JP2011209927A - Information processing apparatus, character string candidate decision method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus, a character string candidate decision method and a program that can save a user the trouble of repeated input by presenting effective character string candidates even if the user makes a wrong input.SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus 100 includes a storage part 30 for storing one or more rules for extracting character string candidates and key arrangement information, an input part 40 for receiving a user's key input, an adjacent key retrieval part 60 for retrieving keys arranged around the key entered into the input part 40 as adjacent keys according to the key arrangement information, a character string candidate extraction part 50 for extracting character string candidates according to the key entered into the input part 40, the adjacent keys retrieved by the adjacent key retrieval part 60 and the rules stored in the storage part 30, and a display part 20 for displaying the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction part 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that includes an input device such as a keyboard for a user to input characters and displays character string candidates based on key input, a character string candidate determination method, and a program.

  Generally, an input device such as a keyboard outputs an input by pressing a key or the like as it is. For example, even if an incorrect input is made due to a typographical error or the like, it is output in an incorrect state. For this reason, when an input mistake is made, the user has to input again, so that there is a problem that the operation is complicated.

  In order to solve the above problem, a technique has been proposed in which an arrangement of keys is stored in advance, and when a certain key is pressed, keys around that key are also output (for example, Patent Document 1). ). In the invention of Patent Document 1, since the pressed key and the surrounding keys of the pressed key are output, even when an error is input, a candidate when the user presses the desired key can be obtained.

JP 05-019926 A

  However, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 simply outputs all pressed keys and the keys around the pressed keys, an extremely large number of candidates including clearly invalid candidates are obtained. . Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult for the user to search for and select a desired character string from candidates, and the character string selection operation becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when the user makes a mistake, an invalid character string is not shown as a candidate, and the user can easily select a desired character string. It is an object to provide an information processing apparatus, a character string candidate determination method, and a program.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is based on storage means for storing at least one rule for extracting character string candidates and key arrangement information, input means for receiving key input from a user, and key arrangement information. Peripheral key search means for searching as a peripheral key a key arranged around the key whose input is accepted by the input means, and a key received by the input means and a peripheral key searched by the peripheral key search means And character string candidate extraction means for extracting character string candidates based on the rules stored by the storage means, and display means for displaying the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction means. And

  The character string candidate determination method of the present invention is arranged around a key that has been accepted by the input step based on an input step that accepts key input from the user and key layout information stored in the storage means. Surrounding key retrieval step for retrieving a key as a surrounding key, a rule determining step for determining a rule to be applied among at least one rule stored in the storage means, and a key and surrounding key retrieval for which an input is accepted by the input step Character string candidate extraction step for extracting character string candidates based on the surrounding keys searched in the step and the rule determined in the rule determination step, and the character string candidates extracted in the character string candidate extraction step And a display step of displaying on the screen.

  The program of the present invention is a process for accepting a key input from a user, and a process for searching for a key arranged around the accepted key based on the key arrangement information stored in the storage means as a surrounding key. A character string based on a process for determining a rule to be applied among at least one rule stored in the storage means, a key whose input has been accepted, a searched surrounding key, and a rule whose application has been determined A process for extracting candidates and a process for displaying extracted character string candidates on a display unit are executed by a computer.

  According to the present invention, among character strings generated using the actually pressed key and its surrounding keys as input key candidates, a character string allowed based on a predetermined rule is confirmed as a character string candidate and the user Therefore, even when the user makes a mistake, the user can efficiently select a desired character string, and the user can save time for re-input. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve user operability.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structural example of the system to which the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structural example of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a schematic function structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the flow of the conversion candidate display process in the information processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of an input device. It is a figure which shows the example of extraction of a typo character candidate. It is a figure for demonstrating estimation of a syllable candidate. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of extraction of a kana character candidate. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of combination extraction and weighting. It is a figure which shows the example of the conversion candidate displayed on a display apparatus.

  Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a system to which an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied. In the present embodiment, an example in which the information processing apparatus 100 is connected to a network will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information processing apparatus may not be connected to the network.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the system to which the information processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is applied, the information processing apparatus 100 and at least one or more databases are connected via a network 200 such as the Internet. The network 200 can be applied to any network, regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. In addition, FIG. 1 shows an example in which two databases are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number and type of databases can be changed as appropriate.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration example of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1, an output device 2, a storage device 3, an input device 4, a network adapter 5, and the like. Note that the network adapter 5 is not necessarily provided. In the following description, an input device capable of inputting Japanese characters will be described as an example of the input device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The input device included in the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment may be an input device for inputting not only kana characters, kanji, romaji, and numbers, but also any characters.

  The CPU 1 is a centralized arithmetic device that controls the operation of the information processing device in accordance with a program stored in a ROM (Read-Only Memory) or the like. The output device 2 is, for example, a monitor and displays information to the user. The storage device 3 is a device that stores various types of information, and stores, for example, a key layout database, a word dictionary database, a frequency database, and the like.

  The input device 4 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and is a device for the information processing apparatus 100 to accept an input from a user. In the present embodiment, the input device 4 is assumed to be a keyboard having a plurality of keys. Of course, the information processing apparatus 100 may include a mouse or a touchpad as another input device. The key arrangement database may be included in the input device 4. The network adapter 5 is an adapter for connecting to a network. The information processing apparatus 100 can acquire information from the shared storage on the network via the network adapter 5.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic functional configuration example of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a display unit 20, a storage unit 30, an input unit 40, a character string candidate extraction unit 50, a surrounding key search unit 60, a conversion candidate search unit 70, and the like. I have.

  The display unit 20 realizes information display to the user by the display device 2. The storage unit 30 uses the storage device 3 to store information such as various databases and tables. The input unit 40 realizes key input reception from the user by the input device 4. The character string candidate extraction unit 50 extracts character string candidates from the key information input via the input unit 40 based on, for example, syllables and notation rules. The surrounding key search unit 60 searches for keys around the key pressed by the user based on a key arrangement database or the like. The conversion candidate search unit 70 searches the character string candidate conversion candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction unit 50 based on a database, a dictionary, or the like stored in the storage unit 30 or acquired via a network, and a display unit The priority to be displayed on 20 is determined.

  FIG. 4 shows a detailed example of functions provided in the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a vowel / consonant symbol determination key search unit 10 in addition to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. The vowel consonant symbol confirmation key search unit 10 extracts a consonant confirmation part and a vowel possibility part based on the key arrangement database 96 and the like. Further, the vowel / consonant symbol determination key search unit 10 stores the search result in the vowel / consonance determination key table 31. Here, examples of the key array include a Qwerty array, but are not particularly limited. The storage unit 30 stores, for example, a vowel / consonant symbol determination table 31, a confirmed word table 32, an English word table 33, a search script 80, a database 90, and the like. The database 90 and the like are not necessarily stored in the storage unit 30 and may be acquired from a server or the like connected through the network 200 as appropriate.

  The character string candidate extraction unit 50 includes a character string candidate search unit 51, an English word search unit 52, a syllable candidate search unit 53, a kana character string candidate search unit 54, and the like. The character string candidate search unit 51 searches for a character string candidate with reference to the actually pressed key and the surrounding key extracted by the surrounding key search unit 60. The English word search unit 52 refers to the actually pressed key and the surrounding keys extracted by the surrounding key search unit 60, searches for English word candidates based on the English word database 95, and the like, It is stored in the word table 33. The syllable candidate search unit 53 refers to the actually pressed key and the surrounding key extracted by the surrounding key search unit 60, and searches for a syllable candidate based on the vowel / consonant symbol determination key table 31, the search script 80, and the like. To do. The kana character string candidate search unit 54 searches for a kana character candidate based on the search script 80 or the like with reference to the actually pressed key and the surrounding key extracted by the surrounding key search unit 60.

