Ask HN: How do you choose your weekend projects?

5 points by apaitch 14 years ago | 4 comments

Hi all,

I've been trying to come up with some kind of personal project for myself to do but quite honestly I'm hitting a wall - kind of like writer's block. I'm a 3rd year CS student so I have some programming experience, but nothing of the "make something from start to finish" kind. I've made small games in 24/48-hour competitions, and small things like a Boggle-solver or Tic-Tac-Toe to get comfortable in a new language, but I'm trying to think of something that's not a game nor a tiny project and that's harder. I know it's a big gap in my education and I want to cover it (I'm excited at the thought of developing something bigger, just having trouble thinking of what).

So, how do you choose what you code on your free time? Do you come up with your own projects? Do you contribute to open-source? Do you just make lots of small things? Or do you not have time for that sort of thing because you're working 24/7? (=P)

alexholehouse 14 years ago |

Not really answering the question, but for quick fixes;

A friend of mine recently implemented an Enigma machine (i.e. for coding WWII messages - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine) which he enjoyed and said was a great challenge.

Alternatively I've recently done Spotify's coding puzzles (http://www.spotify.com/us/jobs/tech/) - who knows, you could even get a job out of it!

cd34 14 years ago | |

I did one of Spotify's or Facebook's coding puzzles a while back, using 4 languages in the same source file and obfuscated my contact info in the response.

If their recruitment team isn't up to the task, I don't want to work there. :)

However, it was a fun exercise.

code_pockets 14 years ago |

Here is how I do it:

1. Find a pen. 2. Find a paper or notebook. 3. Sit down for 5 minutes. 4. Write whatever idea comes to my mind in those 5 minutes. 5. Review ideas. 6. Pick the one I like best. 7. Design it. 8. Code it. 9. Test it. 10. Ship it.

Rinse and Repeat.

geekytenny 14 years ago |

All software couldn't possibly work perfectly for you....? So fix a problem you have or one you think you will have soon. Alternatively, go have a chat with a prof or business person or whoever and ask them what problems they would like solved.