As a first-year computer science student, I had the opportunity to study two popular programming languages, C and Python. While the learning curve was steep, the experience was enriching, and we even had the opportunity to participate in a hackathon called Code Innovation Series powered by GitHub. In this blog post, I'll share my experience with these languages and how we emerged as the first runner-up in the hackathon.
Learning C and Python
As a beginner, learning C and Python was challenging yet rewarding. Both languages are widely used in the industry and have their own advantages and disadvantages. C is a low-level language that can teach you the fundamentals of programming and help you understand how computers work. On the other hand, Python is a high-level language that is easy to learn and widely used in many industries.
We learned the basics of C in our college lectures, and then we started Python with the help of some online resources.
We also participated in coding contests and coding challenges to improve our coding skills. It was a great learning experience to solve real-life problems.
The Hackathon Experience
We learned about the GitHub and Incubate India Hackathon from our seniors, and we decided to participate as a team. The theme of the hackathon was "Coding for a Better Future" and we had to develop a solution for any real-life problems.
After brainstorming, we decided to develop ScanIt an online virus scanner.
ScanIt
Who keeps antivirus nowadays? Go on. No one wants to slow down his PC for some unnecessary antivirus. But we sometimes need to scan some files for viruses. So here is a solution. ScanIt Scans a file using VirusTotal's online file scanner.
Why ScanIt
A lot of people, including me, prefer not to keep Antivirus on their PC. But sometimes we really need to scan a file for viruses. At such times we use online virus scanners like VirusTotal.com. ScanIt has brought down this functionality to your cli. You can even add it to your context menu using install.py as shown in the image below, and guess what? It doesn't slow down your system by even 0.01 per cent. So it's time to goodbye to AntiViruses and say hello to online file scan services.
It was a great experience to use python language in a real-world project.
Our team worked tirelessly for two weeks to develop the application, and we were excited to submit our project before the deadline. After the submission, we waited anxiously for the results. Finally, we received the news that we had been selected as the first runner-up in the hackathon!
Getting the GitHub Goodies
As the first runner-up, we were thrilled to receive some amazing GitHub goodies, including T-shirts, stickers, and a $200 GitHub Student Developer Pack. It was a great feeling to be recognized for our hard work and dedication.
Conclusion
Learning C and Python was a great experience, and participating in the GitHub and Incubate India Hackathon was the icing on the cake. It was an opportunity to use our knowledge of these languages to develop a real-world solution and win recognition for our efforts. I would encourage every computer science student to learn these languages and participate in coding challenges and hackathons to improve their coding skills and gain practical experience.