Alright, let’s talk about this “yiqing” thing. It’s not exactly a project name I’d choose now, looking back, but hey, hindsight is 20/20, right?
So, where did it all begin? Well, back when everything was kicking off with the, you know, the thing. I felt utterly useless sitting at home, doomscrolling. I wanted to do something. Not just panic-buy toilet paper (though, I admit, I did get a few extra rolls… just in case!). I wanted to contribute somehow.
First thing I did was figure out what skills I actually had that could be useful. I’m no doctor, and my sewing skills are… let’s just say “functional” at best. But I can code. So, I thought, “Okay, maybe I can build something? Something that helps people stay informed, or maybe even connects them with resources.”
I started by brainstorming. Just wrote down a bunch of ideas, no matter how dumb they seemed. Things like:
- A map showing infection rates (everyone was doing that, I know, but still)
- A resource directory for local food banks and charities
- A simple forum for people to share tips and support each other
After that, I realized my main strength wasn’t necessarily the “building” part but more so getting my hands dirty with data and making it presentable. I decided to focus on visualizing existing data sources. There were already a few public APIs popping up with confirmed case numbers, recovery rates, etc. They were kinda messy though, all different formats and updating at different intervals.
So I spent a good chunk of time wrestling with those APIs. Lots of trial and error. Pulling the data, cleaning it, transforming it into a usable format (JSON, mostly). I wrote a bunch of Python scripts using libraries like requests and pandas to automate the process. Ugh, debugging those scripts was a nightmare. Spent hours staring at error messages, only to find a missing comma or a typo. Frustrating, but kinda satisfying when it finally worked.
Next, I needed a way to display the data. I chose to use JavaScript. It was something I knew, and it would let me embed the visualizations in a simple webpage. I ended up using a basic HTML setup along with some CSS to get the look and feel of the page, and then got to work using JavaScript to dynamically load the data from my API endpoints and display it into a visually engaging table.
Then I actually deployed this thing. I used a free tier hosting platform that I was familiar with, configured the domain, and had my scripts running in the background to poll the data sources. After all of that setup, it was finally live!
Yeah, it was a lot of work, and the end result wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. But hey, I learned a ton, and I felt like I was at least doing something useful during a crazy time.
Lessons Learned:
- Don’t be afraid to start small. Even a simple project can have an impact.
- Data cleaning is always more time-consuming than you think.
- Free tiers are your friend (especially when you’re just learning).
Would I do it again? Probably. Maybe with a slightly less dramatic project name next time. But hey, you live and learn, right?
