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{{short description|Event in which groups of software developers work at an accelerated pace}} | |||
A '''hackathon''', a ] ], is an event when ]s meet to do collaborative ]. These events are typically between several days and a week in length. A hackathon refers not simply to one time hacks, but to a specific time when many people come together to hack on what they want to, how they want to - with little to no restrictions on direction or goal of the programming. | |||
] Hackathon in ]]] | |||
A '''hackathon''' (also known as a '''hack day''', '''hackfest''', '''datathon''' or '''codefest'''; a ] of ] and ]) is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours. They are often run using ] practices, such as ]-like design wherein ]s and others involved in ], including ]s, ], ]s, ]s, ]s, and others collaborate intensively on ] projects, such as ]. | |||
The goal of a hackathon is to create functioning software or hardware by the end of the event.<ref name="definition">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Hackathon definition|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hackathon|dictionary=]}}</ref> Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the ] used, the ], an application, an ], or the subject and the demographic group of the programmers. In other cases, there is no restriction on the type of software being created or the design of the new system. | |||
The term '''sprint''' is used to describe shorter events of a similar nature, which typically only last a few days. Another name for events of this type, used primarily among ] ], is '''codefest''', a combination of the words code and festival, drawing its name from ], an event at Linux user Groups. | |||
In addition to creating functional software or hardware, hackathons can help participants develop skills like problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, team work, communication and time management. Hackathons can also lead to formation of new companies, finding innovative solutions to real-world problems, or building a community around particular technology or cause. | |||
== '''Origins''' == | |||
==Etymology== | |||
The term hackathon itself is a ] formed from the intellectual slang ] and ]. The term seems to have been created independently by both the developers of ] and the marketing team of ]; these usages both first happened in 1999. | |||
The word "hackathon" is a ] of the words "hack" and "marathon", where "hack" is used in the sense of exploratory programming, not its alternate meaning as ]. | |||
]'s apparent first use of the term referred to a cryptographic development event held in ] on June 4, 1999,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.openbsd.org/hackathons.html|title=OpenBSD Hackathons|publisher=OpenBSD|access-date=2015-04-10|language=en}}</ref> where ten developers came together to avoid legal problems caused due to export regulations of cryptographic software from the ].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Since then, a further three to six events per year have occurred around the world to advance development, generally on university campuses. | |||
For Sun, the usage referred to an event at the ] ] from |
For ], the usage referred to an event at the ] ] from June 15 to June 19, 1999; there ] challenged attendees to write a program in ] for the new ] using the infrared port to communicate with other people who are using Palm and register it on the Internet. | ||
Starting in the mid to late 2000s, hackathons became significantly more widespread and began to be increasingly viewed by companies and ]s as a way to quickly develop new software technologies, and to locate new areas for innovation and funding. Some major companies were born from these hackathons, such as ], which began as a project at a hackathon at the ] Disrupt 2010 conference; in 2011 it was acquired by ] for $85 million. The software ] began as a project at the iPhoneDevCamp (later renamed iOSDevCamp) in 2008;<ref>{{cite web|title=PhoneGap: It's Like AIR for the IPhone|last=Johnson|first=Dave|date=2008-09-18|url=http://phonegap.com/2008/09/18/phonegap-it%E2%80%99s-like-air-for-the-iphone/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310003249/http://phonegap.com/2008/09/18/phonegap-it%E2%80%99s-like-air-for-the-iphone/|archive-date=2013-03-10|publisher=PhoneGap Blog|language=en}}</ref> the company whose engineers developed PhoneGap, ], refocused itself around PhoneGap, and Nitobi was bought by ] in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adobe Acquires Developer Of HTML5 Mobile App Framework PhoneGap Nitobi|last=Rao|first=Leena|date=2011-10-03|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/10/03/adobe-acquires-developer-of-html5-mobile-app-framework-phonegap-nitobi/|access-date=2023-11-20|publisher=]|language=en}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
Sun has also held a number of ] events since 1986, mostly centered around NFS interoperability. Vendors and other invitees convene during these events to test the interoperability of their hardware and software implementations, identify faults in the specification of Internet standard protocols, and define reusable protocol test suites. Connectathon is more of a developers' conference where participants happen to hack in addition to presenting technical talks to one another, something like the defunct ] conference. | |||
==Structure== | |||
== '''Current usage''' == | |||
Hackathons typically start with communication via a presentation or a web page from the hosting organization that mentions the objectives, terms, and details of the hackathon. Developers register to participate in the hackathon and are qualified after the organization screens their background and skills. | |||
When the hackathon event begins, the participating individuals or teams start their programming work. The administrator of the hackathon is typically able to answer questions and offer help when their issues come up in the event. | |||
The term hackathon was picked up by ] in 2000 for a development event and from there it spread to ] in 2001 and ] during the 2002 ApacheCON. | |||
Hackathons can last several hours to several days. For hackathons that last 24 hours or longer, especially competitive ones, eating is often informal, with participants often subsisting on food like ] and ]s. Sometimes sleeping is informal as well, with participants sleeping on-site with ]s. | |||
Since its original usage, the hackathon has become more commonly associated with the OpenBSD project than with any other usage. The project holds an annual hackathon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where as many OpenBSD developers as possible come together to work on the codebase at a more furious pace. The results of these hackathons are usually highly noticeable improvements to either a particular set of tools or hardware platform; such improvements include the radical development ] - which had been started before a hackathon and brought to a much better quality level during the event, expanded support for the ], the development of ], improvements to OpenBSD's local CVS system and a large performance improvement to the system through a cleanup of the ]. | |||
At the end of hackathons, there are usually a series of demonstrations in which each group presents their results. To capture the great ideas and work-in-progress often people post a video of the demonstrations, blog about results with screenshots and details, share links and progress on social media, suggest a place for open source code and generally make it possible for people to share, learn from and possibly build from the ideas generated and initial work completed. | |||
Companies have recently begun to use the idea of the hackathon, in which they give a day a week or month to workers in order for them to do as they wish development-wise - all results are still owned by the company, but these 'hackathons' allow for employees to escape from their more boring regular tasks and do something that interests them. | |||
