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Build Your Own Flashcard Study API

The "Flashcard Study API" project involves developing an API that allows users to create, manage, and use flashcards for studying. Users will be able to create decks of flashcards, each containing individual cards with questions and answers. The API will also support reviewing flashcards, tracking progress, and categorizing flashcards by topics or subjects. The goal is to provide developers with a tool to integrate flashcard-based study systems into web or mobile applications for educational or personal use.

Detailed Description

Flashcards are a widely used study tool that helps learners remember information through active recall and spaced repetition. This project will build an API to facilitate the creation, management, and review of digital flashcards. Users will be able to create and organize their flashcards into decks, categorize them by subjects or topics, and track their progress as they study. The API will also support features like marking cards as "known" or "unknown" and generating statistics to track study performance.

Here’s a detailed look at how users will interact with the Flashcard Study API:

  1. Deck Management:

    • Create Decks: Users can create a deck of flashcards, which represents a collection of cards for a specific topic or subject (e.g., "Biology Chapter 1").

    • Edit Decks: Users can update the deck’s title, description, and other metadata.

    • Delete Decks: Users can delete a deck and all associated flashcards.

  2. Flashcard Management:

    • Create Flashcards: Users can create flashcards by specifying a question (or prompt) and an answer for each card. Cards are added to specific decks.

    • Edit Flashcards: Users can update the content of individual flashcards.

    • Delete Flashcards: Users can delete flashcards from a deck.

  3. Study Mode:

    • Flashcard Review: Users can review flashcards in a deck. Each card will display the question, and users can choose to reveal the answer.

    • Mark as Known/Unknown: Users can mark a card as "known" (answered correctly) or "unknown" (answered incorrectly).

    • Progress Tracking: The API will track the user's progress in studying a deck (e.g., the percentage of cards marked as known).

  4. Categorization and Tags:

    • Subjects/Topics: Users can organize decks by subject or topic (e.g., Math, History, Science).

    • Tags: Users can assign tags to individual flashcards for easier organization and searchability (e.g., "Vocabulary," "Key Concepts").

  5. Optional Features:

    • Spaced Repetition: Implement a spaced repetition system to remind users to review flashcards at optimal intervals.

    • Sharing Decks: Allow users to share decks with other users or make them publicly available for community use.

Example Usage

Imagine a student named John who is preparing for his biology exam. John uses the Flashcard Study API to create a deck called "Biology Chapter 1" and adds flashcards with questions about key concepts. He uses the API to study the deck and marks each card as "known" or "unknown." As John studies, the API tracks his progress and generates statistics showing that he has mastered 75% of the deck.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction

  2. Objectives

  3. Functional Requirements

  4. Non-Functional Requirements

  5. Use Cases

  6. User Stories

  7. Technical Requirements

  8. API Endpoints

  9. Security

  10. Performance

  11. Documentation

  12. Glossary

  13. Appendix

1. Introduction

The "Flashcard Study API" will provide a flexible tool for users to create and manage flashcards for studying purposes. It will allow users to organize flashcards into decks, track progress, and enhance study sessions with tools like spaced repetition. The API will enable developers to integrate flashcard study systems into educational or personal productivity applications.

2. Objectives

  • Allow users to create, update, and delete decks of flashcards.

  • Enable users to create individual flashcards with questions and answers.

  • Provide functionality for reviewing flashcards and tracking study progress.

  • Allow users to organize flashcards by subjects or topics and categorize them with tags.

  • Enable integration with web and mobile applications, ensuring flexibility and ease of use.

3. Functional Requirements

Deck Management

  • Create Deck: Allow users to create new decks of flashcards.

  • Edit Deck: Enable users to update the title and description of decks.

  • Delete Deck: Allow users to delete decks along with their associated flashcards.

Flashcard Management

  • Create Flashcard: Allow users to create new flashcards by specifying a question and answer.

  • Edit Flashcard: Enable users to update the content of existing flashcards.

  • Delete Flashcard: Allow users to delete individual flashcards.

Study Mode

  • Flashcard Review: Provide a study mode where users can review flashcards.

  • Mark as Known/Unknown: Allow users to mark whether they know or do not know a particular flashcard.

  • Track Progress: Show the user’s progress through a deck by tracking the percentage of flashcards marked as known.

Categorization

  • Subjects/Topics: Allow users to categorize decks by subject or topic.

  • Tags: Enable users to add tags to individual flashcards for better organization.

Optional Features

  • Spaced Repetition: Implement a spaced repetition algorithm that notifies users to review flashcards at optimal intervals.

  • Deck Sharing: Enable users to share flashcard decks with others or make them public.

4. Non-Functional Requirements

  • Scalability: Ensure that the API can handle multiple users and large amounts of data efficiently.

