Money With Friends

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  main view

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  send money

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  view balance

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  view friends list

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  import friends

Inspiration

I used to work at PayPal and I sometimes give money to friends. I like using the PayPal app and Venmo to send money to friends, but there are issues, especially when you spell an email incorrectly (this can lead to permanently lost money on PayPal). I know that sending and receiving money (digital currency) is a HUGE (multi-billion dollar) industry with a lot of opportunity.

What it does

This app is supposed to use the Capital One API Nessie and the Facebook API to connect your friends and send money.

How I built it

I used a Swift single view application to create an application for iOS. I only wrote some of the main application views, as I ran into challenges that I could not resolve.

Challenges I ran into

First and foremost, the biggest challenge was scope. I decided to build the app alone, as my original partner decided not to come, and implementing the Nessie and Facebook APIs was a little too bold. After I built the framework for the app and going to a few talks, I dived into the APIs. I have not done very much with services and HTTP. So, trying to do it on my own was a bad idea. Essentially, I was not able to implement any of the APIs I had set out to implement.

Second, I stayed to the end of the introduction ceremony and did not get a table. The bleacher seats are extremely uncomfortable. I'm also not a fan of using my laptop on my actual lap.

Third, the internet was unusable for a few hours at the beginning of the hackathon. I could use Xcode offline, but I had to try to view the APIs on my phone.

Finally, I was extremely tired. We left at 6:30PM (9:30PM EST) and had a 5 hour flight with a 2 hour layover. We got here at 6:00AM EST. I didn't sleep for over 40 hours. At around 10:00PM, I crashed. I had not planned on needing a host or sleeping, but ended up needing both. I slept until about 6:00AM and did not get much more done on the project.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm a beginner in Swift development and Xcode, but the app looks decent for a beginner (in my opinion).

What I learned

Scope is extremely important. If I had focused on just Nessie or just Facebook, I could have probably gotten more added. Sleep is also important. If I'm invited back next year, I'll be sure to bring or make a team and get here Friday night.

What's next for Money With Friends

I may continue later, just to have the experience. For now, Money With Friends is cancelled.

Built With

• swift