📖 Studium

A lightweight desktop browser built for PDF-heavy study sessions.
Predictable memory usage · Minimal UI · Intentional constraints.

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Core Claim

Studium reduces memory usage during PDF-based study sessions by controlling rendering, background processes, and tab lifecycle — validated with real measurements against Chrome and Edge.

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Measured Results

Metric	Value
RAM vs Edge (same PDF)	~2× less
Tab hard limit	5 tabs
Days completed	14 / 14

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Features

Feature	Description
📄 Local PDF viewer	Open and render PDFs natively inside Electron with reduced memory overhead
🧘 Study mode	Toggle distraction-free layout — hides non-essential UI for focused sessions
📑 Reader mode	Strips ads and sidebars from articles and documentation pages
🔒 Tab limiter	Hard cap of 5 tabs prevents RAM overload and enforces intentional browsing
🗂️ New tab page	Custom local new tab with search and quick links, isolated from webview

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Tech Stack

Electron · Node.js · HTML / CSS / JS · Chromium webview

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Development Roadmap

✅ Phase 1 — Foundation & Baseline (Days 1–3)

Day	Goal	Status
Day 1	Electron browser shell — main.js, renderer.js, URL bar, navigation	✅ Done
Day 2	Local PDF opening + baseline RAM measurement vs Edge/Chrome	✅ Done
Day 3	PDF memory cleanup — release memory after close, prevent background rendering	⏳ Partial

Key result: Studium uses ~2× less RAM than Edge for the same PDF.

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✅ Phase 2 — Lightweight Study Features (Days 4–7)

Day	Goal	Status
Day 4	Study mode — hide non-essential UI, distraction-free layout	✅ Done
Day 5	Tab limiter — hard 5-tab cap with warning on overflow	✅ Done
Day 6	Reader mode — strip ads/sidebars, clean text layout	✅ Done
Day 7	Stability testing — long sessions, PDF cycles, crash fixes	✅ Done

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✅ Phase 3 — Context & Navigation Architecture (Day 8)

Day	Goal	Status
Day 8	New tab architecture — newtab.html, iframe isolation, webview wiring, back/forward fix	✅ Done

Key learning: Local UI pages must render in the renderer; external sites must be isolated inside <webview>. Mixing both causes instability.

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✅ Phase 4 — Performance Proof & Optimization (Days 9–14)

Day	Goal	Status
Day 9–11	RAM benchmarking vs Chrome/Edge, startup time, PDF lifecycle analysis	✅ Done
Day 12	Lightweight request-level ad/tracker blocking (no extensions)	✅ Done
Day 13	Results documentation — tables, graphs, screenshots	✅ Done
Day 14	Code cleanup, refactor, feature freeze — v1	✅ Done

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✅ Phase 5 — Final Year Project Submission

Deliverables:

• Final project report
• Architecture diagrams
• Performance benchmarks
• Demo video
• GitHub repository
• Windows .exe release build

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Day-by-Day Progress

Day  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14
     ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅  ✅   ✅   ✅   ✅   ✅

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Project Philosophy

This project is intentionally constrained.

• Not a Chrome replacement
• Not a search engine
• Focused on low-RAM study workflows for students
• Every feature is derived from a real problem
• Every claim is backed by measured evidence

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Future Enhancements (Optional)

• Smart tab freezing
• Study session saving / context restore
• AI-assisted on-demand summaries
• Android version (WebView-based)

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Built as a Final Year Project — Byte-Harvest team.