There is sometimes a contest element as well, in which a panel of judges select the winning teams, and prizes are given. At many hackathons, the judges are made up of organisers and sponsors. At ]-style hackathons, that are organised by the development community, such as iOSDevCamp, the judges are usually made up of peers and colleagues in the field. Such prizes are sometimes a substantial amount of money: a ] hackathon at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference offered $250,000 in funding to the winners, while a controversial<ref name="hackathon cheaters">{{cite web|title=The "Biggest Hackathon Prize In History" Was Won By Cheaters|url=http://valleywag.gawker.com/the-biggest-hackathon-prize-in-history-was-won-by-che-1469710101|publisher=]|first=Sam|last=Biddle|date=November 22, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=November 24, 2013|archive-date=November 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124211611/http://valleywag.gawker.com/the-biggest-hackathon-prize-in-history-was-won-by-che-1469710101}}</ref> 2013 hackathon run by ] had a payout of $1 million to the winners, billed as the largest-ever prize.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two Harvard University Alum Win Disputed Salesforce $1M Hackathon Prize At Dreamforce |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/21/two-harvard-university-alum-win-salesforce-1m-hackathon-prize-at-dreamforce-for-mobile-service-to-create-reports/|work=]|first=Alex|last=Williams|date=November 21, 2013|access-date=2023-11-20|language=en}}</ref> | |||
While other organisations, including ], ], ], ] and ], still hold hackathons, few receive the publicity and buzz accorded the annual OpenBSD hackathon. This may in part be due to the frequency and duration of the OpenBSD hackathon when compared to others. | |||
==Types of hackathons== | |||
Of note with hackathons is that they are not all done simply by inviting developers together - they take a great deal of organising and have massive financial impact, with Theo de Raadt noting some cost 20,000 ] for hotel and equipment fees alone. Because of this, hackathons are limited in the rate at which they occur, happening often only once a year or quarter. They also often seek external sponsors such as in April 2003, when the NLnet Foundation paid for the hotel accommodations for the OpenBSD hackathon, which had recently had its funding project ] cancelled prematurely. | |||
===For an application type=== | |||
Some hackathons focus on a particular platform such as ]s, a desktop operating system, ] or ]. | |||
Mobile app hackathons like ], held at ], ], can see a large amount of corporate sponsorship and interest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hackers Get Hired At Bletchley Park|date=2011-09-19|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/16/hackers-get-hired-at-blet_n_966246.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926233338/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/16/hackers-get-hired-at-blet_n_966246.html|archive-date=2011-09-26|url-status=dead|publisher=]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techventure2011.com/hackathon|title=Mobile App Hackathon - TechVenture 2011|date=21 December 2011|access-date=16 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221093855/http://www.techventure2011.com/hackathon|archive-date=21 December 2011|language=en}}</ref> | |||
== '''OpenBSD hackathons''' == | |||
], a hackathon for music-related software and hardware applications, is a popular event, having been held over 30 times around the world since 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://musichackday.org/|title=Music Hack Day homepage|publisher=Musichackday.org|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2020-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510224716/https://musichackday.org/<!--archive url doesn't work-->|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also ], a three-day interdisciplinary festival for music ideas bringing together musicians with hackers, researchers and industry, features a hackathon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27067106|title=Music Hackathon at Music Tech Fest in Boston|publisher=BBC.com|date=2014-04-20|access-date=2015-03-05|work=BBC News|last1=Rich|first1=L. J.|language=en}}</ref> Similarly, ], a hackathon for making things with science, has been held over 45 times in over 15 countries around the world since 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sciencehackday.org/|title=Science Hack Day homepage|publisher=Sciencehackday.org|access-date=2014-12-09}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
Since the original in 1999, OpenBSD has had at least a hackathon a year. During the hackathon, many of the developers come together for a period which usually sees rapid OpenBSD development. The original hackathon took place in ](cal-gur-"e"), ], ] and was attended by ten developers. It was focused on cryptographic development; part of the reason for holding it in Canada was to avoid legal problems caused by United States regulations on the export of cryptographic software. The designation for each subsequent hackathon has been marked by this, as OpenBSD has used ''c'', standing first for crypto and later for Calgary, as the first letter of these events. Since then, hackathons have become a big event, a week-long gathering during which more than 60 developers from around the world come together to drink ], listen to ] music--like that of ],--hike, and hack on OpenBSD. | |||
Hackathons have been held to develop applications that run on various ] operating systems, such as ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://androidhackathon.org/|title=Android Hackathon|publisher=Android Hackathon|date=2010-03-13|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2013-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006065812/http://androidhackathon.org/|url-status=dead|language=en}}</ref> ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iosdevcamp.org/contest/|title=iOSDevCamp 2011 Hackathon|publisher=Iosdevcamp.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722030856/http://www.iosdevcamp.org/contest/}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metalab.at/N9_Hackathon|title=N9 Hackathon|language=de|publisher=Metalab.at|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> Hackathons have also been held to develop video-based applications and computer games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seehub.me/2011/11/nordeus-2011-game-development-hackathon/|title=Nordeus 2011 Game Development Hackathon|publisher=Seehub.me|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029001801/http://seehub.me/2011/11/nordeus-2011-game-development-hackathon/|archive-date=2013-10-29}}</ref> Hackathons where ]s are developed are sometimes called ]s. | |||
As of 2007, official ] hackathons have been: | |||
"TV Hackfest" events have been held in both London<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hackfest.tv/|title=TV Hackfest homepage|publisher=Hackfest.tv|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2012-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831174641/http://www.hackfest.tv/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and San Francisco,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/2012/12/19/320277-tv-hackfest-brings-hackathon-2013-apps-world-event.htm|title=Article on TV Hackfest San Francisco|publisher=Techzone360.com|date=2012-12-19|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> focusing mainly on ] and ] technologies. In TV Hackfests, challenge briefs are typically submitted by content producers and brands, in the form of ] or ] content, while sponsors supply ]s, ] and pre-existing ] code.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hackfest.tv/thechannel-TV-Hackfest.pdf|title=PDF of Feature article on TV Hackfest in AIB The Channel|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226044303/http://www.hackfest.tv/thechannel-TV-Hackfest.pdf|archive-date=2014-02-26}}</ref> | |||
(1999) | |||
*c99 - ], ], 10 ] in ], ], ]. | |||
(2000) | |||
*c2k - ], ], 18 developers in Calgary. | |||
(2001) | |||
*c2k1 - ], ], 35 developers in ], ]. | |||
*c2k1-II - ], ], 12 developers in ], USA. | |||
