October was a rollercoaster of coding, learning, and (let's be real) the occasional struggle. Hacktoberfest 2024 gave me the perfect chance to jump back into open source, armed with a little more resilience and a lot more experience than last year. Here’s the full recap of my month-long adventure: the issues I tackled, the PRs I (mostly) got accepted, and the invaluable lessons I picked up along the way.
First Stop: Security Questions for freeCodeCamp’s Developer Quiz Site 🔐
Let’s kick things off with a bit of a confession—my first pull request on the Developer Quiz Site? Closed. That’s right; midterms got the best of me, and I couldn’t follow through. When I returned to see it had been closed, I felt a pang of regret, but it only made me more determined to succeed this time around.
Fast-forward to Hacktoberfest 2024, and I came back to freeCodeCamp’s repository, ready to add new security questions on topics like SQL Injection and CSRF. This PR taught me a lot about attention to detail (no duplicates allowed!) and perseverance, especially when I had to work through merge conflicts with recent updates. Lesson learned: balancing life and code is tricky, but I’m here to stick with it.
Adding Unit Tests to React Chatbotify: A Journey Through Jest 🧪
Next up was react-chatbotify, where I took on the challenge of adding unit tests for the ChatBotButton component. Testing was new to me, and Jest became both a friend and a formidable challenge. I dug into the tests for the AudioButton as my guide and wrote tests for rendering, CSS classes, and visibility toggling with React Testing Library.
This experience showed me the importance of thorough testing and the satisfaction that comes when your code is confidently covered. Oh, and the PR was approved on the first try—win! 🎉
Sprucing Up Terminal Cricket with CLI Flair 🏏️
The third project took me into the world of command-line interfaces with terminal-cricket. My mission? Add a bit of flair to the CLI with animations, loading screens, and structured displays. I added quit functionality and animations to make gameplay more engaging—because who doesn’t want a bit of visual fun in a cricket game?
This was my chance to dive into ASCII art, experiment with terminal boundaries, and create a more polished, interactive experience for users. Seeing my changes come to life on the screen was incredibly rewarding.
Predicting the Weather with Python and OpenWeatherMap ☁️
For 100LinesOfPythonCode, I created a mini weather app that fetches current weather details using the OpenWeatherMap API. Working on this project taught me the magic of combining Python with APIs, and with a little help from the rich library, I added some nice terminal styling for better readability.
This pull request was a straightforward but fulfilling contribution. It was exciting to deliver a functional, visually enhanced tool that users can enjoy right from their terminal.
The Long Road with TranspilerX: Floating Action Buttons and Endless Tweaks 😅
Ah, TranspilerX. The project that tested my patience and persistence! My task was to implement a Floating Action Button (FAB) for mobile-friendly actions like clearing the code editor and toggling the theme. It sounded simple, but this one went through multiple iterations.
The repo owner requested changes, and I submitted updates through PRs 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3, polishing the FAB’s placement, look, and behavior. The owner has been quiet lately, so these PRs are still awaiting review. But hey, even in its unfinished state, I learned a ton about Material UI and responsive design. Here’s hoping for a green light soon!
Reflections: From Closed PRs to Growing Confidence
Looking back, Hacktoberfest 2024 pushed me in every way possible. I learned a lot about balancing real-life commitments with coding goals. That closed PR? It taught me resilience. The unit tests? They gave me a new appreciation for code reliability. And the FAB in TranspilerX? Well, it taught me that every feature, no matter how simple it seems, deserves attention to detail.
This month gave me confidence and confirmed that I’m on the right path. I’ve grown as a coder, problem-solver, and collaborator. Each project pushed my limits, and the feedback I received was instrumental in shaping my skills. Hacktoberfest has been an unforgettable journey—one that I know will fuel my passion for coding for years to come
🌟 See All My Contributions 📂
Want to check out my issues, pull requests, and blogs? Here’s everything I contributed this Hacktoberfest!
Tasbi03 - Tasbi Tasbi
🐛 Issues
- Issue-1 - freeCodeCamp Developer Quiz Site
- Issue-2 - React Chatbotify
- Issue-3 - Terminal Cricket
- Issue-4 - 100LinesOfPythonCode
- Issue-5 - TranspilerX
🚀 Pull Requests
- Pull Request-1 - freeCodeCamp Developer Quiz Site
- Pull Request-2 - React Chatbotify
- Pull Request-3 - Terminal Cricket
- Pull Request-4 - 100LinesOfPythonCode
- Pull Request-5.1 - TranspilerX
- Pull Request-5.2 - TranspilerX
- Pull Request-5.3 - TranspilerX
✍️ Blog Posts
- Blog Post-1 - My Hacktoberfest Adventure: Contributing to freeCodeCamp's Developer Quiz Site
- Blog Post-2 - My Second Hacktoberfest Adventure: Testing with Jest for the First Time
- Blog Post-3 - My Hacktoberfest Journey: Redeeming Myself and Waiting for the Green Light
- Blog Post-4 - Hacktoberfest Adventure: Adding Weather Magic to 100LinesOfPythonCode
- Blog Post-5 - My Hacktoberfest Adventure: Wrestling with JavaScript and the Elusive Green Light
Hacktoberfest 2024 may be over, but this experience will stay with me as a reminder of how much you can accomplish when you embrace the journey. Here’s to more open-source adventures ahead! 🎉
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