Introduction

  • Notation Used
  • What is JFC and what can it do for me?
  • Why this Program got Written
  • The GNU General Public License
  • Disclaimers
  • Acknowledgments
  • Copyrights and Trademarks
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • JFC Features

  • INDEX: Contents
  • NEXT: Installation

  • Notation Used

    1.1 Before we get started with the actual manual, here are some terms used throughout this manual:
    WindowsRefers to all versions of Windows after 95 (this currently includes 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, CE, CE Pro, and PocketPC).
    Windows 95Refers to Windows 95 or higher (currently 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP), not CE.
    Windows CERefers to all variants of the Windows CE operating system (CE, CE Pro, and PocketPC).


    What is JFC and what can it do for me?

    JFC is a freeware Japanese flash card program, available free to anyone under the terms of the GNU General Public License. You are welcome to make a copy of JFC for your own use, as well as to distribute it to other people. The GNU General Public License binds you to the agreement that you always distribute full copies of the program, and that you may charge a distribution fee for distributing it. However, no part(s) of JFC may be included in any commercial product, nor may any commercial product include portion(s) derived from part(s) of JFC, without the explicit permission of the respective copyright holder(s).

    JFC is a basic Japanese flash card program designed to aid students learning Japanese. Much of JFC is designed to basically mimic what one would normally do with paper flash cards, except on a computer. There are a number of potential advantages to using a computer flash card program over a normal paper system:

    1. One does not need a big stack of paper cards to keep track of. The disadvantage is that one needs to have access to a computer, but since JFC runs on Windows CE systems this is not a significant limitation.
    2. JFC is integration with JWPce, allowing sharing of files and resources.
    3. Because JFC is integrated with JFC it can use your color-kanji list from JWPce to determine what kanji you know and adjust the flash cards automatically for known kianji.
    4. JFC can also use dictionary files to automatically supply kanji reading, kanji meanings and definitions of words.
    5. The computer flash card system can keep track of cards that you frequently miss and adjust the flash card list automatically to emphasize words/kanji that are often missed.


    Why this Program got Written

    I used flash cards heavily when I began learning Japanese. These provided a simple way to keep track of vocabulary, kanji, and grammar points to be learned, could be taken anywhere, and allowed for easy randomization (lists don't work well for me, since I tend to simply memorize the order of things in the list).

    One problem with flash cards is that one tends to accumulate a large number of them, and although the actual making of the card is a good exercise for the student, storing them can be a problem. Additionally, they weight a lot, so they can be a problem to carry around. Further, if you review your old flash cards, one often finds that they need to be updated to match your current knowledge.

    Out of curiosity I looked at some Japanese flash card software for computers, and found that there were a number of programs, but all of the programs were somewhat limited. Few or none of the programs support Windows CE (flash cards are really useful when standing in line at the DMV, and carrying a full Windows machine can be somewhat limiting). Further, none of the programs supported a particular philosophy for learning kanji that I have.

    Having already written JWPce, and somewhat on a whim, I decided to see what I could come up with for a Japanese flash card program. The result is JFC.


    The GNU General Public License

    A description of the GNU General Public License is shown below, taken directly from the license document. Your distribution kit should contain a copy of GNU General Public License in the file: GNUGPL.TXT (straight text).
    The license agreements of most software companies try to keep users at the mercy of those companies. By contrast, our General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software - to make sure the software is free for all its users. The General Public License applies to the Free Software Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it. You can use it for your programs, too.

    When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Specifically, the General Public License is designed to make sure that you have the freedom to give away or sell copies of free software, that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.

    To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.

    For example, if you distribute copies of a such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must tell them their rights.

    We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and (2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify the software.

    Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original authors' reputations.

    All this basically means that you are free to get a copy of the program if you want, including the full source code.

    Whenever a specific copyright notice conflicts with the GNU General Public License, the specific copyright provision(s) will take precedence over the GNU General Public License.

    No part(s) of JFC may be included in any commercial product, nor may any commercial product include portion(s) derived from part(s) of JFC, without the explicit permission of the respective copyright holder(s).


    Disclaimers

    Because this program is free software, it is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This means that if you lose millions of dollars because you used the program, tough. So there!

    If you encounter any bugs, have suggestions, or want to make a comment, you should e-mail the information to me and I will attempt to respond.


    Acknowledgments

    The creation of JFC is based heavily on the code developed for JWPce. JWPce development was directly or indirectly the result of a several people. I would like to take the time to thank them for their effort, because without such effort JWPce and JFC would never have been created!


    Copyrights and Trademarks

    The following is copyright information for code and data files contained in the JFC distribution:

    JFC Program and Documentation

    Japanese-English Dictionary

    Trademarks


    Frequently Asked Questions

    Here are the answers to some of the most common questions people ask.


    JFC Features

    JFC has a large number of special features. This is a list of some of the highlights.


    Next Chapter: Installation