Introduction to Mozc
Mozc is an innovative Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) designed to function across multiple platforms, including Android OS, Apple macOS, Chromium OS, GNU/Linux, and Microsoft Windows. This open-source project has its roots in the Google Japanese Input but is distinct as it is not officially supported by Google as a product.
Build Status
The Mozc project actively maintains its builds across different operating systems, represented through status badges for Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android library on its GitHub repository. These badges link to specific workflows that document the build processes and statuses for each platform.
What is Mozc?
Historically, the term "Mozc" has represented two connotations:
- It was originally an internal code name used within Google for the Google Japanese Input.
- It now refers to the open-source project that shares a subset of Google Japanese Input. This version is released as source code under an open-source software (OSS) license, with no warranty or user support.
The repository primarily refers to Mozc in the context of the second definition. Differences between the Google Japanese Input and Mozc are detailed in the "About Branding" section of the project's documentation.
Building Mozc
Mozc provides comprehensive instructions for building its interface on various platforms:
- Docker: Instructions are available for building the Android library and Linux desktop versions.
- macOS: A dedicated guide is available for building Mozc on macOS.
- Windows: Guidelines for building Mozc on Windows platforms are also provided.
Release Plan
Mozc does not adhere to the traditional concept of a stable release version because it lacks an official QA process. Instead, every significant change leads to a version number update. This unique approach allows developers and packagers to choose any version for their use, with each version being as stable (or unstable) as the others. More detailed release history and changes can be found on the project's Release History page.
License
All code written by Google in the Mozc project is released under the BSD 3-Clause License. Third-party code is included under various licenses, specified in several project directories such as:
- src/data/dictionary_oss/: Mixed licensing. Details can be found in the README.txt file within this directory.
- src/data/test/dictionary/: Mirrors the dictionary_oss license details.
- src/data/test/stress_test/: Contains public domain material, with specific details in sentences.txt.
- src/data/unicode/: Licensed under the UNICODE, INC. LICENSE AGREEMENT, with specifics available in each file header.
Mozc represents a dedicated effort to make Japanese text input accessible across different technologies and platforms, reflecting a collaborative and flexible open-source initiative.