(2002) | |||
*c2k2 - ], ], 42 developers in Calgary, origin of the "Shut Up and Hack!" motto. | |||
(2003) | |||
*c2k3 - ], ], 51 developers in Calgary. | |||
(2004) | |||
*pf2k4 - ], ], ], ], Canada. | |||
*c2k4 - ], ], 46 developers in Calgary. | |||
(2005) | |||
*c2k5 - ], ], 60 developers in Calgary. | |||
*v2k5 - ], ], ports hackathon, 12 developers in ], ]. | |||
(2006) | |||
*c2k6 - ], ], 47 developers in Calgary. | |||
*r2k6 - ], ], network routing hackathon, 6 developers in ], ]. | |||
*k2k6 - ], ], IPSEC and IKE hackathon, 14 developers in Schloss Kransberg, ]. | |||
*p2k6 - ], ], ports hackathon, 14 developers in ], ]. | |||
*h2k6 - ], ], driver hackathon, 14 developers in ], ]. | |||
(2007) | |||
*f2k7 - ], ], filesystem hackathon, 14 developers in ], ]. | |||
*c2k7 - ], ], 50 developers in Calgary. | |||
Hackathons have also been used in the ] to advance the informatics infrastructure that supports research. The ] ran two hackathons for its member projects in 2002 and 2003, and since 2010 has held 2-day "codefests" preceding its annual conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.open-bio.org/Hackathon|title=OBF Hackathons|publisher=Open-bio.org|date=2013-03-12|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> The ] has co-organized and sponsored hackathons for evolutionary bioinformatics since 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://informatics.nescent.org/Main_Page#Hackathons|title=NESCent-sponsored Hackathons|publisher=Informatics.nescent.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=T Hill|url=http://www.la-press.com/the-2006-nescent-phyloinformatics-hackathon-a-field-report-article-a480|title=Hilmar Lapp, Sendu Bala, James P. Balhoff, Amy Bouck, Naohisa Goto, Mark Holder, Richard Holland, et al. 2007. "The 2006 NESCent Phyloinformatics Hackathon: A Field Report." Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online 3: 287–296|journal=Evolutionary Bioinformatics|publisher=La-press.com|date=2007-12-14|volume=2007|issue=3|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> {{Anchor|BioHackathon}} BioHackathon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biohackathon.org/|title=biohackathon.org|publisher=biohackathon.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> is an annual event that started in 2008 targeted at advancing standards to enable interoperable bioinformatics tools and Web services. Neuroscientists have also used hackathons to bring developers and scientists together to address issues that range from focusing on a specific information system (e.g., Neurosynth Hackathon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hackathon.neurosynth.org/|title=hackathon.neurosynth.org|publisher=hackathon.neurosynth.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224713/http://hackathon.neurosynth.org/|archive-date=2013-12-02}}</ref> and the Allen Brain Atlas Hackathon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.brain-map.org/display/hackathon/2012+Allen+Brain+Atlas+Hackathon|title=2012 Allen Brain Atlas Hackathon - Hackathon - Allen Brain Atlas User Community|publisher=Community.brain-map.org|date=2012-09-04|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222320/http://community.brain-map.org/display/hackathon/2012+Allen+Brain+Atlas+Hackathon|archive-date=2013-12-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>) and providing reserved time for broad scientific inquiry (e.g., Brainhack),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brainhack.org/|title=Brainhack.org|publisher=Brainhack.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Craddock|first1=R. Cameron|last2=Margulies|first2=Daniel S.|last3=Bellec|first3=Pierre|last4=Nichols|first4=B. Nolan|last5=Alcauter|first5=Sarael|last6=Barrios|first6=Fernando A.|last7=Burnod|first7=Yves|last8=Cannistraci|first8=Christopher J.|last9=Cohen-Adad|first9=Julien|last10=De Leener|first10=Benjamin|last11=Dery|first11=Sebastien|date=2016-03-31|title=Brainhack: a collaborative workshop for the open neuroscience community|journal=GigaScience|volume=5|issue=1|page=16|doi=10.1186/s13742-016-0121-x|issn=2047-217X|pmc=4818387|pmid=27042293|doi-access=free}}</ref> to using specific challenges that focus hacking activity (e.g., HBM Hackathon).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://humanbrainmapping.org/hackathon|title=HBM Hackathon - Organization for Human Brain Mapping|publisher=Humanbrainmapping.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> | |||
== '''Sprints''' ==<!-- This section is linked from ] --> | |||
There has been an emergence of 'datathons' or data-focused hackathons in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Datathon 2020 the International Sata Science Hackathon|url=https://www.datasciencesociety.net/datathon|website=Data Science Society|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Datathon 2020|url=https://www.datarepublic.com/data-hackathons|website=Data Republic|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125232024/https://www.datarepublic.com/data-hackathons|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WiDS Datathon 2021|url=https://www.widsconference.org/datathon.html|website=Women in Data Science|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref> These events challenge data scientists working with others attending to together use creativity and data analysis skills and platforms to build, test and explore solutions and dashboards which analyse huge datasets in a limited amount of time. These are increasingly being used to deliver insights in big public and private datasets in various disciplines including business,<ref>{{cite web|title=KPMG Datathon Challenge|url=https://home.kpmg/my/en/home/services/data-and-analytics/datathon-challenge.html|website=KPMG Malaysia|date=2 January 2020|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923182950/https://home.kpmg/my/en/home/services/data-and-analytics/datathon-challenge.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> healthcare<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=datathon|website=PubMed: US National Library of Medicine|access-date=16 December 2020|title=Datathon - PMC - NCBI}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Aboab|first1=Jerome|last2=Celi|first2=Leo|last3=Charlton|first3=Peter|last4=Feng|first4=Mengling|title=A "datathon" model to support cross-disciplinary collaboration|journal=Science Translational Medicine|date=6 April 2016|volume=8|issue=333|page=8|doi=10.1126/scitranslmed.aad9072|pmid=27053770|pmc=5679209|url=}}</ref> news media<ref>{{cite web|title=Hack the News Datathon|url=https://www.datasciencesociety.net/hack-news-datathon/|website=Data Science Society}}</ref> and for social causes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Datathon for Social Good|url=https://www.ourcommunity.com.au/datathon|website=Our Community|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref> | |||
A '''] ''' is a short period of ]. Sprints have become popular events among some ] projects, for example, the ] project is developed the most through regularly held sprints, where most of the international team gathers. They are often held near conferences which most of the project's team attends, but they can also be hosted by some involved party at their premises or some interesting location. | |||
===Using a specific programming language, API, or framework=== | |||
The practice of using sprints for pivotal development was pioneered by the ] Corporation in the early days of the ] project, where the greatest improvements in the software were made during the gatherings. From January ] till the start of ] more than 30 Zope 3 sprints have taken place. | |||
There have been hackathons devoted to creating applications that use a specific language or framework, like ],<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175133/http://downcityjs.com/|date=2014-03-25}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nodeknockout.com|title=Node Knockout|first=Node|last=Knockout|website=www.nodeknockout.com|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref> ]<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325173454/https://hackathon.5apps.com/|date=2014-03-25}}, May 5–6, 2012, Berlin, Germany</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://punehackathon.pbworks.com/w/page/19872985/FrontPage|title=Pune Rails Hackathon: July 29-30, 2006|publisher=Punehackathon.pbworks.com|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> | |||
