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1997-02-03
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The program vt.exe
------------------
'vt' is based on the principle of a flash-card-file. For a computer
user it is a natural thing to put such a flash-card-file into the
computer and use a computer program to learn the vocabulary. But after
using a flash card file for many years and having developed a well
working way of learning with it, the available computer programs on
the market were a disappointment. That's why 'vt' has been created.
Meanwhile many more programs are available and some of them go a
little bit in the direction of 'vt', but generally they seem only
useful for a small number of words and their main feature seems to be
that these words are asked in random order and if there is something
like more or less 'difficult' words they have to be marked explicitly
and time consuming.
The advantage of 'vt' over most other programs is the clear concept
behind it. Roughly it works as follows:
When a word is newly entered, it starts at the lowest stage, which
means, it should be repeated every day or, if possible, even more than
once a day. When the word is kept in mind, it goes on to the next
stage, which represents a longer interval. Next time the word is asked
it will go one stage up again, if it is still remembered. And as long
as a word is remembered, the intervals become longer and longer.
If a word has been forgotten, it will have to be repeated the very
next time and therefore goes back to the lowest stage. Such a word
may, of course, be remembered more easily than a new word. Therefore
it can jump stages and progress faster than the other words.
Features
--------
- Intervals for repeating known words can be chosen individually for
each file.
- Trainer can be operated by keyboard or mouse buttons (for 'right' or
'wrong') and offers the possibility to modify the words and switch to
a search facility.
- Reverse Trainer displays the translations first and asks for the words,
that have been done in the Trainer before.
- An easy way to enter new words.
- Import (from text or data file) and export features.
- Information about how many words there are in which stages.
- A search facility lets you search for whatever you like in your file.
- Exit with or without saving.
How to start?
-------------
To start the program enter 'vt' at the command line. You will be
asked to enter a file set name. A file set consists of two files, one
containing the words and associated data (.dat) and one containing the
stage table (.stg), i.e. a set of numbers representing the days after
which a word should be repeated. If you enter 'span' for example, the
program will read or create two files with the names 'span.dat' and
'span.stg'. You can also start the program by entering 'vt' and the
file set name as a parameter (e.g. 'vt span'). In this case you won't
be asked to enter the fileset name.
Choose your own intervals
-------------------------
In case 'span.stg' does not exist, you'll get the following
display:
stage table not existing !
Enter the repetition periods in days in ascending order
(Allowed range from 0 to 999 with space between the values.
Press Enter when finished.)
Here you have to enter the steps after how many days known words
should be repeated, like, for example:
1 2 3 4 6 9 15 30 90 300
Up to 19 values can be entered (a maximum of 20 stages is possible,
but the lowest stage is automatically set 0 days by the program). In
this example a newly entered word will be offered every time you run
the program until you know it (lowest stage is 0 days). Then again
next day (next stage is 1 day) and if you still know it, two days
later, and then 3 days later etc. The program will read the entered
values and fill the remaining stages up to 20 with the highest value.
That's because some time later you might want to write different
values into your stage table (which can be easily done by deleting the
'.stg' file - the program will then ask you to enter the values when
it's started). If your new stage table contains fewer values than the
old one, there will be some words in your vocabulary file that are in
a higher stage than the highest in your new stage table. Therefore all
possible 20 stages must have a value.
Creating the vocabulary file
----------------------------
In case there is no vocabulary file (e.g. span.dat) for the current
file set, you'll get the following display:
Vocabulary file not existing !
Would you like to import words from a file [f]
or enter it in this program [p] ?
If you choose 'f' you will be asked to enter the name of the import
file. The import file has to be a text file with the following format:
----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5-..-8----+----9--
foreign word translation
. .
. .
The foreign word can have a maximum of 28 characters, the translation
64. So the first 28 characters in each line will be interpreted as the
foreign word, the next 64, starting with position 29, as the
translation. If you enter the name of a file that doesn't exist, the
program will be ended.
Choose 'p' if you don't have an import file and you can start to
enter words right away. The editor is easy to use and hardly needs any
explanation. First the cursor is positioned in the line for the
foreign word. After entering the word press [tab] or [return] and the
cursor will be positioned in the line where the translation should be
entered. If a word already exists in the file, the translation will be
displayed immediately. You can either make some changes or press
[return] to enter the next word. By deleting the foreign word you can
remove the whole entry from the file. Before finishing an entry you
can always jump between the two input lines by using the [tab] key.
