Specification: Translation Dictionary for Living Christianity

Overview

"Sanasto Wiki" is a web-based dictionary application for simultaneous translators in the living Christianity. The application provides publicly accessible translations while restricting editing and commenting to invited contributors.

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Core Concepts

Supported Languages

Initial seed data:

Code	Name	Native Name	Sort Order
fi	Finnish	Suomi	1
en	English	English	2
sv	Swedish	Svenska	3
no	Norwegian	Norsk	4
de	German	Deutsch	5
ru	Russian	Русский	6

Language codes are fixed because translations are stored in columns on entries. The supported_languages table controls labels, ordering, and whether a language is active. To add a language, you must add a new column to entries and add a corresponding row to supported_languages.

Entry

An entry represents a translatable unit which may be:

• word — Single word
• phrase — Multi-word expression or idiom, sentence
• proper_name — Person's name (for consistent transliteration)
• title — Book, publication, or hymn title
• reference — Biblical or doctrinal term
• other — Any other translatable text unit

Each entry has translations in multiple languages.

Suggested Meaning

When translators disagree on a translation or want to suggest alternatives (regional variations, contextual meanings, etc.), they can submit a suggested meaning for community review.

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Technical Stack

• Framework: Rails 8
• Database: SQLite with FTS5
• Authentication: Rails 8 built-in authentication
• Authorization: Invitation-only for contributors
• Deployment: Kamal

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Authentication Flow

Public Access

• No authentication required for browsing and searching entries
• Read-only access to all dictionary content

Invitation-Only Registration

• Admins send email invitations with unique tokens
• Invited users register by setting name and password
• invitation_token cleared after successful registration

Login & Sessions

• Email + password authentication
• Session-based (encrypted cookies, Rails default)
• Optional "remember me" for extended sessions

Authorization

• Contributor: Create/edit entries, add comments, suggest translations
• Reviewer: All contributor actions + review suggestions, verify entries
• Admin: All actions + invite users, manage roles

Security

• Passwords hashed with bcrypt
• Rate limiting on login attempts
• Invitation tokens expire after 14 days

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Database Schema

# db/schema.rb

ActiveRecord::Schema[8.0].define(version: 2025_01_22_100000) do
  create_table "entries", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.integer "category", null: false  # word, phrase, proper_name, title, reference, other
    
    # Language columns
    t.string "fi"  # Finnish
    t.string "en"  # English
    t.string "sv"  # Swedish
    t.string "no"  # Norwegian
    t.string "ru"  # Russian
    t.string "de"  # German
    
    t.text "notes"
    t.boolean "verified", default: false
    t.integer "created_by_id"
    t.integer "updated_by_id"
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["category"], name: "index_entries_on_category"
  end

  create_table "suggested_meanings", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.integer "entry_id", null: false
    t.string "language_code", null: false
    t.string "alternative_translation", null: false
    t.text "context"
    t.text "reasoning"
    t.string "source"
    t.string "region"
    t.integer "status", default: 0  # pending, accepted, rejected
    t.integer "submitted_by_id"
    t.integer "reviewed_by_id"
    t.datetime "reviewed_at"
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["entry_id"], name: "index_suggested_meanings_on_entry_id"
    t.index ["language_code"], name: "index_suggested_meanings_on_language_code"
    t.index ["status"], name: "index_suggested_meanings_on_status"
  end

  create_table "comments", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.integer "user_id", null: false
    t.string "commentable_type", null: false
    t.integer "commentable_id", null: false
    t.text "body", null: false
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["commentable_type", "commentable_id"], name: "index_comments_on_commentable"
  end

  create_table "users", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.string "email", null: false
    t.string "password_digest", null: false
    t.string "name"
    t.integer "role", default: 0  # contributor, reviewer, admin
    t.string "primary_language"
    t.string "invitation_token"
    t.datetime "invitation_sent_at"
    t.datetime "invitation_accepted_at"
    t.integer "invited_by_id"
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["email"], name: "index_users_on_email", unique: true
    t.index ["invitation_token"], name: "index_users_on_invitation_token", unique: true
  end

  create_table "entry_versions", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.integer "entry_id", null: false
    t.integer "user_id", null: false
    t.json "changes_made", null: false
    t.string "change_type"  # create, update, verify
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["entry_id"], name: "index_entry_versions_on_entry_id"
  end

  create_table "supported_languages", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.string "code", null: false
    t.string "name", null: false
    t.string "native_name", null: false
    t.integer "sort_order", default: 0
    t.boolean "active", default: true
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
    
    t.index ["code"], name: "index_supported_languages_on_code", unique: true
  end

  add_foreign_key "suggested_meanings", "entries"
  add_foreign_key "suggested_meanings", "supported_languages", column: "language_code", primary_key: "code"
  add_foreign_key "suggested_meanings", "users", column: "submitted_by_id"
  add_foreign_key "suggested_meanings", "users", column: "reviewed_by_id"
  add_foreign_key "comments", "users"
  add_foreign_key "entries", "users", column: "created_by_id"
  add_foreign_key "entries", "users", column: "updated_by_id"
  add_foreign_key "entry_versions", "entries"
  add_foreign_key "entry_versions", "users"
end

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Initial Data

See 'public/Kristillisyyden sanasto ver 23.5.2013.xlsx'

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User Roles & Permissions

Action	Public	Contributor	Reviewer	Admin
View entries	✓	✓	✓	✓
Search entries	✓	✓	✓	✓
Create entry		✓	✓	✓
Edit entry		✓	✓	✓
Add comment		✓	✓	✓
Submit suggested meaning		✓	✓	✓
Review suggested meanings			✓	✓
Mark entry as verified			✓	✓
Invite new users				✓
Manage users				✓

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Features

Public Features

Search & Browse

• Full-text search across all languages
• Filter by category
• Alphabetical browsing per language
• View entry with all translations
• Download the entries table as an XLSX file, without :id attribute

Contributor Features

Entry Management

• Create new entries with translations in known languages
• Edit existing translations
• Leave empty translations for others to fill in
• Add notes/context to entries
• View edit history

Discussion

• Add comments to entries
• Submit alternative translations as suggested meanings
• Participate in translation discussions

Reviewer Features

Quality Control

• Review and approve/reject suggested meanings
• Mark entries as verified
• Merge duplicate entries

Admin Features

User Management

• Send invitations via email
• Assign/change user roles
• Deactivate users

System Management

• Bulk import/export (CSV)
• Database backup

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User Interface

Pages

1. Home/Search — Search box, quick stats, recent entries
2. Browse — Alphabetical listing with language selection
3. Entry View — Single entry with all translations, comments, suggested meanings
4. Entry Edit — Form for editing translations (contributors only)
5. New Entry — Form for creating entries (contributors only)
6. Suggested Meanings Queue — List for reviewers
7. User Profile — Personal settings, contribution history
8. Admin Dashboard — User management, invitations, stats

Design Principles

• Clean, readable typography (translations must be easy to read quickly)
• Mobile-friendly (translators may use during services)
• Fast search (primary use case)
• Clear visual distinction between verified and unverified entries

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API (Optional Future)

REST API for potential mobile app or integration:

GET    /api/entries
GET    /api/entries/:id
GET    /api/entries/search?q=:query&lang=:code
POST   /api/entries (authenticated)
PATCH  /api/entries/:id (authenticated)

Deployment

Server: Single VPS with Kamal Database: SQLite with Litestream for replication/backup Assets: Propshaft (Rails 8 default) Background Jobs: Solid Queue (for invitation emails)

Future Considerations

Export to PDF/print format for offline use Audio pronunciation recordings Mobile app Offline mode with sync Additional languages via migration