changes; modularization

Hi all,

I removed categories from the core. I was very unhappy about the way
they were implemented, and I just can't stand so many complications for
categories that are almost of no use.
There have to be another, simpler way - e.g. front-end can use multiple
databases.

I also removed, in the core, possibility to use "Forced repetitions"
mode.
Let me explain why I consider this mode to be bad.

I designed MemAid to be a tool that allows to MINIMIZE time
spend on learning by allowing anybody to make repetitions on *the most
optimal* days (when an information is close to forget).

Now, late repetitons are evil, they destroy the most optimal flow of
learning. But it's really hard to avoid them - IIRC even in the first
MemAid version (0.0.1) I implemented a basic algorithm to cope somehow
with such repetitions.
Late repetitions are evil, but MemAid *MUST* be able to cope with them.
No doubts about it.
We all may be late with repetitions (we may be
on holidays without computer, or just don't have time for repetitions on
a day.)

"Forced ahead-of-time repetitions" are second evil.
But evil that this time can be easily avoided (and was not present in
earlier memaid versions) - just by not offering this "feature" to user.

Yes, MemAid since 0.4.0 can cope much much better (NOTE: better =/= very
well) with repetitions that are not on the "right time" - ANN can learn
from such cases and ANN can give better intervals on them. But such
repetitions still makes a lot of complications in code (e.g. see
beginning of void move() in the old core - to really fix it here we
would have to use (and save in elements.* files) yet another variable to
count ahead-of-time repetitions and complicate code in more places
yet.), and not only in code, but also horrible complication in the
learning flow.

And the most important is that such forced repetitions are of no
sensible use in a software designed to MINIMIZE time spend of learning
to the absolute MINIMUM while keeping retention MAXIMAL.
There are some rare cases when the "forced repetitions" would be
useful though (e.g. making repetitions before going for longer holidays
without computer), but it's easy to make such routines outside the core
- if anyone wants this feature.
I simply don't want it in the core.

Now, there are *many important* things to be done in memaid.
Training ANN and ANN can be yet improved to give better intervals,
faster learn from user, etc. - *this* is my area of interest in memaid.
I want to make it better tool in when it comes to most optimal
repetitions. I don't care about things I won't use (categories or other
fancy stuff that bloats code and don't make memaid anything better when
it comes to the basic idea of memaid use).
If anyone wants a categories or any other things - feel free to write a
module for memaid core. I would like to see memaid more modularized.
E.g. I plan to write a module for statistics (e.g. stats.c) that would
have much more statistical functions. There can be modules for
categories, etc.
A front-end maybe won't use fancy statistics - then it
won't use statistics module.
An another front-end maybe won't use categories - then it won't use
categories module. Etc.
I don't agree to bloat the core with everything, the core has to
be "simple as possible, but any simpler".

I should earlier write about it... but only now I realized
that many things in memaid development are recently going in a direction
that I don't like at all.


Dave


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