Patapasco: A Python Framework for Cross-Language Information Retrieval Experiments

TL;DR

Patapasco is a Python framework designed to facilitate cross-language information retrieval experiments, addressing the complexity of multi-language setups with scalability, extensibility, and reproducibility features.

Contribution

It introduces a new Python-based framework specifically supporting CLIR experiments, which was lacking in existing IR software tools.

Findings

Demonstrates effectiveness on standard CLIR collections

Supports multiple language pairs and large datasets

Enables reproducible experiments through configuration files

Abstract

While there are high-quality software frameworks for information retrieval experimentation, they do not explicitly support cross-language information retrieval (CLIR). To fill this gap, we have created Patapsco, a Python CLIR framework. This framework specifically addresses the complexity that comes with running experiments in multiple languages. Patapsco is designed to be extensible to many language pairs, to be scalable to large document collections, and to support reproducible experiments driven by a configuration file. We include Patapsco results on standard CLIR collections using multiple settings.