

Show HN: Ginseng – a spaced repetition learning/flashcard web app - s9w
http://www.eatginseng.com/

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eric_bullington
Nice work, the Dropbox integration is probably a good idea (although I
personally don't use Dropbox). One question though: is it not possible to
click to the next question, when you're reviewing? Does this require signing
in?

Coincidentally, I also recently used React to build a SRS site specifically
targeted toward review of computer science topics. React definitely makes
building UIs into a pleasure. (Now, if only there were an equally elegant,
open-source solution for client-side data/models).

By the way, you mention possibly moving to Mathjax. I tried out Mathjax before
I ended up just switching to pre-rendered images generated from LaTeX. Now
that I know about KaTeX, I'll probably switch to that instead of pre-rendered
images. But trying to integrate Mathjax with React is a challenge, because of
how Mathjax manipulates the DOM. It's doable, but even then I ran into
performance issues and abandoned it in favor of pre-rendered images.

KaTeX appears to have addressed both the React integration issues and the
performance problems (not to mention the download size of the Mathjax
libraries).

At the moment, I've just released a basic flashcard version of the site
without the SRS functionality [1]. (the SRS requires Firebase, and I haven't
yet published that code)

1\.
[http://esbullington.github.io/canonicalcards/](http://esbullington.github.io/canonicalcards/)
(by the way, I'm actively looking for pull requests with additional questions
on data structure, algorithms, and other topics from the core computer science
curricula).

~~~
s9w
Hey! Sure you can go to the next question. You have to "double click" on an
interval to go to the next. When you click an interval it get's selected and
the due time is previewed. Then click another time to apply it. Many seem to
find that counter-intuitive - I might make that one more clear.

Humm I used Mathjax at some point before and will probably go back soon since
KaTeX doesn't seem to be updated anymore and Mathjax just got a new very fast
beta version. I'll see how well it plays with React then. I would hate to go
to pre-rendered images though. That's so cumbersome and just gah :D.

I also used Firebase for Ginseng before! But then no one has a Firebase
account to use on their own, and using a central one would mean user
management/registration, traffic costs etc. That's why I pulled out. So you're
using one account for the program?

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noahdesu
Is this different from Anki ([http://ankisrs.net/](http://ankisrs.net/))? I
believe Anki supports a web interface, in addition to desktop and mobile apps.

~~~
s9w
Well, Anki is also a spaced repetition program/app. The details are quite
different though. Mainly, Ginseng gives direct control over the review
interval: So no easy/hard/etc, but rather directly manipulate the interval.
Also there are no static decks, it has a clean data format, no reliance on the
proprietary server backend, native markdown etc.

I'm an excessive Anki user, so this is basically my dream version of a SRS
program.

------
s9w
Github repo is
[https://github.com/s9w/Ginseng](https://github.com/s9w/Ginseng)

This is built with React. I'm happy for any feedback or wishes!

~~~
computerjunkie
Nice work. Quick look at your repo and I'm impressed with how you indented
your work. Its makes everything readable (most of the javascript I've seen is
a mess, maybe I read too much bad code)

Offline access would be an awesome feature, especially for users who are not
"always connected".

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TenJack
This is interesting. I've also built a flashcard web app with spaced
repetition ([http://flashcardstash.com](http://flashcardstash.com)). I'm
curious, why only the Dropdox login?

~~~
s9w
Because it's 100% client side so I have to rely on other services :D. Why
Dropbox specifically? I think that's the one most people have. No special
reason.

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pathikrit
I created one here: [http://vocowl.com](http://vocowl.com)

Source: github.com/pathikrit/vocowl

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austinstorm
That is cool