Some hackathons focus on applications that make use of the ], or API, from a single company or data source. Open Hack, an event run publicly by ] since 2006 (originally known as "Hack Day", then "Open Hack Day"), has focused on usage of the Yahoo! API, in addition to APIs of websites owned by Yahoo!, like ].<ref>, Flickr blog, September 3, 2008</ref> The company's Open Hack India event in 2012 had over 700 attendees.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021180616/http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/purple-bangalore-inside-yahoo-open-hack-india-2012-52837.html|date=2013-10-21}}, Pushpalee Johnson, August 11, 2012, YDN Blog</ref> ] has run similar events for their APIs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vivacity.lnmiit.ac.in/hackathon.html|title=Google Hackathon • Vivacity 2015|publisher=Vivacity|date=2014-12-25|access-date=2015-01-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126012015/http://vivacity.lnmiit.ac.in/hackathon.html|archive-date=2015-01-26}}</ref> as has the travel guide company ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Melbourne Hack Day: List Of Presentations And Winners|url=http://lplabs.com/melbournehack/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ListOfPresentationsAndWinners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422202934/http://lplabs.com/melbournehack/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ListOfPresentationsAndWinners|archive-date=2011-04-22}}</ref> | |||
The sprints organized by companies often focus on the concepts of the ] software development method. There the sprint is directed by the coach, who suggests tasks, tracks their progress and makes sure that none of the developers encounter insurmountable difficulties. Often the development happens ] or small teams. A large open space is often chosen as a venue for efficient communication. | |||
The website ] notably held a large, global hackathon in 2011, in which over 500 developers at over 30 sites around the world competed to create applications using the Foursquare API.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301135347/http://blog.foursquare.com/2011/09/20/the-hackathon-heard-round-the-world/|date=2012-03-01}}, Foursquare blog, September 20, 2011</ref> A second Foursquare hackathon, in 2013, had around 200 developers.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429155637/http://blog.foursquare.com/2013/01/08/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-check-out-all-the-cool-new-things-you-can-do-with-foursquare-hackathon/|date=2013-04-29}}, Foursquare blog, January 8, 2013</ref> The ] organizes Hackathons for each IETF meetings which are focused on ] and ] implementation for better inter-operability and improved Internet Standards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ietf.org/hackathon/|title=IETF Hackathon|website=www.ietf.org|access-date=2017-12-18}}</ref> | |||
Sprints can vary in focus. During some sprints people new to the project are welcomed and get an intensive hands-on introduction pairing with an experienced project member. The first part of such sprints is usually spent getting ready, presenting the tutorials, getting the network setup and ] or ] checkouts working on everyone's laptops. A different kind of sprint is where only the core team gathers and gets some important work done in a concentrated manner. | |||
===For a cause or purpose=== | |||
As with the larger hackathons, a significant benefit of sprinting is that the project members meet in person, socialize, and start to communicate more effectively when working together remotely. | |||
There have been a number of hackathons devoted to improving government, and specifically to the cause of ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416234413/https://govfresh.com/2011/08/open-government-hackathons-matter/|date=2021-04-16}}, Mark Headd, ''govfresh'', August 24, 2011</ref> One such event, in 2011, was hosted by the ].<ref>, ], Sunlight Foundation blog, December 8, 2011</ref> Starting in 2012, ] has been annually hosting the ]. | |||
In 2014, the ] and ] ran DementiaHack,<ref>, Dr. John Preece, ''British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Blogs'', August 8, 2014</ref> the world's first hackathon dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia and their caregivers.<ref>, British High Commission Ottawa, ''GOV.UK'', July 25, 2014</ref><ref>, Joseph Czikk, ''Betakit'', August 12, 2014</ref> The series continues in 2015, adding the ] and ] as major sponsors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DementiaHack - HackerNest|url=http://hackernest.com/dementiahack|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216091759/http://hackernest.com/dementiahack/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-12-16|access-date=2015-09-03}}</ref> | |||
== See also == | |||
* ] | |||
The ], the largest ],<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Global Game Jam|url=http://globalgamejam.org/about|website=GlobalGameJam|access-date=19 April 2016|date=2013-09-13}}</ref> often includes optional requirements called 'diversifiers'<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Game Jam Diversifiers|url=http://globalgamejam.org/global-game-jam-diversifiers|website=GlobalGameJam|access-date=19 April 2016|date=2014-01-21|archive-date=2014-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124211239/http://globalgamejam.org/global-game-jam-diversifiers|url-status=dead}}</ref> that aim to promote ] and other causes. | |||
== External links == | |||
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] is an annual hackathon that is part of Vancouver Startup Week.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-startup-week-2019|title=Here's everything you can expect at Vancouver Startup Week|publisher=Daily Hive|date=2019-07-18|accessdate=2020-06-02}}</ref> The focus of the hackathon is creating solutions for local non-profit organizations from the ] area over the course of 36 hours. VanHacks was created in 2016 by TTT Studios.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2559959/vancouver-hackathon-looks-to-create-tech-solutions-for-local-charities/|title=Vancouver hackathon looks to create tech solutions for local charities|publisher=Global News|date=2016-05-05|accessdate=2020-06-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanhack-hackathon-vancouver/|title=VanHacks hackathon aims to find tech solutions for local charities|publisher=Daily Hive|date=2017-12-19|accessdate=2020-06-03}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
Various hackathons have been held to improve city transit systems.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108050332/http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/aboard+transit+hackathon+express/5869790/story.html|date=2012-01-08}}, Roberto Rocha, ''The Gazette'', December 16, 2011</ref> Hackathons aimed at improvements to city local services are increasing, with one of the London Councils (Hackney) creating a number of successful local solutions with a two-day Hackney-thon.<ref name="Hackney Council new local services via a successful hackathon">{{cite web|url=https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/hack-ney-thon-provides-new-apps-council|title=Hackney Hackathon succeeds in new services|access-date=17 July 2015|date=2014-11-20}}</ref> There have also been a number of hackathons devoted to improving education, including Education Hack Day<ref>{{cite web|url=http://educationhackday.org/|title=Education Hack Day|publisher=Education Hack Day|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> and on a smaller scale, looking specifically at the challenges of field work based geography education, the ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.field-studies-council.org/news/fieldwork-hackday-a-real-success.aspx|title=Page Not Found - FSC|website=www.field-studies-council.org|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923144856/http://www.field-studies-council.org/news/fieldwork-hackday-a-real-success.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> hosted FSCHackday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fschackday.org/|title=fschackday.org|publisher=fschackday.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> ] is another popular hackathon, devoted to ] and crisis response.<ref>, Elizabeth Montalbano, ''InformationWeek'', June 7, 2010</ref> | |||
