Microsoft Office Amplitude Sources and Destinations Package

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Inspiration

I actually decided to take part in this hackathon because DevPost informed me that as someone who lives in London, there was a hackathon near me that I can take part in. This is my first in-person hackathon and I found it to be an enjoyable experience. I also found out about Amplitude for the first time and got some amazing swag, including stickers and a T-shirt. I was also treated to lovely croissants and refreshments in the morning.

After learning about what Amplitude is, I decided to learn more about it. It has a profuse number of Destinations for which it works well with, but see it didn't have one for Microsoft Office, so I decided to create an add-in, a way of extending Microsoft products that for whatever reason many developers seem to overlook.

What it does

This project effectively extends Amplitude into Microsoft Office using what Microsoft Office calls an "add in", which is an extension of the capabilities that Microsoft Office has.

How we built it

As with Microsoft add-ins, this was built in XML, HTML, JavaScript, node.JS and CSS. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to create a Microsoft Office add-in: in node.js or in Visual Studio. Microsoft recommends building add-ins in node.js as opposed to Visual Studio, however, because the node.js environment and templates is updated more frequently than that in Visual Studio. Furthermore, using Visual Studio restricts you to developing on Windows machines. In addition, debugging tools are better with node.js as opposed to Visual Studio. And perhaps finally, using Visual Studio requires you to write the server-end language in ASP.NET. For all of these reasons, and more, it was determined it was best to build this repository using node.js.

Requirements

In order to use this add-in, you need to have the following:

Windows

• Internet access
• Microsoft Word (2016 version or later)
• JavaScript enabled

Mac

• Internet access
• Microsoft Word (2013 version or later)
• JavaScript enabled

Challenges we ran into

Strict time constraints and missing a verification email.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm proud of learning about Amplitude.

What I learned

I learned about Amplitude for the first time. I never knew it was such a large organisation or that it was listed on the NASDAQ.

Prizes this project is being submitted to

This project is being considered (in any order) for:

• Interesting Amplitude Data Sources
• Interesting Amplitude Data Destinations

What's next for Microsoft Office Amplitude Sources and Destinations Package

I need to refine this code as it was built in less than 24 hours.

My view of the Amplitude SDK

As a developer, I have a very favourable view of the Amplitude SDK. It is presented in a readable and easily understood format. It is also available in a wide range of languages, such as Java, JavaScript, Python, to name just a few. The diversity of the programming languages offered is such that the authors were able to even document Furthermore, registration is by-and-large an easy process although you should be sure to check your Spam/Junk email for a verification email.

Constructive criticism of the Amplitude SDK

The glaring omission in the Amplitude SDK is that it does not have documentation for PHP offered. It is not clear why that is, although if I may be honest this appears to be a growing "trend" and I've seen other similarly large companies (e.g. IMDB) simply leave out PHP altogether. This is disappointing because PHP is still one of the internet's most popular programming languages. Although we are in a different sector in the Technology field, we do occasionally do take requests for tech solutions from external clients so it would be nice for my company to receive a contract to develop a PHP SDK for Amplitude.

Built With

• amplitude
• css
• html
• javascript
• microsoft
• node.js
• xml