Wikimedia Hackathon 2015/Mobile apps

The Wikimedia Apps team will participate in the Wikimedia Hackathon 2015 in Lyon, France 23-25 May.

The team would love to collaborate with you on Wikimedia apps. Your contributions will benefit millions of people using Wikimedia apps such as Wikipedia for Android and Wikipedia for iOS.

What we will do

We will build a Wikipedia Lite app for Android, add article short description editing on iOS, and more:

Android
- Wikipedia Lite
- Fast search language change
- Article short description editing
- Automation of app testing
- Watchlists
- Bugfixing like this and more
iOS
- Article short description editing (contact Monte Hurd)
- Watchlists
- Wiki Radio in Swift (contact Adam Baso)
  - Suggested reading:
- Automated testing (e.g. using Appium) (contact Brian Gerstle)
  - Write UI/functional tests in Objective-C (or Swift!)
- Apple Watch companion app (contact Corey Floyd)
- Visualize data being sent to EventLogging as a way to educate users about the data we collect (contact Moushira Elamrawy)
- One of the other suggested hack projects
- An item on the official Wikipedia app backlog
- Something entirely different in C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, or all of the above!

How to prepare

Register

Register for the hackathon (free registration, and if you like you can book paid accommodation at the same time)

Hardware

Laptop: Linux, Windows, or Mac OS laptop equipped with the latest stable operating system.

Git: Install Git with the operating system-specific de facto method (e.g., on Mac OS it is part of Xcode).

Mobile devices:

For Android development, we recommend bringing a device that officially supports Android OS 5 Lollipop and has it installed.

For iOS development, we recommend use of a device that officially supports iOS 8 and has it installed. Remember your USB-to-iOS device cables.

Power: Bring adapters, cables, and converters suitable for France.

We'll have a bootstrapping session, but it's best to prepare ahead of time with the following instructions for Android and iOS.

Android

Know Java? Great, then

Install the latest stable release of Android Studio
Go through the free seven part Getting Started training series
Obtain the latest source code for the Wikipedia for Android app

iOS

Install the latest stable release of Xcode from the App Store
For the very best results on physical iOS devices, enroll in the iOS Developer Program ($99 USD per year); otherwise your testing will be limited to the iOS Simulator, which is normally good enough for most purposes
Know Objective-C for iOS? Great, you will be able to use it if you prefer it. Otherwise:
- Absorb the materials on the Swift Programming Language website, especially the free Swift Programming Language book
- Learn Cocoa (GUI) application development on iOS 8:
  - Beginning iPhone Development with Swift (Mark et al)
    or
  - iOS 8 Programming Fundamentals with Swift (all chapters) and Programming iOS 8 (chapters 1-13, 23-25) (Neuberg)
If you plan to work on the main Wikipedia app, obtain the latest source code for the Wikipedia for iOS app
If you plan to work on Wiki Radio, read Background Execution and the Audio Session Programming Guide thoroughly. The plan is to implement in Swift, or if skillsets require it, use hybrid Objective-C and Swift bridging.

Find us

Looking for us? Our pictures, with links to our online presence, are on this page.

We're also easily reachable on the mobile-l mailing list and on the #wikimedia-mobile ^connect IRC chat channel.

We can't wait to meet you!

One last note: at least some of us will also be at the Wikimania 2015 conference 15-19 July in Mexico City.