Backward in Time

The site in action (style WIP)
The inspiring comic (xkcd 1017)

Inspiration

This project was inspired by xkcd 1017 - Backward in Time by Randal Munroe

What it does

Implementing the equation provided by Munroe, this simple web app allows the user to enter two dates/times and accordingly shows their progress, along with the corresponding date and a factoid from then.

How we built it

This was written in JavaScript and HTML/CSS and is hosted on GitHub Pages. We mostly worked in Visual Studio Code using LiveShare, and then individually committing/pushing overnight after we split up.

Challenges we ran into

We had challenges debugging all parts of the code and making it all work together, as well as compiling the data for the factoids.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite having minimal experience with projects like this, we were able to deliver a working project in just 24 hours.

What we learned

We learned that we should plan our projects and discuss more before we start. When starting on Saturday, we only had a very basic idea of how we would implement this, which led to significant issues putting it together later.

What's next for Backward in Time

The next step is to improve the CSS styling on the page, since none of us are very good at that. In terms of functionality, we'd like to add a few more features, including a toggle to go Forward in Time (from the beginning of the universe to the present) and more percentage input methods (like x out of y steps or just entering the percentage directly).