The cursor will be positioned at the end of the text and the insert
mode will be on. Press [ins] to switch the insert mode off or on. The
cursor can be moved with [<-], [->], [home], [end], and [cntl]+[<-] or
[cntl]+[->] to jump one word left or one word right. [return]
completes an entry and you can go on with the next word. When you are
finished with entering words press [esc].
Now that both, the vocabulary file and the stage table exist, the
program will show the main menu:
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ [t] Trainer │
│ │
│ [c] Continue trainer │
│ │
│ [r] Reverse trainer │
└──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [w] Enter new words │
│ │
│ [f] Import new words from text file │
│ │
│ [d] Import new words from data file │
│ │
│ [e] Export into text file │
┌──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┘
│ [i] Fileset info │
│ │
│ [s] Search │
│ │
│ [q] Quit without saving │
│ │
│ [x] Save and exit │
└──────────────────────────┘
Trainer
-------
If you choose the option [t] for Trainer the vocabulary file will
be searched for all the words that have a date equal or earlier than
today. Then a table will be displayed which shows how many words in
which stages there would be to repeat today. The table looks like
this:
Today's Task:
days since
last time => 0 1 2 4 9 30
words => 12 8 5 10 3 1
altogether 39 words
How many words would you like to repeat altogether ?
(short repetition periods come first)
Enter a number => _
You can choose a number and then the program will start to display
the words in the lowest stage. In this way you will always have to
repeat those words first which you didn't know last time and those
you've newly entered. The words will come in random order but stage by
stage.
First the word in the foreign language will be displayed and after
pressing any key the translation. If you knew it press the right-key,
otherwise the wrong-key. Default values for these keys are 'x' and
'z', but they can be set differently by using the program 'vtcfg.exe'
(see below). Instead of 'any key' and right- or wrong-key you can also
use the left and right buttons of your mouse - the left button means
'right', the right button means 'wrong'. The stage of known words will
be increased by the value of the progress indicator, the date by the
number of days corresponding to the increased stage (stage, progress
indicator, and date are stored together with each entry).
Not known words will be set to stage 1 (0 days) and their date to
the present day. The progress indicator will be increased by one if
the stage of the word has been in the upper third, but only up to a
maximum value of three, then it will be decreased again. So a word
that you have known several times already, once you don't know it,
will jump stages and progress faster, but only if you manage to
remember it until its stage is in the upper third again. Then its
progress will slow down anyway, because the intervals are too long to
skip stages. If you don't remember a word, whose stage is still in the
lower two thirds, its progress indicator will be decreased by one
(minimum value is '1').
There is also the option of pressing 'm' in case you discovered a
typing mistake or anything else you want to change. The editor works
as described above. When editing is completed the next word will be
displayed. A modified word is treated as if you had typed the
wrong-key (stage = 1).
Another option is 's' for search. When exercising some questions
concerning the vocabulary may come up. You may have confused words or
would like to know to which word the translation you guessed actually
belongs. Here you can search your vocabulary file for whatever you
like. You just enter the search string and press [return]. '*' can
also be used as a 'wild card' in your string but not as the first or
the last character (there it would be useless anyway). Capitals will
not be distinguished (for standard ASCII characters). The program will
search both, the foreign word and the translation, as if they were one
line and puts every matching entry on the screen. If there are more
matches as can fit on the screen, you can press [PgDn] to display the
rest. [esc] lets you return to the trainer.
If you want to leave the trainer before the exercise is finished,
[esc] lets you return to the main menu.
After repeating the chosen number of words, the words you didn't
know will be displayed again until you know them all. In these turns
you cannot modify the words. By the way, if you have chosen a number
greater than the one evaluated as today's task, only today's task will
be repeated.
On the bottom of the screen there is always a line, telling you
which keys you have to use to perform the functions that are possible
right then. The upper right corner shows a number, counting down the
remaining words per turn. That means that, if you have chosen 35
words, it will count down from 35 to 1, and if you didn't know 11 of
them, it will continue counting down from 11 to 1, and so on.