ThePort<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theport.ch/|title=THE Port|publisher=theport.ch|access-date=2017-12-13}}</ref> instead is a hackathon devoted to solving humanitarian, social and public interest challenges. It's hosted by ] with partners from other non-governmental organizations such as ] and ]. | |||
In March 2020, numerous world-wide initiatives led by entrepreneurs and governmental representatives from European countries resulted in a series of anti-crisis hackathons Hack the Crisis, with first to happen in Estonia,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://estonia.ee/estonia-organized-a-public-private-e-hackatlon-to-hack-the-crisis/|title=Estonia organized a public-private e-hackatlon to hack the crisis|date=23 March 2020|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref> followed up by Poland,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/anti-crisis-hackers-join-forces-to-find-covid19-solutions/|title=Anti-crisis hackers join forces to find COVID-19 solutions|date=18 March 2020|access-date=16 December 2020}}</ref> Latvia, and Ukraine. Beginning in 2020, the ] has run hackathons to develop technology to help prevent ].<ref name="Strichman 2022">{{cite news|last1=Strichman|first1=Nancy|title='May her memory be a revolution'|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/may-her-memory-be-a-revolution/|access-date=24 November 2022|work=]|date=April 7, 2022}}</ref> | |||
===As a tribute or a memorial=== | |||
A number of hackathons around the world have been planned in memory of computer programmer and internet activist ], who died in 2013.<ref name="rocheleau">{{cite news|last=Rocheleau|first=Matt|title=In Aaron Swartz' memory, hackathons to be held across globe, including at MIT, next month|url=http://www.boston.com/yourcampus/news/mit/2013/10/in_aaron_swartz_memory_hackathons_to_be_held_across_globe_including_at_mit_next_month.html|newspaper=Boston Globe|access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="doctorow">{{cite web|last=Doctorow|first=Cory|title=Aaron Swartz hackathon|date=17 October 2013|url=http://boingboing.net/2013/10/17/aaron-swartz-hackathon.html|publisher=Boing Boing|access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="sifry">{{cite web|last=Sifry|first=Micah L.|title=techPresident|url=http://techpresident.com/news/24422/first-post-greased|publisher=Personal Democracy Media|access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="aaron">{{cite web|title=Aaron Swartz Hackathon|url=http://aaronswartzhackathon.org/|access-date=30 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329125421/http://aaronswartzhackathon.org/|archive-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> | |||
===For a demographic group=== | |||
Some hackathons are intended only for programmers within a certain demographic group, like teenagers, college students, or women.<ref>, Jed Lipinski, ''Fast Company'', September 14, 2011</ref> | |||
Hackathons at colleges have become increasingly popular, in the United States and elsewhere. These are usually annual or semiannual events that are open to college students at all universities. They are often competitive, with awards provided by the university or programming-related sponsors. Many of them are supported by the organization Major League Hacking, which was founded in 2013 to assist with the running of collegiate hackathons. | |||
] at the ] was the first student-run college hackathon; in 2015 it became the largest college hackathon with its 12th iteration hosting over 2000 people and offering over $60k in prizes.<ref>, Philadelphia Business Journal</ref><ref>, Philly.com</ref> The ] Computer Club and ] organized a Hackathon dubbed "Code Wars" focused on implementing an IETF RFC in ] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uomcc.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/code-wars/|title=Code Wars|date=2017-09-13|work=University Of Mauritius Computer Club|access-date=2017-10-20|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://codarren.com/2017/09/uom-codewars-2017-fun-code/|title=UoM CodeWars 2017 - Real life code implementations ! - Codarren|date=2017-09-26|work=Codarren|access-date=2017-10-20|language=en-GB|archive-date=2017-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135551/https://codarren.com/2017/09/uom-codewars-2017-fun-code/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
ShamHacks at ] is held annually as an outreach activity of the campus's ]. ShamHacks 2018<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hackathon.mst.edu/|title=ShamHacks: Missouri S&T hackathon|last=Goetz|first=Nicole|date=1 September 2017|website=ShamHacks|access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref> focused on problem statements to better quality of life factors for US veterans, by pairing with veteran-owned company sponsors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.phelpscountyfocus.com/the_focus_insider/article_5bdc168a-10c8-11e8-9919-27f757762b62.html|title=ShamHacks' first hackathon benefits veterans and students|last=Sheeley|first=Andrew|date=15 February 2018|work=Phelps County Focus|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
===For internal innovation and motivation=== | |||
Some companies hold internal hackathons to promote new product innovation by the engineering staff. For example, Facebook's ] was conceived as part of a hackathon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/stay-focused-and-keep-hacking/10150842676418920|title=Stay focused and keep hacking|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
===To connect local tech communities=== | |||
Some hackathons (such as ], founded in 2010 in Australia) combine the competitive element with a road trip, to connect local tech communities in multiple cities along the bus routes. This is now taking place across North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/startup080613.aspx|title=Local Talent Drives Startup Culture In Tampa Bay|work=83Degrees|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> | |||
===Code sprints=== | |||
{{Distinguish|Scrum (software development)#Sprint}} | |||
In some hackathons, all work is on a single application, such as an operating system, programming language, or ]. Such events are often known as "code sprints", and are especially popular for ] projects, where such events are sometimes the only opportunity for developers to meet face-to-face.<ref>A.Sigfridsson, G. Avram, A. Sheehan and D. K. Sullivan in the Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Open Source Systems, Limerick, Ireland, June 11–13, 2007, Springer, pp. 133-146</ref> | |||
Code sprints typically last from one week to three weeks and often take place near conferences at which most of the team attend. Unlike other hackathons, these events rarely include a competitive element. | |||
The annual hackathon to work on the operating system OpenBSD, held since 1999, is one such event; it may have originated the word "hackathon".{{Citation needed|date=March 2016}} | |||
==Criticism== | |||
