Just curious to know what most HNers have on their minds.
Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
1–10 of 39 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#2I've been thinking about this for a while http://thenewstack.io/why-art-could-become-currency-in-a-cry...
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#3A system that would tie software comments to 'blocks' of code. This way you would be able to automatically detect the problem where comments/in-software documentation becomes out of sync with the code it describes and correct it.
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#4A stylistic detector for writing. Basically software that can answer the question of "was person X entirely responsible for a particular piece of writing". To be applied in forensics, plagiarism detection, and as an intelligent assistant to writers to ensure they maintain a consistent tone in their writings.
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#5A stylistic detector for writing. Basically software that can answer the question of "was person X entirely responsible for a particular piece of writing". To be applied in forensics, plagiarism detection, and as an intelligent assistant to writers to ensure they maintain a consistent tone in their writings.
See I wanted to make the opposite of this, software that would obfuscate your writing style so that forensic analysis like that wouldn't work. It would be able to analyze a corpus and give you suggestions on how to sound more like say Leibniz or Hemmingway.
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#6Where do I even start...
- graphical interface for neovim that looks exactly like sublimetext; ssh channel for working with remote neovim in local ui
- full range scanner / automatic database signal matcher for sdr
- browser+server framework for board games that can abstract the display and rules to the point where you can implement things from chess to warhammer
- sane backend for the chef server
- nicer interface / simplification for kvmtool so I could use it like unshare
- python static type analyser
- rc plane autopilot
- python modules security checker like sensiolab security:check for php
- some way of automatically namespacing apps started from home folder - for example any steam games
- everything that hurd needs to be as useable as linux at the moment
- a modern version of bullfrog's syndicate
- localised short-term weather forecast server using community supplied weather data (mini-wunderground-at-home)
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#7A system that would tie software comments to 'blocks' of code. This way you would be able to automatically detect the problem where comments/in-software documentation becomes out of sync with the code it describes and correct it.
Even better a system that would not let you check in code if the comments were not updated. Something simple like a section in the comment with a common tag, a checksum on the code, a check sum on the comment, and a human readable number that said how many lines the comment applied to. Something like:
//[common tag]-[code checksum]-[comment checksum]-25
This could be updated automatically and be backward compatible with current system. You would just need some sort of hook in git/etc to calculate and update the check sums and issue warning/errors if code checksum changed, but the comment checksum didn’t.
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#8A stylistic detector for writing. Basically software that can answer the question of "was person X entirely responsible for a particular piece of writing". To be applied in forensics, plagiarism detection, and as an intelligent assistant to writers to ensure they maintain a consistent tone in their writings.
See I wanted to make the opposite of this, software that would obfuscate your writing style so that forensic analysis like that wouldn't work. It would be able to analyze a corpus and give you suggestions on how to sound more like say Leibniz or Hemmingway.
that's actually a really impressive idea (irony on username intended). Would be interesting to run an idea like that on the entire Harry Potter text and see what it would be like to change the tone to George R R Martin's writing style.
Interestingly enough, you'd have to first build something that can identify style right? So it would at least have to sit on top of a stylistic identifier? Or is there a better way around this?
Side note. I built a prototype of the stylistic identifier as a final year project. Never had time to pursue it afterwards.
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#9Where do I even start... - graphical interface for neovim that looks exactly like sublimetext; ssh channel for working with remote neovim in local ui - full range scanner / automatic database signal matcher for sdr - browser+server framework for board games that can abstract the display and rules to the point where you can implement things from chess to warhammer - sane backend for the chef server - nicer interface /…
> browser+server framework for board games that can abstract the display and rules to the point where you can implement things from chess to warhammer
I've been wanting to do something like this for tabletop card games.
* Provide an open standard to define the design and optionally, logic related data for cards. I'll come back to this
* Provide an API for people to manage decks, draws, discards etc.
* Provide another API to manage distribution of cards amongst players via achievements or payments (collecting card decks basically)
The idea behind this would be to allow people to build card games that are either played online or offline (by allowing people to download card decks). Grand scheme of things would include a "github for card games" kind of system. Big dreams, shit execution on my part :D
Re: Ask HN: If you had the time, what software would you build?
#10If I had the time and money I would build a running cat-like robot. I've always loved mechatronics, have a background in mechanical engineering, and just recently started programming so I'm dying to give it a shot. I know it's probably harder than it seems on the surface, but I have hope.