Continue trainer
----------------
If you have a huge number of words to repeat and want to do it in
pieces, you may wish to skip stage 1 and not repeat all the words you
didn't know in earlier turns before you can continue. In this case use
option [c]. It works like [t] with the exception that words in stage 1
will not be offered.
Reverse trainer
---------------
After finishing [t] or [c] you can choose [r] (reverse trainer) to
repeat the words you have done before the other way round. First the
meaning will be displayed and after pressing any key the asked word.
As in the trainer you can press the wrong-key or the right-key (or
mouse buttons), depending on whether you knew it or not, and 's' for
search (you cannot modify the entry here). The words you didn't know
will be repeated until you know them. This exercise is only to help
remembering the words the other way round. It does not result in
changing any dates or stages.
The pool of words offered in the reverse trainer will be filled
anew every time you run the trainer [t]. The words you repeat with [c]
will be added.
Enter new words
---------------
To enter new words type 'w'. The editor works just as described
above (option [p] when creating a new file).
Import new words from text file
-------------------------------
With option [f] you can import words from a text file (format as
described above). In case your import file contains words, which
already exist in your vocabulary file, which means the 'foreign word'
is the same, you will get the following display:
Word already in file :
foreign word
translation
New word :
foreign word
other translation
You have the following options: [o] overwrite the existing word
[e] modify the existing word
[d] discard the new word
[n] modify the new word
Your choice => _
If you type 'o' the existing entry in the vocabulary file will be
overwritten by the one from the import file, if 'd' the entry from the
import file will be discarded. In case the translation in the import
file is different from the one in the vocabulary file you may wish to
have both translations together. Therefore it is possible to change
the existing entry by typing 'e'. Now you can add the other meaning in
the translation part of the existing entry. The editor works as
described above.
If you do not only change the translation, but also the 'foreign
word', the existing word will no longer be the same as the new word.
After finishing you will get the following display:
The existing word has been changed.
Since the new word is not the same any more,
shall it be imported [i]
or discarded [d] ? => _
Now you can choose, whether you want to import the entry or not by
typing 'i' or 'd'.
If you only change the translation but leave the 'foreign word'
unchanged (same as new word) the new word will be discarded.
Another option is to modify the new word (by entering 'n'). That
makes sense, if you want to make a change in the 'foreign word'-part
in order to get the whole entry imported into your data file.
The status line at the bottom of the screen tells you that by
pressing [esc] you can leave the import function. This may be
necessary, if there are too many words in your import file, which
already exist in the vocabulary file. If you press [esc], the
currently displayed word will not be overwritten (same as typing 'd').
Import new words from data file
-------------------------------
Option [d] works the same way as option [f], only that the import
file used here must have the format of a vocabulary file created by
this program (.dat). This may be useful, if you want to have separate
files for different lessons later merged into one file and keep stage,
progress, and date of the words. So you can enter the vocabulary for a
lesson of a language course in pieces and already exercise in the
meantime. When you have finished entering the lesson, you can make an
export file (see below) and give it to your friends or colleagues, who
can use it as an import-text-file for their own vocabulary files and
save the effort of entering the words themselves. But you yourself can
use the data file, in which some words may already have proceeded to
higher stages, as an import file to your main vocabulary file.
Export into text file
---------------------
By choosing [e] you can create a text file with the same format as
the import file described above and sorted in alphabetical order. You
will be asked to enter an export file name. The created file only
contains the words and translations but no dates or stages.
Fileset info
------------
If you type 'i' you will get some information about your vocabulary
file. It may look like this:
The file span.dat contains 143 words.
They are distributed as follows:
period
in days => 0 1 2 3 4 6 9 15 30
words => 15 20 13 13 0 22 9 18 33
You can see how many words there are in your file, and in which stages
they are. All stages will be displayed, even if there are no words in
some of them. So this option can also be used to get information about
the entered repetition periods (stored in the '.stg' file).
Search
------
Option [s] lets you search your vocabulary file for whatever you
want and works the same way as when entered from the trainer (see
above).
Quit without saving
-------------------
If you have made a mistake which has really messed up your file you
can leave the program without saving to disk by using option [q]. In
that way your original file will remain unchanged and not be
overwritten.
Save and exit
-------------
To exit the program and save your vocabulary file to disk choose
option [x].
