Devlog #13 - IT’S DONE DONE! The Final Chapter.

FINALLY. After two intense days and 16+ hours of grinding, Privournal is officially complete and ready for Stardance! 😭🎉

OH AND Yeah, it’s been two days - Long time no see 😭
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Sorry for disappearing without posting Devlog #13 🥲
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These last 16+ hours were so packed with debugging, packaging, testing, and polishing that I kept postponing the devlog. So this one covers the entire final stretch.
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Btw hey I’ll upload the clean Flowchart on Git repo, and yk I was gonna write a LOT here with complete details, but damn there’s a limit. Well it’s oki i’ll add a list of all my devlogs to the repo too :)

What Happened?

I thought Devlog #12 was the “everything works” moment, but the final stretch turned out to be the work.

• Audited every function in the codebase
• Fixed dozens of lingering bugs
• Cleaned up the entire code
• Updated the README 10+ times
• Set up PyPI packaging and releases
• Recorded asciinema demos (Took enormous time 😭)
• Added prettier output/interface functions
• Tested every scenario I could think of

Major Change: MySQL → SQLite

One of the biggest changes was moving away from MySQL.
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Originally, Privournal used MySQL with accounts and a shared database. Later I realized that requires a server, hosting, maintenance, and introduces privacy concerns.
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So I redesigned everything around SQLite.
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Benefits:

• Fully offline
• More private
• Easier installation
• Simpler deployment

Probably the biggest architectural change in the entire project.

Biggest Bugs Fixed

• Login/signup flow issues
• Missing database commits
• Foreign key linking problems
• JSON serialization/loading bugs
• The infamous “extra spaces everywhere” decryption bug
• Variable scope and traversal issues
• Randomised Mode integration

By the end of Day 1, the core encryption/decryption system was finally reliable.

The Swiption Demon 😭

Swiption and SwipDe took forever.
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The idea sounds simple: letters rotate through multiple covers after a certain number of occurrences.
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Actually implementing occurrence tracking, rotation logic, life values, multiple dictionaries, JSON storage, and decryption logic nearly broke my brain 😭
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The funniest part?
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After hours of struggling I realized I had overcomplicated everything. Since every cover uniquely maps to a letter, I could simply search through the dictionaries instead of tracking a ton of extra information.

LIKE DAMN.

Swiption is now fully functional and ended up becoming my coolest feature in the project.

Packaging & Shipping

• Cleaned up the repository
• Improved README and documentation
• Fixed PyPI packaging issues
• Tested in fresh virtual environments
• Published releases
• Recorded final demos

✨ Project Complete

Privournal is now a real, usable command-line journal encryptor.

Thanks to:

• My brother for catching early logic flaws
• GPT for quick syntax rescues
• Everyone who followed the devlogs
• And myself for not giving up 😭

**Privournal is shipped and ready for Stardance! **

I’d love your feedback once you try it.
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This project taught me something exams never did :
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Working religiously on something with all your heart to make it real.
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Thank you for reading all 13 devlogs ❤️
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✨ See you in the next project ✨

| Project Complete | Ready to Submit | 🎉