Editing Grammar checker (section)

==History==

The earliest "grammar checkers" were programs that checked for punctuation and style inconsistencies, rather than a complete range of possible grammatical errors. The first system was called [[Writer's Workbench]], and was a set of writing tools included with [[Unix]] systems as far back as the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2000/05/05/LivingLinux.html|title=Ideas - O'Reilly Media|website=www.linuxdevcenter.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dsl.org/cookbook/cookbook_15.html|title=The Linux Cookbook: Tips and Techniques for Everyday Use - Grammar and Reference|website=dsl.org}}</ref> The whole ''Writer's Workbench'' package included several separate tools to check for various writing problems. The "diction" tool checked for wordy, trite, clichéd or misused phrases in a text. The tool would output a list of questionable phrases, and provide suggestions for improving the writing. The "style" tool analyzed the writing style of a given text. It performed a number of readability tests on the text and output the results, and gave some statistical information about the sentences of the text.

Aspen Software of [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]] released the earliest version of a diction and style checker for personal computers, ''[[Grammatik]]'', in 1981. ''Grammatik'' was first available for a [[Radio Shack]] - [[TRS-80]], and soon had versions for [[CP/M]] and the [[IBM PC]]. [[Reference Software International]] of San Francisco, California, acquired ''Grammatik'' in 1985. Development of ''Grammatik'' continued, and it became an actual grammar checker that could detect writing errors beyond simple style checking.

Other early diction and style checking programs included ''Punctuation & Style'', ''Correct Grammar'', ''RightWriter'' and ''PowerEdit''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dT0EAAAAMBAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dT0EAAAAMBAJ/page/n67 68]|title=InfoWorld|date=28 October 1991|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> While all the earliest programs started out as simple diction and style checkers, all eventually added various levels of language processing, and developed some level of true grammar checking capability.

Until 1992, grammar checkers were sold as add-on programs. There were a large number of different word processing programs available at that time, with [[WordPerfect]] and [[Microsoft Word]] the top two in market share. In 1992, [[Microsoft]] decided to add grammar checking as a feature of Word, and  licensed CorrecText, a grammar checker from [[Houghton Mifflin]] that had not yet been marketed as a standalone product. WordPerfect answered Microsoft's move by acquiring Reference Software, and the direct descendant of ''Grammatik'' is still included with WordPerfect.

As of 2019, grammar checkers are built into systems like [[Google Docs]] and Sapling.ai,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sapling.ai/|title=Sapling &#124; AI Writing Assistant for Customer-Facing Teams &#124; 60% More Suggestions &#124; Try for Free|website=sapling.ai}}</ref> browser extensions like [[Grammarly]] and [[Qordoba]], desktop applications like [[Ginger Software|Ginger]], [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]] software like [[LanguageTool]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-google-docs-grammar-check-compares-to-its-alternatives/|title=How Google Docs grammar check compares to its alternatives|website=TechRepublic|date=4 April 2019 }}</ref> and text editor plugins like those available from WebSpellChecker Software.