Part-of-Speech Tagger with WordNet

2.1.0 · active · verified Wed Apr 22

wordpos is a set of fast part-of-speech (POS) utilities for both Node.js and browser environments, leveraging the WordNet database for its linguistic data. The current stable version is 2.1.0, which marked a significant refactoring to enable full browser compatibility, overcoming previous limitations regarding the size and un-browserify-ability of the WordNet database. While a specific release cadence isn't published, the project has undergone major version updates (1.x, 2.x) that introduced substantial performance improvements (up to 5x faster than prior versions), promise-based APIs, and a decoupling from the `natural` library's WordNet module. Its key differentiators include its speed, cross-environment support, a flexible API with options for stopword filtering and profiling, and a command-line interface.

Common errors

```
TypeError: wordpos.getAdjectives is not a function
```
cause The WordPOS class was imported but not instantiated with `new WordPOS()`.

fix Ensure you create an instance of the class: `const wordpos = new WordPOS();`
```
ReferenceError: require is not defined
```
cause Attempting to use CommonJS `require()` syntax in an ECMAScript Module (ESM) environment.

fix Change your import statement to `import WordPOS from 'wordpos';` and ensure your project is configured for ESM (e.g., `"type": "module"` in `package.json`).
```
Callback is not a function or missing
```
cause An asynchronous API method was called without providing a callback function.

fix Provide a callback function as the last argument to all asynchronous API calls, e.g., `wordpos.getNouns('text', (result) => { /* handle result */ });`.

Warnings

breaking Version 1.x removed the direct dependency on the `natural` library's WordNet module, implementing its own fast lookup. Projects relying on `natural`'s specific WordNet behavior might require adjustments.
Fix: Review WordPOS API for direct equivalents. If you need `natural`'s WordNet specifically, use `natural` directly or stick to `wordpos` pre-1.0.0.
breaking Version 2.x involved a total refactor to enable browser compatibility. While the API remains similar, internal changes might affect environments with specific build processes or require different asset loading strategies for the WordNet database.
Fix: For browser usage, ensure your bundling setup handles the WordNet data files correctly, or consider using `wordpos-web` for a pre-optimized browser distribution. Test thoroughly after upgrading.
gotcha All API methods in wordpos are asynchronous. Failing to provide a callback function (or `await` a Promise in newer versions) will result in uncaught errors or unexpected behavior.
Fix: Always pass a callback function as the last argument to methods like `getNouns`, `isAdjective`, `getPOS`, etc., or handle the returned Promise explicitly (e.g., `.then().catch()` or `await`).

Install

npm install wordpos npm
yarn add wordpos yarn
pnpm add wordpos pnpm

Imports

WordPOS
wrong:
```
import { WordPOS } from 'wordpos';
```
correct:
```
import WordPOS from 'wordpos';
```
WordPOS is a default export representing the main class for POS operations. Named imports will fail.
WordPOS
wrong:
```
import WordPOS from 'wordpos';
```
correct:
```
const WordPOS = require('wordpos');
```
CommonJS `require` is the primary import mechanism shown in documentation for Node.js environments. Attempting to use ESM import syntax in a CJS module will lead to errors.
wordpos.getAdjectives
wrong:
```
wordpos.getAdjectives('text');
```
correct:
```
wordpos.getAdjectives('text', callback);
```
All core API methods like `getAdjectives`, `getNouns`, `isAdjective`, etc., are asynchronous and expect a callback function as the last argument, or can be awaited if Promises are used (v1+).

Quickstart

This quickstart initializes WordPOS and demonstrates basic asynchronous part-of-speech tagging and word classification using callbacks.

const WordPOS = require('wordpos');
const wordpos = new WordPOS();

wordpos.getAdjectives('The angry bear chased the frightened little squirrel.', (result) => {
    console.log('Adjectives:', result);
});

wordpos.isAdjective('awesome', (result) => {
    console.log('Is awesome an adjective?', result);
});

// Demonstrating getPOS for all parts of speech
wordpos.getPOS('The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.', (result) => {
    console.log('All POS breakdown:', result);
});

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