  • Performance: Ensure that flashcard loading, creation, and study progress tracking are performed with minimal latency.

  • Reliability: The API should consistently store user data and ensure that progress tracking is accurate.

  • Usability: Provide clear and concise documentation for developers integrating the API into web or mobile applications.

5. Use Cases

  • Create a Deck: A user creates a new deck to organize flashcards for a specific topic.

  • Create Flashcards: A user adds questions and answers to a deck by creating new flashcards.

  • Study Flashcards: A user reviews the flashcards in a deck, marking them as known or unknown.

  • View Progress: A user views their progress in studying a deck (e.g., the percentage of cards they have mastered).

6. User Stories

  1. As a user, I want to create flashcard decks for different subjects so that I can organize my study materials.

  2. As a user, I want to add flashcards with questions and answers to my decks so that I can study key concepts.

  3. As a user, I want to mark flashcards as known or unknown so that I can track my progress during study sessions.

  4. As a user, I want to categorize my decks by subject so that I can easily find and review specific topics.

  5. As a developer, I want to integrate flashcard functionality into my application, enabling users to study efficiently with minimal setup.

7. Technical Requirements

  • Programming Language: Use a backend language like Node.js, Python, or Ruby to build the API.

  • Framework: Use Express.js (Node.js), Flask (Python), or Rails (Ruby) to manage API logic and routing.

  • Database: Use a relational database (e.g., PostgreSQL or MySQL) to store deck, flashcard, and user progress data.

  • Caching: Implement caching mechanisms to improve performance when loading large decks or frequently accessed flashcards.

  • Authentication: Secure the API using token-based authentication (e.g., JWT) to ensure that only authorized users can create and manage flashcards.

8. API Endpoints

Deck Management

  • Create Deck

    • Endpoint: POST /api/decks

    • Request Body:

      json

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      { "title": "Biology Chapter 1", "description": "Flashcards for Biology Chapter 1" }

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Deck created successfully", "deck_id": "12345" }

  • Edit Deck

    • Endpoint: PUT /api/decks/{id}

    • Request Body:

      json

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      { "title": "Updated Title", "description": "Updated description" }

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Deck updated successfully" }

  • Delete Deck

    • Endpoint: DELETE /api/decks/{id}

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Deck deleted successfully" }

Flashcard Management

  • Create Flashcard

    • Endpoint: POST /api/decks/{deck_id}/flashcards

    • Request Body:

      json

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      { "question": "What is the powerhouse of the cell?", "answer": "Mitochondria" }

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Flashcard created successfully" }

  • Edit Flashcard

    • Endpoint: PUT /api/flashcards/{id}

    • Request Body:

      json

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      { "question": "Updated question", "answer": "Updated answer" }

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Flashcard updated successfully" }

  • Delete Flashcard

    • Endpoint: DELETE /api/flashcards/{id}

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Flashcard deleted successfully" }

Study Mode

  • Review Flashcards

    • Endpoint: GET /api/decks/{deck_id}/study

    • Response:

      json

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      { "flashcards": [ { "question": "What is the powerhouse of the cell?", "answer": "Mitochondria" } ] }

  • Mark Flashcard as Known/Unknown

    • Endpoint: POST /api/flashcards/{id}/mark

    • Request Body:

      json

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      { "status": "known" }

    • Response:

      json

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      { "message": "Flashcard marked as known" }

Progress Tracking

  • View Progress

    • Endpoint: GET /api/decks/{deck_id}/progress

    • Response:

      json

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      { "deck": "Biology Chapter 1", "known_cards": 15, "total_cards": 20, "progress": 75 }

9. Security

  • Authentication: Use token-based authentication (e.g., JWT) to ensure secure access to flashcard decks and study data.

  • HTTPS: Ensure all communication between clients and the API is encrypted using HTTPS.

  • Data Validation: Validate all inputs (e.g., deck titles, flashcard content) to prevent malicious data from being submitted.

10. Performance

  • Caching: Implement caching strategies to store frequently accessed flashcards or decks for faster retrieval.

  • Load Balancing: Use load balancing techniques to ensure the API remains responsive under high traffic.

11. Documentation

  • Provide API documentation using tools like Swagger to ensure easy integration by developers.

  • Include sample requests, responses, and error-handling cases in the documentation.

12. Glossary

  • Deck: A collection of flashcards that covers a specific subject or topic.

  • Flashcard: A digital card containing a question and answer, used for studying.

  • Progress Tracking: The feature that allows users to see how many cards they have mastered in a deck.

13. Appendix

  • Include diagrams or flowcharts showing the lifecycle of creating, managing, and reviewing flashcards.

Let me know if you need any further modifications or additional details!

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