Inspiration
This project was probably the third idea we went through after already wasting a day of the hackathon. I think we were exhausted and would settle for anything with 12 more hours to submit a project.
What it does
You select an object from the list of small objects then an object from the list of large objects. The program will do some computations to tell you how many of the small objects will fit into the large objects. For example, you select "jolly ranchers" from the small objects list and a "Boeing 747" from the large objects list. Theoretically, you could shove 27,282 jolly ranchers into a Boeing 747 commercial airplane. I apologise that it literally runs from a terminal and only executes once. It's not very aesthetically pleasing at all. Forgive us. The program Just runs once then closes because I couldn't figure out a do while loop.
How we built it
We had better plans, such as making an actual GUI for the project with some original artwork. However, due to life obligations and the limitations of the human body, as well as having probably less than 12 hours to submit the project, all we did was successfully debug the code. Anyways, we used Python to code, and initially used the Spyder IDE then the Geany IDE.
Challenges we ran into
For one, we switched project ideas three times. Our group had been formed before the hackathon started. However, it was midterms week, and all the group members had their own lives to worry about. Since I am currently narrating this whole thing, I'm not going to look for sympathy, but I had a quiz, two midterm papers, and an exam all falling on the week that led up to HackUMass. Therefore, this hackathon was the last thing on my mind. I'm sure all the two other group members were in the same situation, and even one of us forgot that HackUMass fell on this week. We were all suffering from stress, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation. Therefore, we were not able to meet up as one whole group and discuss our ideas in great detail.
Initially, we went with gathering data on corporations donating to some rather controversial causes, but there was a website already like that. Afterwards, we rented out Raspberry Pi's and sensors in an attempt to improve gymnastics judging. However, when we consulted a mentor, he said that the available hardware is very limited, and a pressure plate would be rather expensive. Lesson learned: come to hackathons prepared with your own materials. Personally, I did not learn this from HampHack when we tried to knockoff Kyunkun's Metcalf Clione and didn't have the appropriate motor sensors to pull it off.
This idea of shoving an _ n _ amount of doughnuts into a shampoo bottle arisen once the gymnastics idea failed. We didn't start coding until it approached midnight. The project itself seems like something simple you'd create in an intro to computer science course, but for some reason, Shirley insisted we install PyTorch, which was a pain in itself. The problem with it is that it's for Linux and Mac, and you had to do some certain workarounds to install it on Windows. From attempting to install PyTorch, Aria learned that her own Python installation is rather faulty. I personally use Python 2.7.1, please do not ask me why. I am used to it. At least I learned how to use the Anaconda Prompt and create virtual environments to experiment with different Python versions. I am not sure if I installed PyTorch successfully though.
We had to do a whole lot of debugging for the code to run successfully. One of the problems was the unexpected EOF while parsing error. Guess what ? It's because all the group members were using Python 3 syntax while coding on my computer which used Python 2.7.1. We also switched IDE's because I didn't bother figuring out how Spyder worked. I mean, although the code runs well, it only executes once.
When all the code was settled, it was roughly 3:30AM or so. We still needed to make the project presentable. Unfortunately, my Python skills were limited to Chapter 7 of Python Crash Course, which is nothing useful for creating GUI's. My groupmates go to sleep, and I text this friend who got me into the programming world. I said, "I'm considering just rewriting the whole code in Visual Basic and making a GUI with Visual Studio." I did get started on rewriting the code in VB and had a rough GUI in Visual Studio, only waiting for artwork from Shirley. However, I passed out, and one of the HackUMass people had to wake me up and said that submissions were due. It was a rather sad sight, alone at a table with 2 laptops out, an unfinished Visual Studio window opened. This is sounding like a terrible reflection essay than a hackathon submission.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I mean, despite the unfinished submission, we still had fun. It's not necessarily about winning at hackathons. The project wasn't going to impress the judges, and we didn't expect to win anything. However, we did have a quality bonding time and ate a bunch of unhealthy food.
I'm also surprised I even bothered submitting this to Devpost. I was already to pack up and go back to my dorm and resume sleeping. For some reason, I found the will within the 10 minutes deadline to submit this. And now, hours later, I finished the writeup.
What we learned
1) To come prepared to a hackathon with appropriate supplies. 2) At least have a thorough idea coming into a hackathon. 3) Meet up with your group members before the actual event. 4) Be aware that a hackathon is coming up..
What's next for Item Comparison Algorithm
Shirley passed out while writing the code for the GUI. So maybe one day, we'll have a finished and presentable project. But for now, I think we need to catch up on the sleep and homework.
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