VENT

What is VENT?

VENT searches for concerts, sporting events, and more using your GPS location and the radius you specified to search. If you see an event you're interested in, swipe right to save it, or swipe left if you're not interested. Tap the mail icon, and VENT will email you the list of events you are interested in. It's that simple! Try it out!

What Inspired You?

I was inspired by the functionality of the online dating app Tinder - specifically the way that you are presented with choices, and are able to swipe right for "yes" and left for "no". This swiping action is intuitive and easy to understand for users, and I was curious to see what other applications would benefit from this user-friendly method of interaction.

What Did You Learn?

During this challenge, I learned some valuable concepts in web development. I previously had no experience with AJAX, but I learned so that I could use it to query the Ticketmaster API for the events. I also learned how to perform asynchronous AJAX queries, save and load cookies with JavaScript, and animate elements with the anime.js animation engine. Most importantly, I learned how to work and learn under a tight deadline. I think everything that I learned at HackNC 2019 will prove to be invaluable in my future career.

Challenges I Faced

I faced a number of challenges throughout the development process. At the beginning, I struggled to know if I was pursuing a goal that was even achievable for myself in 24 hours. I was unsure how far I would be able to take my project, or if I would even able to have something presentable. After clearing my head for a minute and reading a lot of JavaScript documentation, I jumped back in, full steam ahead. My biggest challenge was using the API to get local events and present them to the user in a logical way. I had to figure out how to manage the interaction between the asynchronous events behind querying the API and updating the view, and the user swiping through choices with minimal delay. The animation timeline for the splash page also challenged me, as I have never used an animation engine before, and there was a significant learning curve for me. In the end, I think I overcame these challenges to the best of my ability and created an application that I am happy with.