Hawaii Open Data Explorer

Note: This project was a finalist in the 2024 Hawaii Annual Code Challenge.

Deployed Application: Hawaii Open Data Explorer

Overview

The Hawaii Open Data Explorer is a comprehensive tool for exploring datasets provided by various government agencies in Hawaii. The application allows users to search, filter, and visualize data in an intuitive and user-friendly manner.

Concepts Used/Learned

Frontend Development

• React and Next.js: Utilized for building the user interface and managing the application state.
• TypeScript: Ensured type safety and improved code quality.
• Tailwind CSS: Applied for styling the components and creating a responsive design.
• Shadcn/ui: Used for building responsive and clean user interfaces
• Axios: Employed for making HTTP requests to the backend API.
  

Backend Development

• OpenAI API: Integrated for generating dataset suggestions and answering user queries.
• Next.js Environment Variables: Managed sensitive information using .env files.
  

My Role

As a frontend developer, I was responsible for several key features of the application:

• Recent Datasets: Implemented functionality to track and display recently accessed datasets.
• Graph Downloading: Enabled users to download visualized graphs as images.
• Card Design: Designed dataset cards to display essential information such as title, description, and tags.
• Dataset Bookmarking: Added bookmarking feature to datasets using the browser’s local storage.
• Sorting and Filtering: Developed sorting and filtering mechanisms to help users find relevant datasets.
• Info Tab: Created an information tab to provide detailed insights about selected datasets.
• Search for Datasets: Implemented a search feature to allow users to find datasets quickly.
• Help & Tips: Added a help button and several tooltips to guide users through the application.
  

Teamwork and Learning

This was my first group coding project, and I learned a lot about working in a team. I gained experience in:

• Collaboration: Working closely with team members to achieve common goals.
• Version Control: Using GitHub for version control, including branching, pull requests, and merge conflicts.
• Code Reviews: Participating in code reviews to ensure code quality and consistency.
• Communication: Effectively communicating with team members to resolve issues and share progress.
  

I was initially unfamiliar with some GitHub concepts, but through this project, I became more comfortable with using GitHub for collaboration and version control.

Conclusion

The Hawaii Open Data Explorer project was a valuable learning experience that allowed me to develop my skills in frontend development, teamwork, and using GitHub for version control. I am proud of the features I implemented and the contributions I made to the project.