  The character string candidate extraction unit 50 is based on at least one search result based on the configuration of the character string candidate search unit 51, the English word search unit 52, the syllable candidate search unit 53, the kana character string candidate search unit 54, and the like. Extract column candidates. The configuration of the character string candidate extraction unit 50 is not limited to the above. The character string candidate extraction unit 50 does not have to include all the above-described configurations, and may include other configurations. The search result referred to by the character string candidate extraction unit 50 may be set in advance or may be set by the user.

  The conversion candidate extraction unit 70 includes a word candidate search unit 71, a conversion candidate search unit 72, and the like. The conversion candidate extraction unit 70 does not necessarily include the word candidate search unit 71 and the conversion candidate search unit 72, and may have other configurations.

  The word candidate search unit 71 searches for a word formed by the character string extracted by the character string candidate extraction unit 50 based on the confirmed word table 32, the word dictionary database 91, the word related database 92, and the like. Here, the word is not limited to a idiom, and includes, for example, combinations of kanji, hiragana, katakana, numbers, and the like. The conversion candidate search unit 72 searches the character string conversion candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction unit 50 based on the English word table 33, the frequency database 93, the conversion history database 94, and the like. The conversion candidate extraction unit 70 rearranges the conversion candidates in the descending order of possibility as conversion candidates based on the search results of the word candidate search unit 71 and the conversion candidate search unit 72, and the conversion candidates are displayed on the display unit 20. Display. Note that, for example, in the case where only English words are directly input by Roman character input, the conversion candidate extraction unit 70 may not be provided because conversion of a character string is not necessary.

  The search script 80 includes various rule application scripts 81, a one-character error search script 82, an N-character error search script 83, and the like. The database 90 includes a word dictionary database 91, a word related database 92, a frequency database 93, a conversion history database 94, and the like. Note that the configuration of the search script 80 and the database 90 is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. The information processing apparatus 100 does not necessarily include the search script 80 and the database 90. For example, a search script or database shared via a network can be applied to character string candidate extraction or conversion candidate extraction. .

  The various rule application script 81 is a script for applying various rules such as an arrangement rule, a syllable rule, and a notation rule, and is, for example, a script of a syllable analysis rule based on Hebon Romaji notation. The one-character error search script 82 is a script for a case where continuous typos are excluded and limited to one character error. The N character error search script 83 is a script for considering continuous typo.

  The frequency database 93 stores frequency information added to dictionary data or the like and frequency information based on information in the conversion history database 94. The conversion history database 94 stores conversion history information based on individual user conversion histories, conversion histories shared over a network, and the like.

(Conversion candidate display processing)
FIG. 5 shows an example of the flow of conversion candidate display processing according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an example of the input device 4. FIG. 7 shows an example of extraction of a typo character candidate. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining estimation of syllable candidates. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of extraction of kana character candidates. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of combination extraction and weighting. FIG. 11 shows an example of conversion candidates displayed on the display device. Hereinafter, an example of conversion candidate display processing in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5 and the diagrams illustrated in FIGS.

  First, the input unit 40 receives a key input (step S501) and a conversion unit determination input from the user (step S502). The conversion unit may be automatically determined on the information processing apparatus side.

  When the key input from the user is received, the surrounding key search unit 60 searches the key surrounding the key pressed by the user based on the key arrangement database 96 and extracts it as a typo character candidate (step S503). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, when the user presses the “K” key, the surrounding key search unit 60 displays “I, O, L, M, J arranged around“ K ”. Characters such as “<” are also extracted. When a typo character candidate is extracted, a rule set in advance or set by the user is applied (step S504). The processing of the character string candidate extraction unit 50 to be described later is performed based on the rules applied in step S504.

