jenniferDewalt

There is a way to add restaurants! Under the main search field in the header is a link to Search for a Restaurant. Enter the name of a restaurant and the location and YumHacker will return a list of possible matches. Endorsing a restaurant and it will be added to the database.

Thanks! It has been a really fun ride.

There's still a lot to be done with the sign up/sign in process that I haven't gotten to yet. Saving the last search is at the top of that to do list.

I wanted to learn to code but I'd never really done any coding before. I came up with the 180 websites idea as a way to start really small and stay motivated. It wasn't always easy but I had a blast and learned a lot.

That is awesome! Now that I've gone through the whole process I'm definitely much fast than I was when I started YumHacker. I spent a lot of time in the beginning just trying to wrap my head around what the heck I was doing, especially with Backbone.

Thanks! It's been a crazy year. :)

There probably aren't any restaurants in the database near your location. When you search for a specific restaurant, YumHacker checks it's database as well as querying the Google Places API to look for matches. If you endorse a restaurant, it will get saved in the database and it will appear on the map when you search nearby.

This is a UX problem I'll have to think about going forward.

Pretty much. I took a few days off here and there for the holidays but other than that I've been working everyday on the project. Things were kind of slow in the beginning as I was learning a lot of new technology and adjusting to building more complex website but the pace picked up after I got a handle on things.

Thanks! The front end uses Backbone.js so most of the content is rendered with Javascript. The backend uses Rails as an api which on page load sends along a barebones html doc for Backbone to latch on to and work its magic. You can check out the source code on GitHub - https://github.com/jendewalt/yumhacker

So far the site is based on location and what the people you're following have endorsed. In the future, results could also be ordered by things like number of endorsers, photos or comments.

That is an excellent point and something I've been thinking about as well. One thought I've had is adding some sort of rating system where people who are active on the site get promoted as 'Awesome people who have good taste' (working title). I'm also thinking about ways to make the site more useful on a personal level.

Ok, figured it out! Should be all fixed now.

Good point. I probably need to think about a more optimized landing in the coming weeks.

Thank you! I spent a lot more time thinking about what I was actually doing while making YumHacker. There is definitely a time for just hacking things together to get something that works but sometimes it's worth taking the time to carefully think through the mechanics and do it right. It took time for me to learn Backbone and set up a good system for using it but it saved me a ton of time (and headaches) in the long run.

Hm, I think I understand the problem. Back to the code to see if I can track it down. :)

Sorry about that! Probably not too many restaurants there to endorse. Thanks for letting me know. I'll look into it.

It was actually a little overwhelming when I first started working on YumHacker. I conditioned myself to have a final product at the end of the day. In the first few days of working on YumHacker I had to keep telling myself that I was working on the order of finishing features not websites. :)

Thanks! For the maps and location data I'm using the Google Maps Javascript API. For the restaurant data, I'm querying the Google Places API from Rails.

Awesome! I will definitely check it out.

Thanks! That's a great suggestion. Adding it to my to-do list.

Thanks! Learning how to grow a product is part of the next steps for me. Figuring out how to provide value before a user has a ton of friends on the site is important. One thought I've had is making featured lists from notable food critics for example.

Thank you! I totally agree with you on the 180 websites project really helping with understanding UI design.

I'm using the Google Maps Javascript API for the maps and RGeo as a wrapper for PostGIS/Postgres.

I wanted to really dig in and learn how to build a full scale web app. The site uses Rails as an api on backend and Backbone on the front. There was a little bit of learning curve there for me. It also took some adjusting going from making rapid-fire one day projects to working on something long term.

About 80 days.

I drew the graphics for the splash screen and donated my iPhone to the cause. My two friends did the coding.

I haven't written anything about it but I will definitely consider it. That would be a good way for me to fully internalize how the stack actually works. I bet I've come across a few weird things given my unconventional use, too.

My writing skills have improved dramatically in the last six months of forced blog writing. I also really like having the record of my thoughts throughout the project. Even though blogging wasn't strictly necessary for learning to code, I'm really glad I decided to do it.

Gal is fine, if a little forced. Person would probably be best here though.

I'm definitely not done learning. Next up for me is tackling some bigger projects and spending some time figuring out how all the pieces fit together.

I really hope I'll have the good fortune of being able to continue making things I'm passionate about. If the day comes where I find I'm not doing something I love, I'll have to start thinking about doing 180 of something else.

I think this is spot on. It's really easy to get caught up in feeling like you need to know everything before you even begin. It gets overwhelming really quickly.