Get Dictionary Summary

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Overview

Think of this endpoint as looking at the cover and introduction of a book before deciding whether to read the entire thing. When you need to understand what a dictionary contains and when it was created or last modified, but don’t need to see all its terms and definitions, this endpoint provides exactly that focused information. This summary approach serves a fundamentally different purpose than retrieving full dictionary details. While the full details endpoint gives you everything including all terms and definitions, this summary endpoint focuses exclusively on the dictionary’s identifying characteristics and metadata. This distinction becomes important when you’re building applications that need to display dictionary information efficiently or when you’re working with multiple dictionaries and need to present them in lists or selection interfaces.

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Understanding Dictionary Metadata

Every dictionary in the system carries essential information about itself, separate from the actual terms and definitions it contains. This metadata tells the story of the dictionary: what it’s called, what it’s intended for, when it was created, and when someone last made changes to it. Understanding this information helps you and your users make informed decisions about which dictionaries to work with and whether the content might be current for your needs. The metadata approach also supports better application architecture. Instead of loading potentially thousands of dictionary terms just to show a user what dictionaries are available, you can quickly retrieve just the summary information for multiple dictionaries, creating responsive user interfaces that load quickly and provide clear choices.