Read The Kanji v0.5

Read The Kanji v0.5 has been upped to the server today, along with some new features and changes.  Here is a list of the major revisions:

• Fixed many words and definitions across the board, with accurate data for individual kanji, pulled straight from the Kanji Edict.  There are still many more improvements with this to go I think.
• Much improved the kanji hint system.  Now by clicking on the actual kanji word, you can see each of that word’s kanji and relevant information juxtaposed against each other.  So, now, instead of just giving up and hitting the enter button when you don’t remember a certain reading, now you can click the word and use the information there to make an educated guess.  Plus the lightbox effect is really rad too.
• Added example sentences! Hopefully by context it’ll be much clearer as to which word the system is looking for. Not all sentences are perfect at the moment, but I’m working on them.  If you have any weird or overall terrible sentences that you spot, feel free to just shoot me a quick mail and I’ll get right on it.
• Improved algorithm to handle repeated words, or rather take them out of the stack for a given amount of time.  Now the more often you answer a word correctly, the less often it’ll be put in the stack.  Failed cards won’t be removed from the stack however.
• Now, if you run out of new words or cards for review, the system will send a notifcation message letting you know, and switch to random mode until timed cards expire and become available for testing again.  It *should* take quite a while of using the program before you reach this point though.
• Lightened up the number of successful answers it takes for a kanji to go green. The reasoning is that some kanji are not represented enough in the current word database so they’d almost always stay yellow.  Current stats however will not be affected by this.
• Added ability to show / hide romaji in the answer section.  Just in case you think it’s unnecessary and want to de-crowd it a bit.
• Set color background for site for people with different system colors for their browsers.
• Re-wrote the FAQ page to reflect new features.  Includes a bit more in detail about the stats and how they work for anyone confused about it.
• Optimized the server a bit to handle more traffic.
• Refactored code across the board.

I’ve set up this blog for any quick news updates, as well as a feedback link on the right hand side of the page.  Now if you have any bug fixes / new ideas / suggestions / etc., they can easily be sent to me through the quick feedback form without interrupting your study flow.

Also there is a Read The Kanji Feedback Forum so any new ideas you might have can be collected in one place.  Anyone can vote or add possible improvements (no signup required), so feel free to add any suggestions / comments there as well.

I know this version definitely improves on the last one, and I have some great ideas coming for v0.6 as well, so I’ll get back to programming   As always, good luck in your studies!