Back End Improvements

So now that the site is "live" Google has been indexing it like mad. There are approximately 18,000 pages on this site (because every word gets its own page), and Google decided to hit every single one of them. Today.

So, the good news is, we survived. The better news is that I was able to see some "holes" in the security and indexing. So, I patched up a few holes and verified and tested the registration and sign on system. I also added a robots.txt, updated the blog archives so they work and programmatically titled every page so when you see them in a search engine, you'll know exactly what you're looking at.

Well, I'm exhausted. I've been working on this site for 3 days straight, in between sleeping and doing my regular 40-hour-per-week summer job. So maybe I'll just leave it be for a few days and see how it fairs.

Into the Great Wide Open

There's still a lot of work to be done on this site, but the main dictionary features are in place. You can search in Latin and search in English, you can browse Latin words, and coolest of all is the word study tool. The word study tool allows you to type (or copy and paste from any Latin source such as The Latin Library) up to 50,000 words -- and see the words parsed, identified and defined.

Another cool feature, one which is in development, is the flashcards feature. Anytime you see a word you want to study, just check the "I want a flashcard" option. Then, you can print out a list of your flashcards on Avery Business Cards! A planned feature is to be able to study your flashcards online, and keep "sets" of flashcards.

One feature which is not ready yet -- but coming soon -- is the paradigm creator. When completed, The Latin Lexicon will create a full paradigm for any word in the dictionary!

Currently under development is The Latin Lexicon for iPhone/iPod touch. If you have one of these fantastic little devices, give it a try!

There's a lot to come, so this application will remain in beta for a while. Even so, I hope you find it useful!