Abbreviations

Usage

• abbr put <SHORT> <LONG> to store an abbreviation
• abbr get <SHORT> to retrieve what an abbreviation means

NOTE: Can have multiple abbreviations that mean the same thing, in that case you will get every possibility when you look it up

Example

$ abbr put "CPU" "Central Processing Unit"
$ abbr get CPU
Central Processing Unit

Background

I am in the process of learning a bunch of different computer science topics but find that I am often struggling with acronyms. To deal with this I started maintaining a document that contained all the abbreviations I bumped into, some which I already knew, but added for completeness sake.

After a while I got the idea of creating a simple terminal app that I can use to keep record of all the acronyms I bump into, so that it becomes simpler to look up/add new abbreviations. As a bonus I can use this as an oppurtunity to learn some Rust while I'm at it because that is a programming language that I would like to start dipping my toes in.

Features

I want to create a simple app that I can invoke in two modes with a commandline option:

• Add an abbreviation
• Look up an abbreviation

For adding an abbreviation, I would have to give two additional arguments, firstly what the short form is, and secondly what it stands for. The program will then append a line to a file kept on the local machine that stores the acronym.

For looking up an abbreviation, I would like to supply the short form, and then the program simply reads out what it could stand for (there can be multiple answers).

Ideas for more features

• Be able to list all stored abbreviations
• Be able to add descriptions to abbreviations if you forgot what they mean
• Be able to test yourself on a random abbreviation that you have put in, so that you can practise your knowledge