Inspiration
Most curious people have had the experience of clicking aimlessly through Wikipedia, or discovering new music by hopping from release to release based on disparate recommendations and connections. What if there was a more structured way of stepping out of your comfort zone and discovering something new? Be it a music genre or an academic discipline, having the helping hand of a domain expert when exploring something new is always appreciated.
What it does
Floworm provides a platform for building and exploring flowcharts of knowledge and experience, from the jumping-off-point to the more obscure fringes. As a domain expert, you can create flowcharts that provide logical paths for interested readers to explore your area of expertise. Helpful tips on each arc of the flowchart allow self-directed exploration in accordance with one's own preferences. Users can mark the paths through the flowchart they have explored - some may aim for completion, while others may simply meander through the chart at will.
How we build it
The front-end is built with React and GraphQL, with React Spring for animations. The back-end data-store is MongoDB while Python modules with SQLite caching layers interface with external services including MusicBrainz and YouTube. We experimented with AWS and Docker for database hosting and deployment.
Challenges we ran into
Many of the team were unfamiliar with aspects of the stack so needed to work fast to familiarize themselves. In addition, the strictures imposed by the Coronavirus lockdown meant team members were separated from each other and at times struggled to communicate effectively.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We think that Floworm is an attractive web application with intelligent integration with external services. We feel that it provides a genuinely compelling and useful user experience that represents a marked change in how people learn and explore new things.
What we learned
Every group member developed their technical skills substantially; we developed our abilities to communicate and plan under pressure; and we learnt important lessons about how critical consistent system environments are for ensuring software reliability!
What's next for Floworm
We have discussed continuing to develop Floworm into a more fully fledged platform as in spite of the challenges of a 24 Hour Hackathon we remain excited by its potential both as an entrepreneurial venture and as an opportunity to do genuine social good.
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