CompPost | Devpost

Inspiration

For BoilerMake8, we wanted to challenge ourselves and do something we had not previously done. Neither of us had worked front-end development and wanted to see what we could produce. We saw EcoLab's prompt about how we could create a product that had an impact on the climate; integrating global problems and technology is a topic we are both passionate about.

What it does

CompPost is a web application that allows users to create an account, where they login and complete challenges. The challenges are small, actionable tasks that assist the user in reducing their carbon footprint and better educates the user on problems that the climate faces. CompPost also has a social aspect! Users may post updates and photographs of them participating in the challenges; creating a piece of CompPost as a social platform will allow users to encourage one another to continue completing challenges and share their experiences.

How we built it

To build CompPost as a web application we used html and css to build the pages of the app. We used php to connect to a database easily and produce a working login, registration, and logout. We used javascript for some buttons in the site and python for the back-end development.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge we ran into was not knowing anything about web development and starting completing from scratch. We had to take the time to learn new languages and figure out how to make all of the pieces fit. It took quite a bit of trial and error to figure out what mechanisms made specific changes within the application.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are both incredibly proud that we had the ability to learn new concepts and implement them into our project. This is the first project, out of the classroom, that we have sat down and worked on and dedicated a lot of time to. We are proud that we even have something to submit! We are excited to continue to develop CompPost and to further explore full stack web development concepts which we had not previously been exposed to in the classroom.

What we learned

We learned what we could not learn with a 36-hour time frame that now gives us motivation to continue exploring. After hour 12 or so, we learned to take a step away from the computer and get into a new space for a clear mind. We learned to scrap a plan that was not working out; an important lesson alongside this was recollecting thoughts and ideas to ensure we are still having fun and challenging ourselves. In addition to all of this, we learned new ways to code, new programming languages, new collaboration methods, and new characteristics about ourselves.

What's next for CompPost

CompPost has a lot in store for the next couple of months. We hope to fully implement the user's options once they are registered. We would love to add frameworks to the application to allow for more interactivity with the user. Challenges will be added to the user page and incentives (e.g. badges, level-ups, etc.) will be added to motivate the user. The social platform within the site will also be fully carried out. We want to encourage users to interact by sharing photos and discussing their experiences with challenges. Lastly, we want to get data analytics to show the user how their changes are affecting the climate.