Slides from WiCS 10/28/15 "Intro to Hackathons 101" Workshop

1. Intro to Hackathons 101
Women in Computer Science
@ Boston University

2. My name is Anna Goncharova!
anna-goncharova.com
● have been to ~5 hackathons
○ not only survived but actually won prizes!
● also, volunteering/mentoring at BostonHacks!
Hello!

3. My name is Tiffany Lo!
tiffanylo.info
● Technically participated in 1.2 hackathons
● Formerly intimidated by the thought of hackathons
Hello!

4. My name is Alexadra Miller-
Browne!
amiller-browne.appspot.com
● Participated in 3 hackathons
● Organizing BostonHacks
Hello!

5. Why are we here?
◉Hackathons are awesome!
◉After this presentation, you will know what to
expect.
◉So, you will be more likely to participate
in a hackathon.
◉example: BostonHacks is this weekend - sign
up!

6. Benefits of attending a
hackathon
◉Networking! Networking! Networking!
◉Learning technologies that you wish you knew
but never can find the time to actually learn
◉Working on an idea
◉Learning about what it is like to be a Software
Developer

7. So, what is a hackathon?

8. “
“A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest or
codefest) is an event in which computer programmers and
others involved in software development and hardware
development, including graphic designers, interface
designers and project managers, collaborate intensively on
software projects in competition with other teams”
- Wikipedia

11. What is a hackathon?
Overview
◉Basically, a gathering of people that want to
make something awesome
◉ALL levels are welcome -- no one will laugh at
you if that would be your first time
programming, like ever
◉Time varies (some are a day long, some are
two)
◉As much commitment as you want it to be
○ and you don’t actually have to have THE idea, it is

12. What is a hackathon?
Sample schedule:
◉Typical schedule goes like:
○ arrival
○ keynote (sponsors announce APIs + opportunities)
○ group formation, finding a spot, settling down
○ brainstorming
○ work
■ food/hygiene/sleep in between
● food + energy drinks are usually provided
○ submission
○ judging
○ closing keynote and winner announcements

13. What is a hackathon?
Debunking a few myths:
◉It’s completely acceptable to take a sleep
break
◉Making teams with strangers is not as hard as
you think; people are usually friendly and easy
to work with
◉What you learn > What you make

14. How to be a hackathon hacker?
In preparation:
◉Usually, there are either FB groups or Slack
channels set up. There, people can find others
with similar goals, as well as meet other
participants
◉Think of a few things you’d like to work on or learn
◉For faraway hackathons -- plan on bringing things
like change of clothes, personal hygiene products,
and other trivial travel objects.

15. How to be a hackathon hacker?
Forming teams
◉Look for balance in a team (people of similar
levels of programming experience with an
overlap in familiar languages)
◉Discuss technologies you would like to learn
◉Make sure your teammates have similar
goals!
○ ! (important)

16. How to be a hackathon hacker?
General tips
◉Be open to feedback and problem solving
collaboratively
◉The goal is to have a working prototype by
the end - sometimes this means trimming
down the project or cutting some corners
◉It’s ok to be ambitious, but plan realistically
for unexpected errors and fatigue

17. What do I build?

18. Web App Basics
Structure:
◉Front-end: visual, client-side logic
◉Backend: server-side logic, data
management
◉MVC: Model/View/Controller
○ Model: how data is stored/accessed
○ View: how data is displayed
○ Controller: how data is managed/processed

19. Languages/Frameworks:
Javascript:
◉Node.js (Backend)
◉Angular.js (Front-end)
◉BackBone.js (Front-end)

20. Languages/Frameworks:
Python:
◉Flask (Backend)
◉Django (Backend)
Java:
◉Jetty (Backend)
◉Tomcat (Backend)

21. Languages/Frameworks:
Mobile Development:
◉Java/C++ → Android app development
◉Objective-C/Swift → iOS app development

22. Languages/Frameworks:
Interaction with Data:
◉Passing between layers:
○ JSON (similar to dictionaries)
○ AJAX (a technology)
◉Storing data (databases):
○ SQL “see-kwol” (mySQL, SQLite, Postgres, etc.)
○ NoSQL (MongoDB)

23. Languages/Frameworks:
Additional languages:
◉PHP, Ruby, Go and many, many others....
Hardware:
◉Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Oculus, Myo, Apple
Watch, etc.

24. Resources
◉MLH -- Major League Hacking
○ list of all of the hackathons
◉Another hackathon calendar
○ link

25. Resources: Web Dev
○ watch this video first
○ codecademy - learn CSS/HTML, after that learn JavaScript.
○ learn about JSON objects and Ajax -- dynamic data
(intermediate)
■ link 1
■ link 2
■ link 3
○ books:
■ javascript
■ html/css

26. Some advanced tips

27. How to win something:
API Prizes:
◉read through the company’s API
documentation and thoughtfully integrate it
into your code
◉if sponsors are available -- ask for advice.
◉They will be more likely to give the prize to
someone they interacted with in depth or who
found bugs in their systems.

28. How to win something:
Category Prize:
◉a little subjective (categories vary)
◉presentation is key!
◉it is okay for your the concept of your idea
not to be completely unique
◉there’s a big push for wearables (like Oculus
Rift, Apple Watch, etc.)

29. Questions?