Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#1

Post by marketingadvice » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:48 PM UTC

Hi Everyone,

I'm in a dev bootcamp a the moment and obviously at the end they want us to take on a project to build in ~2 weeks to demonstrate what was learned.

I want to take the opportunity to take on a project that will A) be a good looking demonstration of what I learned and B) be a good learning opportunity (building something that I may work on the future).

Any thoughts or ideas? I did some searches but I cant find too much that would be doable within 2 weeks or so. I think a single page web app would be ideal.

For information I'm learning RoR at the moment

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#2

Post by tylermac1 » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 3:57 PM UTC

A single page site for people to quickly sell things. Craigslist, but faster.

Think sub 2 hour turnaround. Maybe simple sorting methods. Infinite scroll.

That's something that I could see being built in 2 weeks. Has the potential to become more than just a project too.

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#3

Post by percept » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 4:03 PM UTC

The usual advice is to build something meaningful or useful for yourself. (Track time, fitness, recipes, baseball, build a blogging tool, etc.)

Once you're comfortable with RoR you might branch out and build a Ruby gem or two, as these are relatively self-contained and allow you to focus on the language, testing principles, etc. (Some might suggest doing that first to become more comfortable with the language itself, but I think staying within the established bounds of the framework is a good way to get started.)

Gems, and an accompanying GitHub profile, are also good for the resume if you intend to seek employment.

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#4

Post by amrtnz » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 5:25 PM UTC

You could make a start page. Users can add calendar info, schedules, pictures of family/friends, and anything else that they want to see when they open up their browsers.

Of course this would also be useful for yourself if it's more of a personal project.

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#5

Post by marketingadvice » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 9:18 PM UTC

percept wrote: post #3

The usual advice is to build something meaningful or useful for yourself. (Track time, fitness, recipes, baseball, build a blogging tool, etc.) Once you're comfortable with RoR you might branch out and build a Ruby gem or two, as these are relatively self-contained and allow you to focus on the language, testing principles, etc. (Some might suggest doing that first to become more comfortable with the language itself,…

Thanks for the help eh. Great thoughts. I would love to eventually dive into gems but I think thats easily a later date thing as I am still getting the foundation.

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#6

Post by marketingadvice » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 9:18 PM UTC

amrtnz wrote: post #4

You could make a start page. Users can add calendar info, schedules, pictures of family/friends, and anything else that they want to see when they open up their browsers. Of course this would also be useful for yourself if it's more of a personal project.

Interesting idea. I think personal projects are fine, as long as I can make it look slick really.

Thanks for the help!

Re: Ask HN: Ideas for small web apps that are good for learning?

#7

Post by marketingadvice » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 9:20 PM UTC

tylermac1 wrote: post #2

A single page site for people to quickly sell things. Craigslist, but faster. Think sub 2 hour turnaround. Maybe simple sorting methods. Infinite scroll. That's something that I could see being built in 2 weeks. Has the potential to become more than just a project too.

The first one sounds interesting. I think thats something I can probably do since its pretty basic but I can make it look nice.

Cheers!