Over the years hackathons have come under severe criticism, with multiple observers questioning the adequacy of hackathons to deliver impactful technological solutions. A major part of the reserve towards hackathons has to do with the lack of viability and sustainability of solutions they develop,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Towards a Feminist Hackathon: The "Make the Breast Pump Not Suck!" » The Journal of Peer Production|url=http://peerproduction.net/issues/issue-8-feminism-and-unhacking-2/peer-reviewed-papers/towards-a-feminist-hackathon-the-make-the-breast-pump-not-suck/|access-date=2022-02-26|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Why Hackathons Suck (and don't have to)|url=https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-us/insights/blog/why-hackathons-suck|access-date=2022-02-26|website=www.thoughtworks.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sankaran|first=Vijay|date=2019-11-15|title=This is why hackathons are essentially useless|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90430416/this-is-why-hackathons-are-essentially-useless|access-date=2022-02-26|website=Fast Company|language=en-US}}</ref> as clearly shown by recent empirical research. A study examining 11,889 U.S. based events revealed that only seven percent of projects had any activity six months after the hackathon ended.<ref>{{Citation|last1=McIntosh|first1=Lukas|title=Do Hackathon Projects Change the World? An Empirical Analysis of GitHub Repositories|date=2021-03-03|url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432435|work=Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education|pages=879–885|place=New York, NY, USA|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|doi=10.1145/3408877.3432435|isbn=978-1-4503-8062-1|access-date=2022-02-26|last2=Hardin|first2=Caroline D.|s2cid=232126213|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Another global study found that only about five percent of all projects developed during hackathons continued for more than five months.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nolte|first1=Alexander|last2=Chounta|first2=Irene-Angelica|last3=Herbsleb|first3=James D.|date=2020-10-14|title=What Happens to All These Hackathon Projects? Identifying Factors to Promote Hackathon Project Continuation|url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3415216|journal=Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction|volume=4|issue=CSCW2|pages=145:1–145:26|doi=10.1145/3415216|s2cid=201933485|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Hackathons have been thus associated with the production of short-lived software products often denominated as ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-03-30|title='Vaporware Is the New Minimal Viable Product,' Declares Hype Up Weekend|url=https://observer.com/2012/03/vaporware-is-the-new-minimal-viable-product-declares-hype-up-weekend/|access-date=2022-02-27|website=Observer|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Broussard|first=Meredith|author-link=Meredith Broussard |date=2015-07-08|title=The Dirty Secret About Hackathons|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/the-secret-lives-of-hackathon-junkies/397895/|access-date=2022-02-27|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}</ref> Hackathons have been equally criticized for their failure to contemplate the complexity of issues that they seek to solve, developing technologies that do not address underlying societal and political causes of a problem.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Gregg|first1=Melissa|last2=DiSalvo|first2=Carl|date=2013-11-21|title=The Trouble With White Hats|url=https://thenewinquiry.com/the-trouble-with-white-hats/|access-date=2022-02-26|website=The New Inquiry|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-12-11|title=On Hackathons and Solutionism|url=http://davidsasaki.name/2012/12/on-hackathons-and-solutionism/|access-date=2022-02-26|website=david sasaki|language=en-US|archive-date=2012-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214033948/http://davidsasaki.name/2012/12/on-hackathons-and-solutionism/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Linnet|chapter=There is an App for That: Technological Solutionism as COVID-19 Policy in the Global North|date=2021-03-01|title=The New Common: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Transforming Society|pages=209–215|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-65355-2_30|pmc=7978704|isbn=978-3-030-65354-5}}</ref> The use of hackathon participants as '']'' ]ers by some commercial ventures has been criticized as exploitative.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Sociologists Examine Hackathons and See Exploitation|url=https://www.wired.com/story/sociologists-examine-hackathons-and-see-exploitation/|magazine=Wired|language=en-us|issn=1059-1028|access-date=2020-11-26|first=Erin|last=Griffith|date=2018-03-20}}</ref><ref name="JemielniakPrzegalinska20202">{{cite book|author1=Dariusz Jemielniak|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLDMDwAAQBAJ|title=Collaborative Society|author2=Aleksandra Przegalinska|date=18 February 2020|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-35645-9}}</ref> | |||
High-profile hackathons have also been the object of controversies. A team at the September 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon presented the ] app, which allowed users to post and view pictures of men staring at women's cleavage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meet 'Titstare,' the Tech World's Latest 'Joke' from the Minds of Brogrammers|url=http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/09/titstare-tech-worlds-latest-brogrammer-joke-techcrunch-disrupt/69171/|website=The Wire|access-date=2015-11-09|date=2013-09-09|archive-date=2015-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208180755/http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/09/titstare-tech-worlds-latest-brogrammer-joke-techcrunch-disrupt/69171/|url-status=dead}}</ref> TechCrunch issued an apology later that day.<ref>{{Cite news|title=An Apology From|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/08/an-apology-from-techcrunch/|website=TechCrunch|date=8 September 2013|access-date=2015-11-09|last1=Tsotsis|first1=Alexia}}</ref> A November 2013 hackathon run by Salesforce.com, billed as having the largest-ever grand prize at $1 million, was accused of impropriety after it emerged that the winning entrants, a two-person startup called Upshot, had been developing the technology that they demoed for over a year and that one of the two was a former Salesforce employee.<ref name="hackathon cheaters"/> Major League Hacking expelled a pair of hackers from the September 2015 hackathon Hack the North at the ] for making jokes that were interpreted as bomb threats, leading many hackers to criticize the organization.<ref name="hack the north">{{cite web|title=When Jokes go too Far.|url=http://news.mlh.io/when-jokes-go-too-far-09-19-2015|website=Major League Hacking|author=Mike Swift|access-date=2016-06-06|date=2015-09-19}}</ref> As a result of the controversy, Victor Vucicevich resigned from the Hack the North organizing team.<ref name="leaving htn">{{cite web|title=Leaving Hack the North|author=Victor Vucicevich|website=Medium|url=https://medium.com/@vicvu/leaving-htn-ec62e0343c91|access-date=2016-06-06|date=2015-09-23}}</ref> | |||
==Notable events== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
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==See also== | |||
{{Mediawiki|Hackathons}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
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==References== | |||
{{reflist|30em}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{commons category|Hackathons|Hackathon}} | |||
* {{cite web|title=Media-Making Strategies to Support Community and Learning at Hackathons|publisher=MIT Center for Civic Media|date=June 30, 2014|url=http://civic.mit.edu/blog/natematias/media-making-strategies-to-support-community-and-learning-at-hackathons}} | |||
* from Mckinsey, October, 2015. | |||
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Latest revision as of 14:26, 4 November 2024
Event in which groups of software developers work at an accelerated paceA hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon or codefest; a portmanteau of hacking and marathon) is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours. They are often run using agile software development practices, such as sprint-like design wherein computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, product managers, project managers, domain experts, and others collaborate intensively on engineering projects, such as software engineering.
