landing

Welcome

We think hackathons should be about learning and meeting new people, so we’re here to make it happen! Being new to hacking can be a scary experience, but never fear... PennApps is here to help you along the way! In this guide, you can find information on the mentoring options we offer at PennApps, the workshops you can attend to learn about new topics, and the beginner guides for various languages and tools to begin your journey as a hacker. We hope that this can help get you started as you navigate your way through hackathons. Best of luck!

Mentoring Options

Not sure where to start? Need help brainstorming? Stuck on a bug? You can contact our wonderful mentors through the following methods:

  1. Message the #mentorship or #ask-an-organizer channels in the PennApps XXIV Slack
  2. Attend one of the workshops (schedule here)
  3. Reference the beginner guides on this site :)

Beginner Guides

Text Editors

What is a code editor? Well, it’s not a word processor like Microsoft Word. Learn more about this here!

Web Design

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript form the basic building blocks of web development. Learn more here!

Git & Github

How do developers keep track of their coding progress throughout a project? Version control! Learn more about git here.

Java & OOP

Java is an important object-oriented programming language, and you can use it for a variety of purposes. Learn more here!

Python

Python is a versatile language that is easy to learn! Click here to learn more.

Android

Android is the most widely used mobile operating system in the world. Click here to learn more about it!

iOS

iOS is the next most widely used mobile operating system in the world after Android. Learn more here!

Chrome DevTools

Ever wondered how to see behind the rendering of a webpage? Learn more about Chrome DevTools by clicking here!

Node.js

An important piece of any complete web application is a server backend, and Node.js allows developers to write server-side code right in JavaScript! Learn more here.

JQuery

JQuery is a helpful Javascript library that makes possible to bring webpages to life without going insane. Click to learn more!