  Examples of rules include a syllable analysis rule based on Hebon Romaji and an analysis rule based on a keyboard layout. More specifically, as an example of a syllable analysis rule based on Hebon Romaji notation, a rule that “the last character is a vowel or“ N ”” or “consonant“ N ”may not be accompanied by a vowel” The rule ““ SH ”,“ CH ”,“ NY ”,“ HY ”,“ MY ”is a compound consonant” rule, “W, R, Y, N, M” are consecutive. If it is entered, it is more likely that one of the keys has been pressed twice more than the possibility of a typo, so a rule that includes a candidate that has been interpreted as a single character is included. . An example of the analysis rule based on the keyboard layout is a rule such as “each character of“ X, C, V, B, N, M, F, G, T ”is a consonant confirmation”. This is based on the fact that keys for inputting vowels are not arranged around the characters “X, C, V, B, N, M, F, G, T”.

  Hereinafter, a case where the rules applied in step S504 are a syllable analysis rule based on Hebon Romaji notation and an analysis rule based on a keyboard layout will be described as an example. That is, here, as shown in FIG. 7, [1] extraction of vowel possibility part, [2] extraction of independent consonant and its possibility, [3] check of possibility of prompting or stuttering, and FIG. [4] Extraction of consonant confirmation part, [5] Check whether final character is vowel or independent vowel (N), [6] Extraction of continuous consonant combination. The rules that can be applied in step S504 are not limited to the above rules, and the processing to be performed is not limited to the above [1] to [6] and combinations thereof.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the character string candidate search unit 51 applies the rule to the typo character candidates extracted in step S503 based on the above [1] to [3]. Specifically, for example, based on [1] above, the character string candidate search unit 51 causes the vowel consonant symbol confirmation key search unit 10 to select “A, I which are vowel-possible portions from among the typo character candidates. , U, E, O ”are extracted. Also, “N” that is an independent consonant is extracted based on the above [2]. Further, based on the above [3], a portion having a possibility of prompting sound or stuttering is extracted. Here, “Z” that is a typo character candidate for the fourth character and the fifth character and “J” that is a typo character candidate for the sixth character and the seventh character are extracted. At this time, the character string candidate search unit 51 narrows down typo character candidates in accordance with the rule script applied in step S504. The processing of the character string candidate search unit 51 may be performed after a syllable candidate extraction process described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the syllable candidate search unit 53 estimates syllables based on the above [4] to [6] for typo character string candidates in addition to keys actually pressed by the user, Syllable candidates are extracted (step S505). At this time, the syllable candidate search unit 53 extracts syllable candidates in accordance with the rule script applied in step S504.

  An example of syllable candidates estimated in the process of step S505 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the syllable candidate search unit 53 causes the vowel / consonant symbol determination key search unit 10 to extract a consonant determination part based on the above [4]. Here, since all of the key actually pressed for the third character and the typo character candidate for the third character are consonants or independent consonants, the third character is extracted as a consonant decision part. Also, based on [5] above, the syllable candidate search unit 53 extracts only syllables whose final characters are vowels or independent vowels (N) as candidates. In (1) to (11) of FIG. 8, syllable candidates whose final character is a vowel are extracted. In addition, when including a number as a character, the syllable shown to (12)-(13) of FIG. 8 is extracted as a candidate. Furthermore, the syllable candidate search unit 53 extracts a combination of consecutive consonants based on the above [6]. For example, since the syllable described above (1) in FIG. 8 is determined not to be a valid syllable, the syllable candidate search unit 53 excludes the syllable candidate from the syllable candidates. In this way, the syllable candidate search unit 53 performs the processes [4] to [6] described above, and extracts syllable candidates that the user may desire.

