This document provides an overview and introduction to hacking. It defines hacking as exploring systems and stretching their capabilities, not destructive cracking. It describes HackU as a 24-hour coding event focused on uninterrupted innovation. It encourages building something useful by combining available data sources and APIs through technologies like YQL, Yahoo Pipes, and the YUI library. The document advises having a plan B for demos and publishing completed hacks online for others to see. It emphasizes focusing on one simple idea within the 24-hour timeframe rather than trying to solve everything.

1. Hacking 101
Sudar Muthu

2. What is a hack?

3. “Hacking” is a constructive term.
“Cracking” is destructive

5. hacker: n.
A person who enjoys exploring the
details of programmable systems
and how to stretch their
capabilities

6. “Altering a system to do what
you want it to do using what
is at your disposal”

8. What is HackU?

9. 24 hours of un-interrupted,
unrestrained coding and
innovation

10. Hack

11. Eat

12. Get Help

13. Recharge

14. Have Fun

15. Hack
Fix
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlerdorf/3250595638/

16. Present

17. Win

18. Where do I start?

19. A good hack starts with an idea…

21. Build something you will use
yourself

23. Show us what can be built
using the systems we (and
others) offer.

24. http://developer.yahoo.com

25. http://www.github.com/

26. To build a typical web hack
you need data, access and
an interface

27. Yahoo! has opened up its
data

28. Search (BOSS), Flickr,
Geo, Social, Mail, Messenger
…

29. And so have others

30. Programmable web lists
6670 APIs in their API
directory
Twitter, Facebook, Google, …

31. To access these you can use
YQL

32. YQL is a SQL-Like Language
that lets you …

33. … filter, combine, tweak data
across hundreds of Web Services.
http://developer.yahoo.com/yql/console

34. How will you build a system
to calculate distance
between two places?

35. Use Vincenty's formulae

36. Or use YQL

38. YQL has more to it

39. There’s also Yahoo Pipes to
do this visually

40. http://pipes.yahoo.com/

41. Data however is not enough.

42. You also need working
interfaces

43. Technologies are easy:
HTML, CSS, JavaScript

44. Making it work on all
browsers and OS is tricky

45. YUI

46. http://developer.yahoo.com/yui

47. Presenting your hack

48. Do not show us slides about your hack

49. Instead show us what you have done

50. Technical glitches happen

51. Have a plan-B

52. Have a Plan B
• Record screencast
• Do not depend on the internet
• Keep your stuff ready in the browser
• Rehearse the demo with atleast one crew
member before hand

53. And once you are done

54. And once you are done
• Keep your hack live for others to see
• Show other hackers what you have done
• Publish your code in Github
• Let us know and we can help you to take it even
further!

56. Don’t limit yourself to your
favorite toys

57. A good hack doesn’t need to
be a big thing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/capricorndragon/4000384412/

58. Don’t look for features. Concentrate on
one thing
Don’t look to solve everything

59. You only have 24 hours

60. Find things that already work
And put them together

61. Innovation has no limits

62. Go Hack !!!
Have Fun

63. Thank You
Sudar Muthu
@sudarmuthu
http://sudarmuthu.com
http://slideshare.net/sudar/

64. Hack Resources
• http://developer.yahoo.com
• http://developer.yahoo.com/yql/console
• http://github.com/yahoo
• http://hackyourworld.org/
• http://github.com/codepo8/hackday-toolbox/
• http://talks.php.net/show/hacku/