The program vtcfg.exe
---------------------
From time to time you might wish to change the colours of your
vocabulary trainer or use different keys when you are practicing. For
that purpose run the program 'vtcfg'. You will be asked to enter the
right- and the wrong-key. Use printable characters here (vt would work
with [space] or [enter], too, but they can't be displayed on the
status line). 'm' and 's' are excluded, because they are used for the
modify and search options.
Next you'll be asked to choose the colours for background, text and
vocabulary display, status line and editing mode. The whole
configuration will be stored in the file 'vt.cfg'. If such a file
doesn't exist, vt will use default keys ('x' for right and 'z' for
wrong) and colours.
Into details
------------
If you enter words by hand, they will be in the lowest stage (0
days). Words imported from a data file will keep the stage they had in
the import file. But if you import words from a text file they may be
many, and they can hardly be put in the lowest stage, because that
would mean you had to go through them all as well if you only wanted
to repeat the words, which were in the lowest stage before. Actually
they shouldn't be put in any stage where they could interfere in your
ordinary schedule. Since 20 stages are possible and you will hardly
use them all, it is the best to put these words in a stage higher than
the highest stage you use. The number representing the date will be
set to '1', which means that they will be offered each time, of
course, but it's their turn only after you have done all the words
that were on today's task originally. There is only one drawback:
Since the words will be stored in alphabetical order and you may
import a huge amount of new words, you would, once you exercise these
new words, only have to do words starting with 'a' for example for
quite a while. For that reason the imported words will not all be put
in one stage, but spread over all stages beyond your highest stage up
to stage 20, each new word from the import file in another stage. That
makes a less annoying mixture for your exercise.
After importing the words in your file, they may be spread like
this:
period
in days => 0 1 2 3 5 7 10 15 25 40
words => 6 6 37 9 34 40 43 9 113 313
period
in days => 60 100 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200
words => 563 42 0 145 145 145 144 144 144 144
However, if you have occupied more than 15 stages there would be only
few or even no stages left for the new words. In that case they would
be spread from stages 11 to 20.
As mentioned above, when working in the 'trainer' the vocabulary
has to be exercised stage by stage, but the words will be shuffled so
that they won't be asked in alphabetical order. This is only true for
the first 100 words per stage. It wouldn't be necessary to mention
this, because it has no effect on your work. In case there was a day
when you had to do more than 100 words in one stage and you would do
the whole task in one piece, then, after doing 100 words in the
respective stage, the exercise would go on with the next stage. But
already the next time you invoke the 'trainer' or 'continue trainer',
the remaining words in that stage would be offered. Since you will
hardly do more than 100 words in a piece this is of no relevance at
all. The reason why I still mentioned it is the imported words.
Otherwise you may have wondered why I spread these words over a few
stages instead of putting them all in one, when they are shuffled
anyway for the exercise. The reason is the 100 words limit. If you
import 2000 words and had them all in one stage (in alphabetical
order), you would still get only the first 100 of them to exercise
each time and that would still be only words starting with 'a' (e.g.),
even if they are shuffled. Spread like above, however, you will get a
good mixture.
Since at most only 100 words per stage can be done in one turn, the
following thing could happen:
Today's Task:
days since
last time => 0 1 2 4 9 30
words => 12 128 5 10 3 1
altogether 159 words
If you choose to do the whole task at once and enter 159 words, you
will be surprised that the counter in the upper right corner on the
trainer screen shows only '131'. That's because actually only 131
words can be done at once in this case. You would have to do the rest
in a second turn.
It has already been described above ('trainer' option) how words,
known or not known, proceed. When they have finally reached the
highest stage, they will usually not be asked for a very long time. If
you still remember them after that time, it wouldn't be a good idea to
leave them in the highest stage and have them offered again only after
the same long interval. Instead they will be moved to a stage
somewhere in the middle with the progress indicator set to '3', which
means, they will be asked again after several days and then, if known,
proceed quickly to longer intervals, where their pace will slow down,
because the progress indicator will be decreased.
Words above the highest stage (imported words) will be treated the
same way, in case you know them the very first time. If you don't know
them, they will be put into stage 1 (0 days) with their progress
indicator unchanged ('1'), just as if they had been entered manually.