  When a typo character candidate and a syllable candidate are extracted, the kana character candidate search unit 54 extracts kana character candidates based on various databases and the search script 80. As a specific example, a typo character candidate as shown in FIG. 7 is extracted, and an example of kana character candidate extraction when the syllable shown in FIG. 8 is estimated is shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (1), when it is estimated that the syllable is “child, mother, N, child, mother, child, mother”, from the typo character candidate as shown in FIG. As the first character converted to a kana character, the characters “ke, me, ji” are candidates, and as the second character converted to a kana character, the character “n” is a candidate. Similarly, as the third character converted to kana characters, the characters “sa, da, za, wa” are candidates, and as the fourth character converted to kana characters, “ku, ki, mu, ju, The characters “Miji” are candidates ((1) in FIG. 9). In FIG. 9, the underlined characters indicate candidate characters when continuous typo is included. In the following, for simplicity of explanation, continuous typo is not included.

  When a kana character candidate is extracted, the character string candidate extraction unit 50 extracts a character string candidate based on the kana character candidate (step S506). As a specific example, FIG. 10 shows character string candidates when the syllable shown in FIG. 8 is estimated and the kana character shown in FIG. 9 is extracted. For example, as shown in (1) of FIG. 9 above, the first character is “Ke, Me, Je”, the second character is “N”, and the third character is “Sa, Da , Za, wa ”, and when the fourth character is“ ku, ki, mu, ju, mi, ji ”, a character candidate is extracted. , "Mensaku", "Jensaku", "Kendaku", "Kenzaku", "Kenwaku", "Kensaku", "Kensam", "Kensaki" A character string becomes a candidate ((1) in FIG. 10).

  Next, the conversion candidate extraction unit 70 prioritizes the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction unit 50 (step S507). Prioritization is performed based on, for example, the word dictionary database 91 and the frequency database 93. Then, the conversion candidate extraction unit 70 extracts conversion candidates based on the prioritization and displays them on the display unit (step S508).

  An example of the conversion candidate display screen displayed on the display unit 20 in step S508 is shown in FIG. The order of display as conversion candidates is determined on the basis of the frequency of reading kana and the frequency of conversion to kanji. More specifically, in this embodiment, the display order in the vertical direction is determined based on the frequency of “reading”, and the display order in the horizontal direction is determined based on “the frequency of Chinese characters”. Here, in the present embodiment, unless the character string or conversion candidate based on the actually pressed key is clearly invalid, the conversion candidate based on the actually pressed key is given top priority, and the top row To display. However, the method for determining the display order of conversion candidates is not limited to this. It should be noted that conversion candidates determined to have a low frequency are not displayed as initial candidates in the initial candidates. By not displaying candidates with low frequency and those that are not in the history as conversion candidates, the user need only confirm the carefully selected conversion candidates and can easily select the desired conversion candidates. it can.

  In the above description, an example of conversion candidate display processing when a kana character is input by romaji input and then kanji conversion is performed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a Hiragana character direct input or an English input that directly inputs a Roman character, and this embodiment can be applied to any input method or input language. In this case, the processes in steps S505 to S508 are not necessarily performed. For example, after the rule is applied in step S504, the character string candidate extraction unit 50 extracts and displays the character string candidate based on the key actually pressed by the user, the typo character string candidate, and the rule. It may be displayed on the part. Note that the character string candidates displayed on the display unit at this time are preferably displayed in order of priority based on the frequency of appearance, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the process of rearranging the character string candidates in the priority order may be performed by either the character string candidate extraction unit 50 or the conversion candidate extraction unit 70.

  In the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus including the input device has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an information processing device that can connect an input device via a USB I / F or the like may be used. In this case, the information processing apparatus may obtain the key layout database via a network or from an input device.

  According to this embodiment, among the character strings that are generated using the actually pressed key and its surrounding keys as input key candidates, those that are allowed based on the rules are determined as character string candidates, and invalid character strings are candidates. Therefore, the user can easily select a desired character string, and it is possible to save the trouble of correction due to an input error. In addition, after the confirmed character string candidates are rearranged based on the frequency of occurrence, the character string candidates are shown to the user, so that the operability of the user can be further improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, only the character string candidates based on the rule are extracted, so that “the number of character string candidates to be extracted is extremely large, and the load on the apparatus increases and the time until the character string candidate is displayed”. It becomes possible to solve the problem.

