2. Manual
2.1. Introduction
blunderDB is software for creating backgammon position databases. Its main strength is to provide a single place to aggregate positions that a player has encountered (online, in tournaments) and to be able to re-study these positions by filtering them according to various arbitrarily combinable filters. blunderDB can also be used to create catalogs of reference positions.
Positions are stored in a database represented by a .db file.
2.2. Main Interactions
The main interactions possible with blunderDB are:
add a new position,
modify an existing position,
copy the board image to the clipboard (PNG) via Ctrl+X, or with the full analysis via Ctrl+X Ctrl+X,
delete an existing position,
search for one or more positions,
import matches from various sources (XG, GNUbg, BGBlitz, Jellyfish), including comments from XG files,
navigate through the moves of an imported match,
organize positions into collections,
organize matches into tournaments.
The user can freely tag positions and annotate them with comments.
2.3. Description of the interface
The interface of blunderDB is composed, from top to bottom, of:
[top] the toolbar, which gathers all the main operations that can be performed on the database,
[in the middle] the main display area, which allows for displaying or editing backgammon positions,
[at the bottom] the status bar, which provides various information about the database or the current position, and integrates the command line.
Panels can be displayed to:
display the analysis data associated with the current position from eXtreme Gammon (XG), GNUbg, or BGBlitz,
display, add, or modify comments,
display the list of imported matches and navigate through the moves of a match (match panel),
display and manage position collections (collections panel),
study positions with spaced repetition (Anki panel),
display and manage tournaments (tournaments panel),
compute the EPC (Effective Pip Count) of a bearoff position (EPC panel),
display the database metadata (metadata panel),
display the filter library,
display the search history,
display the operation log (log panel).
Modal windows can be displayed to:
display the blunderDB help,
configure database export settings,
display the database metadata.
The main display area provides the user with:
a board to display or edit a backgammon position,
the level and owner of the cube,
the pip count of each player,
the score of each player,
the dice to play. If no values are displayed on the dice, the position of the dice indicates which player has the turn and that the position is a cube decision.
The status bar is structured from left to right with the following information:
the command line, accessible by pressing the SPACE key,
an informational message related to an operation performed by the user,
the index of the current position, followed by the number of positions in the current library (or move/game info when navigating a match).
Note
In the case of positions resulting from a user search, the number of positions indicated in the status bar corresponds to the number of filtered positions.
2.5. Editing positions
Pressing the TAB key opens the search panel and allows editing a position on the board to add it to the database or to define a position structure to search for. The distribution of checkers, the cube, the score, and the turn can be modified using the mouse (see Edit a position).
Tip
Refer to Keyboard shortcuts for available shortcuts.
2.6. The command line
The command line, integrated into the status bar, allows you to perform all the functionalities of blunderDB available in the graphical interface: general operations on the database, position navigation, displaying analysis and/or comments, searching for positions based on filters… After getting familiar with the interface, it is recommended to gradually use the command line for a powerful and smooth use of blunderDB, especially for position search functionalities.
To open the command line, press the SPACE key. To submit a query and close the command line, press the ENTER key.
blunderDB executes the queries sent by the user as long as they are valid and immediately modifies the state of the database if necessary. There are no explicit save actions required from the user.
To refine a search among the currently filtered positions, use the ss command followed by filters (e.g.: ss nc, ss E>40). The ss command works after a prior search. The search window (CTRL-F) also offers a “Search in current results” checkbox for the same functionality.
Tip
Refer to Section 4 for the list of available commands in the command line.
2.8. EPC Calculator
The EPC panel allows computing the EPC (Effective Pip Count) of a bearoff position. It is activated by pressing CTRL-E, clicking the EPC tab in the bottom panel, or executing the epc command.
In this panel, the user edits the checker positions in the home board (last 6 points) and the following information is displayed in real time in the dedicated EPC panel for each player:
the EPC (Effective Pip Count),
the average number of rolls needed (Mean Rolls),
the standard deviation,
the pip count,
the wastage (difference between the EPC and the pip count).
When both players have checkers in their home board, a comparison section shows the EPC and pip count differences.
To close the EPC panel, press CTRL-E or switch to another tab.
Note
The computation relies on the built-in 6-point bearoff database from GNUbg.
2.10. Spaced Repetition (Anki)
The Anki panel (CTRL-K) allows studying positions with spaced repetition using the FSRS algorithm. Users can create decks from collections or search results.
Création de paquets : Cliquez sur New Deck pour créer un paquet à partir d’une collection ou des résultats de recherche courants. Les paquets basés sur une recherche se synchronisent automatiquement à l’activation de l’onglet Anki.
Révision : Sélectionnez un paquet puis cliquez sur Study (ou double-cliquez sur un paquet) pour commencer la révision des cartes dues. Chaque carte affiche la position correspondante sur le plateau. Évaluez votre rappel avec les touches 1 (À revoir), 2 (Difficile), 3 (Bien), ou 4 (Facile). Appuyez sur Esc pour arrêter et revenir à la liste des paquets.
Arrêt/Reprise : Vous pouvez interrompre une session de révision à tout moment avec Esc. Le bouton change en Resume et affiche votre progression. Cliquez dessus pour reprendre là où vous vous êtes arrêté.
Gestion des paquets : Utilisez les boutons d’action pour renommer, synchroniser, réinitialiser ou supprimer des paquets. Les paramètres FSRS (rétention cible, intervalle maximum, aléa) peuvent être configurés par paquet dans les Paramètres (icône engrenage).