saganist: Zyzzyva 1.0.0 update

Michael Thelen (

saganist) wrote,
@ 2006-11-21 16:07:00

Current mood:	stressed
Current music:	Minibosses - Mega Man 2
Entry tags:	zyzzyva

Zyzzyva 1.0.0 update
Recently, I've been spending most of my free time working to release the next version of Zyzzyva. I wanted to have it out a month ago, but technical issues keep popping up, and other commitments keep getting in the way (family, church, community, pshaw). This week and next week, we're on a deadline crunch at work as well, so I'm working late most nights. Yay!

At this point, all the Zyzzyva code is in place and mostly tested. I just need to write documentation, which I started doing last night. That should take another day or so, then I need to create installers, which hopefully will not take long. I'll be heading out of town for Thanksgiving, from Wednesday through Sunday. I hope, I hope, I hope that will give me enough time to create the release on my laptop and get it out to my adoring public.

If you use Windows and would like to test out what could be the final Zyzzyva 1.0.0 release, I would appreciate any help! I'm particularly interested if you're running Windows 98 or ME, and you experience any problems. Below is a pointer to where you can get it, and what you can do to test it. Beware, this is a prerelease version and not the official release! It could destroy your computer, burn your dinner, give your dog fleas, etc. though I don't expect it to do any of that. Mostly, I expect it to revolutionize the way you study, by giving you Cardbox Mode (except you SuperMemo users, you've already been revolutionized).

- First, make a backup copy of your .zyzzyva directory. It's probably located at C:\Documents and Settings\USER\.zyzzyva or C:\.zyzzyva (where USER stands for your actual username on the computer).
- Next, download a prerelease Zyzzyva ZIP file (there is no installer yet).
- Unzip it somwhere, and it should create a folder called "zyzzyva-1.0.0-rc1".
- Browse into that folder, and double-click zyzzyva.exe to run the program.

Zyzzyva should identify itself as version 1.0.0, and it will probably say your existing database needs to be updated. Please tell it to update your database, and let me know if that proceeds okay. Then do a few searches, maybe take a few quizzes, fire up the Word Judge, and just generally see if everything looks okay. That's all! Thanks for any help. I really appreciate it.

Update: Linux and OS X users, see this comment for details about how you can test out the prerelease as well. You should also be sure to back up your .zyzzyva directories, which are located at $HOME/.zyzzyva. Thanks again for your help!

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	_fool 2006-11-21 11:27 pm UTC (link)
	if you wanted some osx or linux beta testing, i'd be happy to help as well--let me know! (Reply to this)(Thread)

saganist
2006-11-21 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Actually, that's a great idea. I've placed a Linux tarball here, and an OS X (PowerPC) tarball here. For the OS X version, you should be able to just unzip the tarball and it will create a Zyzzyva app folder. Double-click it in the Finder to run. For the Linux version, you'll need to edit zyzzyva.sh, replacing @@INSTALLDIR@@ with the path to the directory where you unzipped the tarball, and replacing @@EXECUTABLE@@ with "zyzzyva". Then run zyzzyva.sh to launch Zyzzyva. Thanks, and let me know how it goes!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	_fool 2006-11-22 03:06 pm UTC (link)
	while i appreciate the packaging of the shared libs (though i finally have qt4 working =)), the linux tarball lacks some bits: libmysqlclient.so.14 at least. that looks like the only one, too (unless it has its own dependencies--that one isn't needed by the zyzzyva bin, just the libQtSql) peace. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 03:58 pm UTC (link)
	Great! Thank you! That's exactly the kind of error report I wanted to hear. I'll include libmysqlclient.so.14 and create a new tarball. I'll post again when it's available on the web site. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	saganist 2006-11-22 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, the new tarball is there (same place). Give that a try, and let me know if it gives you any problems. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

_fool
2006-11-22 07:09 pm UTC (link)

well, it starts up now, but it's missing some bits (data/*) ?

QTextBrowser: cannot open '/tmp/zyzzyva-1.0.0-rc1/bin/data/help/index.html' for reading QTextBrowser: no document for file:///tmp/zyzzyva-1.0.0-rc1/bin/data/help/index.html

and it warns about a missing lexicon. i try to let it build the database and it doesn't seem to get anywhere (no CPU being used, no files being created, no progress-bar updates, and that window with the empty progress bar saying "creating database" just hangs out forever).

please pardon me if i'm doing something stupid =)

i did unpack it to its own directory, not over an old zyzzyva, and i moved ~/.zyzzyva out of the way.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 08:21 pm UTC (link)
	Dude, I'm stupid. Sorry! You're doing everything right. I totally forgot to include the data directory in the tarball, which is sort of important. :-) Okay, try it again now. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

