OTSoft: Optimality Theory Software
Bruce Hayes
UCLA
Version 2.1
last revised 1/12/04
OTSoft is a Windows program meant to facilitate analysis in Optimality Theory* by using algorithms to do tasks that are too large or complex to be done reliably by hand. It is also meant to save time and effort, particularly in word-processing. The following functions are supported:
Constraint ranking (using Constraint Demotion (Tesar and Smolensky 1993) and other algorithms)
The new version 2.1 of OTSoft also supports:
OTSoft was programmed primarily by Bruce Hayes, with contributions by Bruce Tesar and Kie Zuraw.
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Click here for a brief essay discussing the benefits and drawbacks of using this software.
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How to Download and Install OTSoft
If you download software from the Internet, you should keep a folder named c:\Downloads. It helps to avoid trouble if you put each software package that you download into a separate folder, so make a new folder called OTSoftDownload (or whatever you want to call it) inside c:\Downloads.
Next,
and use your Web browser to save the file, putting it in c:\Downloads\OTSoftDownload, or whatever you have named it. It's about 5 megabytes. The file you are downloading is called OTSoft.zip. [click here if you can't see the .zip part of the file name.]
The remaining steps are to unpack, then to install. Some Web browsers will do this more or less automatically; just follow screen directions carefully. To unpack and install manually, follow these directions:
To unpack:
Most computers come with an unzipping program. (If yours doesn't, try downloading Freezip. Put Freezip in a different download folder (for example, a different folder inside c:\Downloads) from where you put OTSoft.zip). Next, click on My Computer, then search downward until you're in your c:\Downloads\OTSoftDownload folder. Once you're in c:\Downloads\OTSoftDownload, use your unzipping software (usually, you can just right-click on OTSoft.zip, then select Unzip). It may take a second for all the newly unpacked files to make their appearance in the Downloads folder; be patient.
To install:
One of the files you just unpacked will be called Setup.exe. Click on it, and it will do a regular Windows installation. You will end up with a new folder called c:\Program Files\otsoft (unless you asked for a different location during installation). This folder has everything in it, uncompressed. In particular, it contains the manual, in two versions (you can also click here to inspect them): OTSoftManual.doc and OTSoftManual.pdf. [You may obtain the free software for reading pdf files by clicking here.] I strongly suggest you read the manual, or at least the first few pages; it has the information you need to take it from there.
You will also want to set up a new folder where you keep your active OTSoft files as you use the program. You can obtain sample files to get you started here: Excel format plain text format
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OTSoft will produce draft printed output without any additional software. To produce high-quality printed output, two additional things are needed:
Microsoft Word is available wherever bloated software is sold. To get the SILDoulosIPA font, see the next section.
The process is slightly complicated, and is fully explained in the manual. In brief, you copy a macro from a ".dot" file included in the software into your copy of Word. This macro is then used to convert text files created by OTSoft into .doc files, with prettily formatted tableaux, etc.
Other word processors: what is needed to produce high-quality output for other word processors is for someone to write a macro specific to that word processor. Instructions for preparing such a macro are available for downloading here: Word format; PDF.
This is the font which OTSoft uses for phonetic symbols. SILDoulosIPA93 is a True Type phonetic font in the style of Times Roman. The Summer Institute of Linguistics courteously makes this font available for free. Download SILDoulosIPA93 from the Summer Institute of Linguistics Website, and follow the instructions they give for installation.
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Papers Describing the Algorithms
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If you want to know if it's worth downloading and installing the latest version (or just want to know what's newly available), you can check here.
UpdateHistory.doc (Word format)
UpdateHistory.pdf (PDF format)
[Click
here
to obtain free PDF reader.]
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If you make public an analysis that you worked out and/or checked with OTSoft,
you may cite the software as follows:
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If you are interested in seeing/modifying the source code for OTSoft, please contact me at my email address.
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Optimality Theory (OT) is a wide-employed theoretical framework used in contemporary linguistics. The original reference for OT is Prince and Smolensky (1993); good textbooks have been written by René Kager and John McCarthy.
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Last modified November 10, 2004
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