So as part of the 3.2 database updates we're thinking about making a big and potentially controversial change: basically, we would replace the current user dictionary system with two new things:
Migration-wise, we would most likely turn all of your existing user dictionaries into static dictionaries but then give you an easy way to dump all of the entries from any user dictionary into a new flashcard category.
- Dictionary integration of custom flashcards - you could now search for custom flashcards just as for any other dictionary entries. Specific flashcard categories (along with 'all flashcards') would be add-able to custom dictionary groups if you wanted to narrow down your search to only some of them.
- Non-editable user-created dictionary databases; you could dump a bunch of flashcards to one of these and could probably also create it directly from a text file. But it would be a one-time thing, fixed / immutable once you'd created it (and gaining a lot of performance optimizations through that).
- Much easier sync, both on our end (only have to sync your flashcard database) and on yours (no more wondering whether a particular user dictionary has synced / fiddling around with how to sync it / etc).
- No more juggling dictionary entries versus flashcards - anything that you're editing / working on is in your flashcard database.
- Easier access to your custom flashcards (you no longer have this weird database of useful information you've collected that's walled off from the rest of the app).
- Vastly easier development for us since we're no longer dealing with two separate user-editable database formats.
Migration-wise, we would most likely turn all of your existing user dictionaries into static dictionaries but then give you an easy way to dump all of the entries from any user dictionary into a new flashcard category.