Inspiration
Services like Khan Academy and Google Socratic
What it does
Helps students through difficult learning concepts by pointing them to various resources across the web depending on the concept they are stuck on. Doesn't give any direct answers.
How we built it
We used the Java Swing API to build a window, and Google Programmable Search API to scrape the web for links & resources. We also used Google's GSON library to parse JSON efficiently and easily.
Challenges we ran into
One challenge we ran into was handling the requests without a cloud server, as we don't really have the resources for a separate backend server. We got through this by handling everything within code, hiding the sensitive information accordingly.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We're proud of finding a good and efficient solution to abstracting away all the HTTP request code so that our code base is easy to work with, without sacrificing efficiency or readability. Additionally, we managed to learn the Java Swing API in less than a day to make our app's window and frontend.
What we learned
We learned a lot about creating functional windows, sending web HTTP requests, parsing JSON, and more. This project was also a great way to practice writing modern, idiomatic Java.
What's next for GerbilHelp
- We could possibly look into compiling our Java project to Webassembly (wasm) to have it run inside browsers. This is more convenient for users and allows quick and easy usage on any device.
- We could try and invest in a cloud server to host our backend, providing for a more secure experience.
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