The goal of a hackathon is to create functioning software or hardware by the end of the event. Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the programming language used, the operating system, an application, an API, or the subject and the demographic group of the programmers. In other cases, there is no restriction on the type of software being created or the design of the new system.
In addition to creating functional software or hardware, hackathons can help participants develop skills like problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, team work, communication and time management. Hackathons can also lead to formation of new companies, finding innovative solutions to real-world problems, or building a community around particular technology or cause.
Etymology
The word "hackathon" is a portmanteau of the words "hack" and "marathon", where "hack" is used in the sense of exploratory programming, not its alternate meaning as a reference to breaching computer security.
OpenBSD's apparent first use of the term referred to a cryptographic development event held in Calgary on June 4, 1999, where ten developers came together to avoid legal problems caused due to export regulations of cryptographic software from the United States. Since then, a further three to six events per year have occurred around the world to advance development, generally on university campuses.
For Sun Microsystems, the usage referred to an event at the JavaOne conference from June 15 to June 19, 1999; there John Gage challenged attendees to write a program in Java for the new Palm V using the infrared port to communicate with other people who are using Palm and register it on the Internet.
Starting in the mid to late 2000s, hackathons became significantly more widespread and began to be increasingly viewed by companies and venture capitalists as a way to quickly develop new software technologies, and to locate new areas for innovation and funding. Some major companies were born from these hackathons, such as GroupMe, which began as a project at a hackathon at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 conference; in 2011 it was acquired by Skype for $85 million. The software PhoneGap began as a project at the iPhoneDevCamp (later renamed iOSDevCamp) in 2008; the company whose engineers developed PhoneGap, Nitobi, refocused itself around PhoneGap, and Nitobi was bought by Adobe in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.
Structure
Hackathons typically start with communication via a presentation or a web page from the hosting organization that mentions the objectives, terms, and details of the hackathon. Developers register to participate in the hackathon and are qualified after the organization screens their background and skills.
When the hackathon event begins, the participating individuals or teams start their programming work. The administrator of the hackathon is typically able to answer questions and offer help when their issues come up in the event.
Hackathons can last several hours to several days. For hackathons that last 24 hours or longer, especially competitive ones, eating is often informal, with participants often subsisting on food like pizza and energy drinks. Sometimes sleeping is informal as well, with participants sleeping on-site with sleeping bags.
At the end of hackathons, there are usually a series of demonstrations in which each group presents their results. To capture the great ideas and work-in-progress often people post a video of the demonstrations, blog about results with screenshots and details, share links and progress on social media, suggest a place for open source code and generally make it possible for people to share, learn from and possibly build from the ideas generated and initial work completed.
There is sometimes a contest element as well, in which a panel of judges select the winning teams, and prizes are given. At many hackathons, the judges are made up of organisers and sponsors. At BarCamp-style hackathons, that are organised by the development community, such as iOSDevCamp, the judges are usually made up of peers and colleagues in the field. Such prizes are sometimes a substantial amount of money: a social gaming hackathon at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference offered $250,000 in funding to the winners, while a controversial 2013 hackathon run by Salesforce.com had a payout of $1 million to the winners, billed as the largest-ever prize.
Types of hackathons
For an application type
Some hackathons focus on a particular platform such as mobile apps, a desktop operating system, web development or video game development.
Mobile app hackathons like Over the Air, held at Phoenix Park, Ireland, can see a large amount of corporate sponsorship and interest.
Music Hack Day, a hackathon for music-related software and hardware applications, is a popular event, having been held over 30 times around the world since 2009. Also Music Tech Fest, a three-day interdisciplinary festival for music ideas bringing together musicians with hackers, researchers and industry, features a hackathon. Similarly, Science Hack Day, a hackathon for making things with science, has been held over 45 times in over 15 countries around the world since 2010.
Hackathons have been held to develop applications that run on various mobile device operating systems, such as Android, iOS and MeeGo. Hackathons have also been held to develop video-based applications and computer games. Hackathons where video games are developed are sometimes called game jams.
"TV Hackfest" events have been held in both London and San Francisco, focusing mainly on social television and second screen technologies. In TV Hackfests, challenge briefs are typically submitted by content producers and brands, in the form of broadcast industry metadata or video content, while sponsors supply APIs, SDKs and pre-existing open source software code.
Hackathons have also been used in the life sciences to advance the informatics infrastructure that supports research. The Open Bioinformatics Foundation ran two hackathons for its member projects in 2002 and 2003, and since 2010 has held 2-day "codefests" preceding its annual conference. The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center has co-organized and sponsored hackathons for evolutionary bioinformatics since 2006. BioHackathon is an annual event that started in 2008 targeted at advancing standards to enable interoperable bioinformatics tools and Web services. Neuroscientists have also used hackathons to bring developers and scientists together to address issues that range from focusing on a specific information system (e.g., Neurosynth Hackathon and the Allen Brain Atlas Hackathon) and providing reserved time for broad scientific inquiry (e.g., Brainhack), to using specific challenges that focus hacking activity (e.g., HBM Hackathon).
There has been an emergence of 'datathons' or data-focused hackathons in recent years. These events challenge data scientists working with others attending to together use creativity and data analysis skills and platforms to build, test and explore solutions and dashboards which analyse huge datasets in a limited amount of time. These are increasingly being used to deliver insights in big public and private datasets in various disciplines including business, healthcare news media and for social causes.
Using a specific programming language, API, or framework
There have been hackathons devoted to creating applications that use a specific language or framework, like JavaScript, Node.js, HTML5 and Ruby on Rails.