If a word from an import file already exists in your data file, you
will be asked whether you want to overwrite it or modify the existing
or the new word (see above). If you enter new words by hand and a word
already exists in your file, the translation will be displayed
immediately, so that you cannot have the same word more than once in
your file. If you want, you can add a new meaning here. But it's also
possible to change the foreign word itself (adding something, etc.),
which could not only change its position in the alphabetically ordered
data file, but could also mean that this word already exists somewhere
else in the file. In that case you would get the same display as if
you were importing a word that already exists in the data file. You
will have to decide whether you want to overwrite the entry that is
already in the file or not, or modify one of the two (see above). If
you choose to modify the existing word, you could of course change it
again in a way that it becomes the same as another word already
existing in your file ...
But it can become even more complicated: When exercising your
vocabulary ('t' or 'c' option) you can also modify your words, just
like above. But here you have a table with all the pointers to the
words you didn't know, because they have to be repeated again. And a
word you chose to modify will be treated as if you hadn't known it. If
this word is later removed from the file, because you changed it in a
way that it has become the same as another, which you don't want to
overwrite, its pointer has to be removed from that table. If this
other existing word is coincidentally one you have been asked before
and which you didn't know, and you choose to modify it, and you change
it in a way that again it becomes the same as another and you discard
it, its pointer will also be removed from the table of words which
have to be repeated. Only if you continue that way (which is
improbable) this won't be done any more (although the words in the
file will be treated properly). So, when you get back to the trainer
and it's the turn of the words, which you didn't know, it is possible
that the program tries to ask you a word which isn't in the file any
more and therefore displays some strange figures on the screen. Don't
worry about it! Say you know it and go on.
Limitations
-----------
The program loads your data file into the memory of your computer.
That means that the upper limit will be reached somewhere over 5000
words. If the memory becomes full while loading a file, the program
will be terminated, showing the message 'out of memory'. If it becomes
full while you are entering new words or importing words from a file
the program will also show the message 'out of memory'. In this case
you can exit safely and your file will be saved to disk (if you want).
Nothing will be destroyed.
Maybe you will never get to the point, where you have entered more
than 5000 words (it also means a lot of work every day to keep such a
huge vocabulary in mind). But if you do, you probably know the
language so well meanwhile that it makes sense to eliminate some of
the simpler words from your data file. You can do this by typing 'm'
(modify) when they come across in the 'trainer'-mode and delete the
content of the first line (foreign word).
In case the limit is reached much earlier, you probably have too
many programs running in the background and you should unload them
before starting 'vt'. But usually it's even possible to have a
dictionary program in the background and if this is able to take your
entries as an input, you just press the hotkey after entering the
foreign word and it will show the translation (if it has the word),
which saves you the effort of looking it up in a dictionary.
Experiences
-----------
No doubt, by using the vocabulary trainer you can learn words and
short phrases with much less effort and in a less tiring way as from a
vocabulary list and it's still much quicker than with a hardware flash
card file. An effort it is still and it requires some persistency to
exercise regularly. But you are spared the effort of uselessly
repeating those words that you know anyway. And the program supports
the dynamics of your brain by offering a word frequently in the
beginning and in always longer intervals later. It may take some time
to find out which intervals work best for you. I currently use these:
1 2 3 5 7 10 15 25 40 60 100 200
Originally they were somewhat different, but then I found that
somewhere in the middle I forgot too many words and made these
intervals shorter. I also had 300 days as the longest interval, but
that was just too long. For other persons it may be different. Some
remember words more easily than others. It may also depend on the
language you are learning and how easy you find it to remember its
words. It can make sense to choose short intervals when you start
learning a language and longer ones later, when you have become more
familiar with it.
If you don't exercise for some days, it is likely that there will
be a lot of words on your schedule when you start again. Too many to
be done in one day. But you can work yourself through slowly. It's one
of the good points of this program, that the words with short
intervals have to be repeated before those with long intervals. For
those in the higher stages, which you had already kept in mind for a
very long time, it doesn't make much of a difference, whether they
have to wait for a few days longer.
Don't forget that learning words is only one part of learning a
language - a very important one, however. It also takes a lot of
reading, listening, written and oral practice to activate your
knowledge (attending a course makes sense, because it pushes you
forward and gives you a motivation to exercise). Not knowing the
vocabulary is an obstacle, that makes everything much harder. 'vt' can
help you getting this out of the way and thus makes it possible for
you to concentrate more on the other parts.