Technical details

JISHOP is available as an archived group of the following files:

jishop.exe  –  main executable file;
sqlite3.dll  –  database library file;
jishopskin.uskn  –  visual style file;
js_kan.txt  –  table of dictionary entries;
js_tan.txt  –  table of compound words.
js_ele.txt  –  table of radicals;
js_str.txt  –  table of kanji structures;
samples.kdg  –  file of sample kanji drill groups;
help/  –  folder containing help files.

When you first run JISHOP, the four text files are translated into five tables of the database. Please do not delete these text files (*.txt), as they are necessary for the running of the program. New downloadable versions of the text files (js_kan.txt and js_tan.txt) will regularly appear on JISHOP website.

To download these files and rebuild the database, open a special window by "Options>Rebuild database" in the main menu. Press the button "Get files" which will direct you to the JISHOP website where you can download the updated files.

The fonts JISHOP uses for kanji and kana can be either bitmapped or vector (parametric). By default, it uses a built-in unscalable BDF font of three fixed sizes: 16, 24 and 48 pixels. Shapes of characters in this font are considered the internal standard of JISHOP.

The built-in font allows you to use the program even without Japanese fonts installed in Windows. But if you prefer scalable vector fonts and have them installed, you can use them by going to "View">"Fonts and colors 1" in the main menu, then selecting "as font" in the "Kanji and Kana" section.

The visual style ("theme", "skin") used in JISHOP was specially designed for this software. It is possible to change the visual style using the "Options" menu. However, skin files available through the Internet would probably not suit this program. In the future, extra JISHOP skins will be developed and made available for users.

The dictionary data is shown in the format of bitmap images. This improves the visual appearance  –  but, on the other hand, makes it difficult to provide some useful functions. Therefore, from version 4.0, JISHOP supports rich text mode that allows you to select and copy text from dictionary entries and other windows. This format is also used for printing.

Files KDSettings.txt and KDFonts.txt created after the first run, store information on settings made by the user. If they are absent or broken, default parameters are automatically set.

All JISHOP files and settings are stored in one folder. The program does not modify your system registry, add cookies or send any information over the Internet. To remove JISHOP from your computer, run deinstallation program or simply delete the "Jishop" folder with all its contents.