_node to to_node, 
-    #         (2) just the part from the lca down to the node
-    #         (3) the lowest common ancestor as node
-
-    path = eval(self.name()).search_down(from_node,to_node, already_covered)
-
-    if path.nil?
-      # search down unsuccessful
-
-      parent = from_node.parent
-      edgelabel = from_node.parent_label
-      # puts "Going up from "+from_node.id.to_s+" to "+parent.id.to_s
-
-      if parent.nil?
-	# no path found
-	return nil
-
-      else
-	# search up 
-	path = eval(self.name()).search_up(parent,to_node, from_node)
-
-	if path.nil? 
-	  # no path found
-	  return nil
-
-        else
-	  # search up was successful
-          parent_pt = eval(self.name()).simplified_pt(parent)
-	  path.add_first_step(from_node, "U", edgelabel, parent_pt)
-	  return path
-	end
-      end
-
-    else
-      # search down successful
-      return path
-    end
-  end
-  
-  ###
-  # search in tree
-  def SynInterpreter.search_down(from_node,        # SynNode
-				 to_node,          # SynNode
-				 already_explored) # SynNode
-
-    if from_node == to_node
-      return Path.new(from_node)
-
-    else
-
-      from_node.children.each {|c|
-
-	if c == already_explored
-	  # we have done this subtree,
-	  # don't do it again
-	  next
-	end
-
-	path = eval(self.name()).search_down(c, to_node, already_explored)
-	
-	unless path.nil?
-	  c_pt = eval(self.name()).simplified_pt(c)
-	  path.add_first_step(from_node, "D", c.parent_label(), c_pt)
-	  return path
-	end
-      }
-
-      # no path found for any of the children
-      return nil
-    end
-  end
-end