MNIST from Scratch

Description

A simple web application that implements a neural network from scratch to recognize handwritten digits from the MNIST dataset. It features a React frontend with a canvas for user input and a Python/Flask/NumPy backend for the neural network logic.

Frameworks & Libraries

• Frontend: React, JavaScript
• Backend: Python, Flask, NumPy

How to Run Locally

To run this project, you will need to run the backend server and the frontend application in two separate terminals.

Backend (Flask Server)

1. Navigate to the server directory:

   cd server

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   # For macOS/Linux
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   
   # For Windows
   python -m venv venv
   venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the dependencies:

   # For macOS/Linux
   pip3 install -r requirements.txt
   
   # For Windows
   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the server:

   # For macOS/Linux
   python3 server.py
   
   # For Windows
   python server.py

   The backend server will start on http://localhost:3001.

Frontend (React App)

1. Navigate to the client directory in a new terminal:

   cd client

2. Install the dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the app:

   npm start

   The frontend development server will start, and your browser should open to http://localhost:3000.