_fool
2006-11-22 10:02 pm UTC (link)

okay, it starts now, but it finished building the DB and hung (in that "i'm not gonna update my window anymore, even and especially if you drag me all over the screen" way). i killed and restarted it and all seems well.

of course i can't figure out how to do cardbox testing...
File->Quiz->Quiz Method->Cardbox ; Anagram Match ??? (want to do all 3 letter words) -> Next gives me a dialog box
"No matching questions are ready for review. Please modify your search criteria or add more words to the Cardbox system"

I suspect the arrival of cardbox documentation will help me along here =)

it works for my normal purposes, anagram hunting and non-cardbox quizzing, so there's that.

i had never noticed the "overall / streak / last correct" verbiage at the bottom of a standard anagram quiz. but now that i do notice, it doesn't look like streak / overall are doign what i'd expect--they seem to get reset with every new anagram, but they don't seem to even cover the one in a meaningful way---overall 1/1 & streak 1 on "ers" when i got all three of its anagrams 3 right?

again i'm probably just missing something--feel free to blow me off here.

peace.
thanks!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	magratheazaphod 2006-11-23 01:52 am UTC (link)
	If you're still having the cardbox problems, try rebuilding it. I had to do that in order to get it to work. (Reply to this)(Parent)

oinomel71
2006-11-23 01:58 pm UTC (link)

Cardbox quizzes - you first need to "create some cards". For your 3s, do File|Search; Anagram Match ???. Then right click on the list, and you'll find "Add list to cardbox..." in the options.

Health warning - don't add huge numbers of words (where "huge" > 1000 or so) to the cardbox in one go, otherwise you'll find the quizzes unmanagable!

The overall/streak/last correct verbiage looks new; in each case, it's providing your history on that rack alone, and it's harsh - if you find all the anagrams with no mistakes, it's marked as correct; if you don't, it's marked wrong. If you go back to quiz yourself on "ers" again and get all three right, it'll mark you as overall 2/2 & streak 2.

And thanks Mike - I've been running with a prerelease version for three weeks or so to explore the cardbox quizzing, and it's superb. You're going to change the game...

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	hubertwee 2006-11-22 12:33 am UTC (link)
	What are the new features in the update? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 01:28 am UTC (link)
	Oh yeah, good question. The main feature is Cardbox quizzing, which implements the Leitner Cardbox system of studying and incorporates automatic spaced repetition. The rest of the features are documented in the CHANGES file, which will also be distributed with the final release. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hubertwee 2006-11-22 01:46 am UTC (link)
	I downloaded it for OSX and it works just fine- so is it still neccessary to download the release? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 05:38 am UTC (link)
	You can keep using the prerelease version if you like, though I just discovered a bug I'll need to fix, and I may discover more. I'd recommend installing 1.0.0 when it is actually released, but it should also be fine to use the prerelease version. Thank you for letting me know that it works for you! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	getofftheoven 2006-11-22 02:37 am UTC (link)
	Hi Mike - can't wait to see the new release. I notice that the OSWI 2-8s have definitions now. Excellent. Does this also mean that the OSW-only words now have the # signs? Thanks again for a great program... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 05:40 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! Unfortunately the # feature isn't implemented yet, but it's one of the next things I'm thinking about how to accomplish. I'd expect it relatively soon... which may of course mean 6 months from now, the way things have been going. :-) But I'm planning to make it much sooner than that, not least because I might like to start playing some SOWPODS myself. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	anendlessnight 2006-11-22 05:54 am UTC (link)
	Looks good so far, I'll let you know if I run into any problems. (Reply to this)

	xpmorgan 2006-11-22 06:15 am UTC (link)
	just want to say as a newcomer to zyzzyva, and as someone who, shall we say, discovered the limits of his word knowledge recently ... ah, hell, i sucked in d.c. i'll just say it ... many many thanks to you for putting in the effort on this. it's a great program, and it makes it actually somewhat fun to study [FOR ONCE!] props mike. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 05:55 pm UTC (link)
	That is the kind of comment that keeps me going. Thanks, I appreciate that! (Reply to this)(Parent)

deillort
2006-11-22 05:20 pm UTC (link)

I probably will use Zyzzyva for the one anagram bingos. One advantage of this great program over Supermemo is that you can create custom list. Another is that the letters are presented as tiles, so visualization is simulated much closer to a Scrabble game. And last but not the least, its free!

On the other hand, SM allows you to study anagrams in atomic form (and thanks to Cross-Memo, now you don't have to enter your study lists manually). SM also allows you to practice with blanks, specially "dreadful" blanks (racks with blanks with only one answer). Which leads me to.....

