The tool provides templates for easy coding and serves as a starter point for Web app development Credit: Thinkstock Serving as a boilerplate project developing Node.js Web applications, Hackathon Starter is being positioned as a template for easy coding. The brainchild of developer Sahat Yalkabov, Hackathon Starter can be used by coding newcomers and serves as a starting point for Web development. “The name has ‘Hackathon’ in there because that was my initial goal for this project,” said Yalkabov. “It also comes with a variety of API examples out of the box, which are extremely helpful when you are trying to use some company’s API at a hackathon.” Yalkabov’s goal is to get code collaborations started with as little friction as possible, and to keep them free of implementation worries. “While you can use Hackathon Starter in production, out of the box it was designed for ease of use and simplicity first, as such as it is geared toward smaller projects, hackathon apps, fun experiments, or as a learning tool,” Yalkabov said. Hackathon Starter leverages an MVC project structure and supports Node clusters. In addition to requiring Node, the MongoDB database is necessary. The application supports local authentication via an email address and password as well as OAuth authentication through prominent Web properties such as Twitter, Facebook, GitHub, and Google. Version 3.5.0 of Hackathon Starter, released in March, added timestamp support for the project’s user scheme as well as file upload and Pinterest API examples. Hackathon Starter uses the Express Web framework for Node. JavaScriptWeb DevelopmentSoftware DevelopmentDevelopment Tools