  Note that a program for the CPU to execute the processing shown in the flowcharts of the respective drawings constitutes a program according to the present invention. As a computer-readable recording medium for recording the program, a semiconductor storage unit, an optical and / or magnetic storage unit, or the like can be used. By using such a program and a recording medium in a system having a configuration different from the above-described embodiments and causing the CPU of the system to execute the program, substantially the same effect as the present invention can be obtained. .

  Although specifically described above based on the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the information processing apparatus, the character string candidate determination method, and the program described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that there is.

1 CPU
2 output device 3 storage device 4 input device 5 network adapter 10 vowel consonant symbol confirmation key search unit 20 display unit 30 storage unit 31 vowel consonant symbol confirmation key table 32 confirmed word table 33 English word table 40 input unit 50 character string candidate extraction 51 Character string candidate search unit 52 English word search unit 53 Syllable candidate selection unit 54 Kana character candidate search unit 60 Peripheral key search unit 70 Conversion candidate extraction unit 71 Word candidate search unit 72 Conversion candidate display unit 80 Search script 81 Application of various rules Script 82 Single character error search script 83 N character error search script 90 Database 91 Word dictionary database 92 Word relevance database 93 Frequency database 94 Conversion history database 95 English dictionary database 96 Key sequence database

Claims (11)

Storage means for storing at least one rule and key arrangement information for extracting character string candidates;
Input means for accepting key input from the user;
Based on the key arrangement information, surrounding key search means for searching as a surrounding key a key arranged around the key accepted by the input means,
A character string candidate extracting means for extracting a character string candidate based on the key accepted by the input means, the surrounding key searched by the surrounding key searching means, and the rules stored by the storage means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction means.   2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising conversion candidate extraction means for rearranging the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction means based on a predetermined priority order and displaying them on the display means.   The conversion candidate extraction unit extracts the conversion candidates of the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction unit, rearranges the conversion candidates based on a predetermined priority order, and causes the display unit to display the conversion candidates. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rule is at least one of a language rule and a key arrangement rule. An input step for accepting key input from the user;
Based on the key arrangement information stored in the storage means, a surrounding key search step of searching as a surrounding key a key arranged around the key whose input is accepted by the input step;
A rule determining step for determining a rule to be applied among at least one rule stored in the storage means;
A character string candidate extraction step for extracting a character string candidate based on the key accepted by the input step, the peripheral key searched by the peripheral key search step, and the rule determined by the rule determination step; ,
A display step of displaying the character string candidates extracted in the character string candidate extraction step on a display means.   6. The character string candidate decision step according to claim 5, further comprising a conversion candidate extraction step for rearranging the character string candidates extracted in the character string candidate extraction step based on a predetermined priority order and displaying them on a display means. Method.   The conversion candidate extraction step extracts the conversion candidates of the character string candidates extracted by the character string candidate extraction step, rearranges the conversion candidates based on a predetermined priority order, and causes the display means to display the conversion candidates. The character string candidate determination method according to claim 6, wherein:   8. The character string candidate determination method according to claim 6, further comprising an information acquisition step of acquiring information for setting the predetermined priority order via a network. Processing to accept key input from the user;
Based on the key arrangement information stored in the storage means, a process of searching for a key arranged around the key whose input is accepted as a peripheral key;
A process of determining a rule to be applied among at least one rule stored in the storage means;
A process of extracting a character string candidate based on the input key accepted, the searched surrounding key, and the rule determined to be applied;
A program for causing a computer to execute processing for displaying the extracted character string candidates on a display means.   10. The program according to claim 9, which causes a computer to execute a process of rearranging the extracted character string candidates based on a predetermined priority order and displaying them on a display unit.   10. The computer according to claim 9, further comprising: extracting a conversion candidate for the extracted character string candidate, rearranging the conversion candidates based on a predetermined priority, and displaying the conversion means on the display unit. program.

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