Some hackathons focus on applications that make use of the application programming interface, or API, from a single company or data source. Open Hack, an event run publicly by Yahoo! since 2006 (originally known as "Hack Day", then "Open Hack Day"), has focused on usage of the Yahoo! API, in addition to APIs of websites owned by Yahoo!, like Flickr. The company's Open Hack India event in 2012 had over 700 attendees. Google has run similar events for their APIs, as has the travel guide company Lonely Planet.
The website Foursquare notably held a large, global hackathon in 2011, in which over 500 developers at over 30 sites around the world competed to create applications using the Foursquare API. A second Foursquare hackathon, in 2013, had around 200 developers. The IETF organizes Hackathons for each IETF meetings which are focused on IETF Internet Draft and IETF RFC implementation for better inter-operability and improved Internet Standards.
For a cause or purpose
There have been a number of hackathons devoted to improving government, and specifically to the cause of open government. One such event, in 2011, was hosted by the United States Congress. Starting in 2012, NASA has been annually hosting the International Space Apps Challenge.
In 2014, the British government and HackerNest ran DementiaHack, the world's first hackathon dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia and their caregivers. The series continues in 2015, adding the Canadian government and Facebook as major sponsors.
The Global Game Jam, the largest video game development hackathon, often includes optional requirements called 'diversifiers' that aim to promote game accessibility and other causes.
VanHacks is an annual hackathon that is part of Vancouver Startup Week. The focus of the hackathon is creating solutions for local non-profit organizations from the Vancouver area over the course of 36 hours. VanHacks was created in 2016 by TTT Studios.
Various hackathons have been held to improve city transit systems. Hackathons aimed at improvements to city local services are increasing, with one of the London Councils (Hackney) creating a number of successful local solutions with a two-day Hackney-thon. There have also been a number of hackathons devoted to improving education, including Education Hack Day and on a smaller scale, looking specifically at the challenges of field work based geography education, the Field Studies Council hosted FSCHackday. Random Hacks of Kindness is another popular hackathon, devoted to disaster management and crisis response. ThePort instead is a hackathon devoted to solving humanitarian, social and public interest challenges. It's hosted by CERN with partners from other non-governmental organizations such as ICRC and UNDP.
In March 2020, numerous world-wide initiatives led by entrepreneurs and governmental representatives from European countries resulted in a series of anti-crisis hackathons Hack the Crisis, with first to happen in Estonia, followed up by Poland, Latvia, and Ukraine. Beginning in 2020, the Michal Sela Forum has run hackathons to develop technology to help prevent domestic violence.
As a tribute or a memorial
A number of hackathons around the world have been planned in memory of computer programmer and internet activist Aaron Swartz, who died in 2013.
For a demographic group
Some hackathons are intended only for programmers within a certain demographic group, like teenagers, college students, or women.
Hackathons at colleges have become increasingly popular, in the United States and elsewhere. These are usually annual or semiannual events that are open to college students at all universities. They are often competitive, with awards provided by the university or programming-related sponsors. Many of them are supported by the organization Major League Hacking, which was founded in 2013 to assist with the running of collegiate hackathons.
PennApps at the University of Pennsylvania was the first student-run college hackathon; in 2015 it became the largest college hackathon with its 12th iteration hosting over 2000 people and offering over $60k in prizes. The University of Mauritius Computer Club and Cyberstorm.mu organized a Hackathon dubbed "Code Wars" focused on implementing an IETF RFC in Lynx in 2017.
ShamHacks at Missouri University of Science and Technology is held annually as an outreach activity of the campus's Curtis Laws Wilson Library. ShamHacks 2018 focused on problem statements to better quality of life factors for US veterans, by pairing with veteran-owned company sponsors.
For internal innovation and motivation
Some companies hold internal hackathons to promote new product innovation by the engineering staff. For example, Facebook's Like button was conceived as part of a hackathon.
To connect local tech communities
Some hackathons (such as StartupBus, founded in 2010 in Australia) combine the competitive element with a road trip, to connect local tech communities in multiple cities along the bus routes. This is now taking place across North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.
Code sprints
Not to be confused with Scrum (software development) § Sprint.In some hackathons, all work is on a single application, such as an operating system, programming language, or content management system. Such events are often known as "code sprints", and are especially popular for open source software projects, where such events are sometimes the only opportunity for developers to meet face-to-face.
Code sprints typically last from one week to three weeks and often take place near conferences at which most of the team attend. Unlike other hackathons, these events rarely include a competitive element.
The annual hackathon to work on the operating system OpenBSD, held since 1999, is one such event; it may have originated the word "hackathon".
Criticism
Over the years hackathons have come under severe criticism, with multiple observers questioning the adequacy of hackathons to deliver impactful technological solutions. A major part of the reserve towards hackathons has to do with the lack of viability and sustainability of solutions they develop, as clearly shown by recent empirical research. A study examining 11,889 U.S. based events revealed that only seven percent of projects had any activity six months after the hackathon ended. Another global study found that only about five percent of all projects developed during hackathons continued for more than five months. Hackathons have been thus associated with the production of short-lived software products often denominated as vaporware. Hackathons have been equally criticized for their failure to contemplate the complexity of issues that they seek to solve, developing technologies that do not address underlying societal and political causes of a problem. The use of hackathon participants as de facto unpaid laborers by some commercial ventures has been criticized as exploitative.
High-profile hackathons have also been the object of controversies. A team at the September 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon presented the TitStare app, which allowed users to post and view pictures of men staring at women's cleavage. TechCrunch issued an apology later that day. A November 2013 hackathon run by Salesforce.com, billed as having the largest-ever grand prize at $1 million, was accused of impropriety after it emerged that the winning entrants, a two-person startup called Upshot, had been developing the technology that they demoed for over a year and that one of the two was a former Salesforce employee. Major League Hacking expelled a pair of hackers from the September 2015 hackathon Hack the North at the University of Waterloo for making jokes that were interpreted as bomb threats, leading many hackers to criticize the organization. As a result of the controversy, Victor Vucicevich resigned from the Hack the North organizing team.
Notable events
See also
- Game Jam
- Installfest
- Editathon
- Charrette
- Startup Weekend
- Campus Party
- Capture the flag (cybersecurity)
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External links
- "Media-Making Strategies to Support Community and Learning at Hackathons". MIT Center for Civic Media. June 30, 2014.
- "Demystifying the hackathon" from Mckinsey, October, 2015.