A suggestion for the next version. Maybe Zyzzyva can systematically search for "dreadful" blank racks and add it to your study lists.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-11-22 05:27 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, I think that's a great idea. Thanks for suggesting it! Over the past few months, I've become increasingly aware that one major skill in Scrabble is finding bingos with a blank (or two blanks!), and Zyzzyva doesn't do anything to help you sharpen this skill. It really needs to. That feature will be getting a major priority bump after the upcoming release. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	getofftheoven 2006-11-22 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	What would also be excellent is something like LeXpert's "Random Racks", where the user isn't told whether or not there's a solution in the letters...that's a feature I would use a lot. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	saganist 2006-12-05 12:57 am UTC (link)
	I agree, and thanks for the suggestion! As with everything, I hope I can get to it soon. :-) (Reply to this)(Parent)

magratheazaphod
2006-11-23 12:10 am UTC (link)

This cardbox thing is huge for me because it'll allow me to actually stay somewhat sharp even though I don't have the time to study whole lists at once the way I usually try to. Your program in general has to be considered on the same level as quackle in terms of the impact it will have on the development of the game in the next few years. Congratulations!

Also, awesome musical choice! I find myself playing a youtube video of some guy playing mega man 2 over and over again because the music is so good.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

saganist
2006-11-28 01:20 am UTC (link)

Thanks for your really kind words! I do hope Zyzzyva impacts the game for the better, and can help to raise the general level of play.

That's funny about the YouTube video... I've actually downloaded a bunch of speed runs of video games and will often have them running in the background while working on something else. It makes me feel like I'm sort of playing video games. When I'm not doing that, I'm generally listening to video game music in iTunes anyway.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

paulsid
2006-11-23 02:48 am UTC (link)

Running ME...seems to work fine except for a couple of minor bugs:

- As with _fool, overall/Streak/Last stats are wrong. It always says 1/1 if I get everything or 0/1 if I miss at least one (even if I get it later). Streak is always 1 either way. Time is always either current time or "never".

- Exiting help gives me an error message (non-fatal): QMutexPrivate::QMutextPrivate(): Creating event failed

One question/request:

- Are the scheduling intervals for the cardboxes adjustable? If not, any chance of adding this for the 1.0.0 release? I'm far from a regular studier, so it'd be nice be able to stretch out the intervals. I know the words that I know, it's the ones I don't know that I want to work on!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

saganist
2006-11-26 07:14 am UTC (link)

Thanks for the report. The Overall/Streak/Last stats are for the current question... for example, after finishing the question AEINORST during a quiz, you will see your overall stats for AEINORST. You can see whether you tend to get that question right or wrong.

The QMutexPrivate problem I haven't quite figured out yet. Something weird is going on, but it seems to be harmless (if annoying).

The scheduling intervals are not currently adjustable, but I plan to make them so in the future. For now, if you start getting behind on cardbox quizzing, there is a Reschedule Cardbox Contents option in the Tools menu. Selecting this will reschedule cardbox quiz questions according to their current cardbox. In effect, it will push back any questions that are not in cardbox 0, pushing questions in higher cardboxes farther into the future than questions in lower cardboxes.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

works on windows

scrabblek8
2006-11-23 04:44 pm UTC (link)

so, without documentation on how to use cardbox, i seem to have added the top 1500 sevens, and can now quiz myself on a subset of those by searching for matching words within that set of 1500 (like the ones with three vowels). So, does it follow that I could add the whole word list to the cardbox and then get it to search out the words I wanted to quiz on, cardbox style, at that time? or is that not how cardbox is supposed to work?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: works on windows

saganist
2006-12-05 12:56 am UTC (link)

(Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you...)

If I understand what you're trying to do, it's not really how cardbox mode is supposed to work. Basically, what you'll eventually want in the cardbox system are all the words you know. Everything. Just don't put everything in all at once... meter it for your own sanity. So let's say you've put the top 1500 7s in for now. That's great.

Once you have some words in the cardbox, then you can quiz yourself on large ranges of words, but Zyzzyva will selectively show you only the ones you need to see at that moment. For example, you can say "I want to quiz myself on 7s!" and Zyzzyva will choose which 7s to show you. It will never show you any 7s you haven't added to the cardbox system (so you'll only get 7s from the top 1500, for now). And it will determine which 7s are ready for review. You never have to think about anything beyond which words you want to add to the system.

You could also quiz yourself on more selective subsets (like 7s with 3 vowels), but I find it better to create all-inclusive quizzes, because the Zyzzyva cardbox system will take care of showing you what you need to see, when you need to see it. As long as you don't add too many words at a time, this should be manageable. I hope this synopsis helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions!

(Reply to this)(Parent)

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