【Important】TiDB Hackathon 2022 Participation Guidelines

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This topic has been translated from a Chinese forum by GPT and might contain errors.

Original topic: 【重点】TiDB Hackathon 2022 参赛须知

| username: TiDB社区小助手

TiDB Hackathon 2022 “Possibility at Scale” is ongoing. We welcome you to register and participate, and look forward to breaking traditional technical boundaries and overcoming inherent thinking limitations with you, using TiDB to unleash more possibilities for innovation.

This year’s TiDB Hackathon will be open to a wider audience, divided into two main tracks: the Application Group and the TiDB Product Group. Whether you are an application developer, database developer, upstream and downstream ecosystem practitioner, or database user, you can find a suitable direction and use TiDB to create more application possibilities.

I. Participation Process

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  1. Registration Deadline October 17
  • Click the link to complete the registration. (Notice: When registering, please log in to the TiDB community account first. We will send the TiDB Hackathon 2022 participation certificate to the successfully registered and RFC-submitted participants via internal message. Looking forward to your brilliant ideas!)
  • Add the assistant’s WeChat ID: dbasupport to join the WeChat group.
  1. Team-up & Submit RFC Deadline October 17
  • Attend the “TiDB Hackathon 2022 Informal Talk — Dongxu Creative Brainstorming Session” (September 17) to get more project inspiration.
  • Find your teammates, or you can post here to look for teammates or recommend yourself.
  • After forming a team, click the link to complete the team registration (this is the real successful registration).
  • Write the RFC, click get RFC template & writing guide.
  • Submit the RFC project to the team leader’s GitHub gist, copy the gist link, click the link, and the team leader fills in the link to complete the RFC submission (after the competition starts, a few teams will be randomly selected from the RFC-submitted teams to receive mysterious prizes).
  1. Pre-competition Preparation
  • Deepen your understanding of TiDB through learning and prepare for the final on-site competition.
  • Team meetings to deepen mutual understanding among team members.
  • Check the preliminary results announcement
    • October 19, check the list of finalists, see if your team is shortlisted.
    • If shortlisted, congratulations, get ready for the on-site final.
  1. On-site Coding October 22 - October 23
  • On-site coding to complete the competition work. The source code of the competition work needs to be open source (following the Apache 2.0 open source license).
  • To better present, you can prepare a presentation PPT (PPT template).
  1. On-site Presentation October 23 Afternoon
  • The Application Group and TiDB Product Group will conduct parallel presentations, with separate first, second, and third prizes for each track.

II. Competition Schedule

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III. Learning Materials

Learning Documents

Material Applicable Track Description
TiDB Learning Materials Collection :fire: General TiDB related architecture interpretation and basic function introduction documents
TiDB Cloud Related Materials General General materials for TiDB Cloud, free cluster of TiDB Cloud
FAQ General Collection of common questions, might solve your problem
Technical Question Answer Search General Search before asking. For Hackathon questions, remember to add the 【TiDB Hackathon】 tag~
Mutual Help Q&A General Post inquiries
Database Architecture Selection Guide General Helps you solve the troubles of database architecture selection
Technical Articles General Users of the TiDB online community continuously produce practical cases, operation and maintenance practices, and evaluation articles based on TiDB, speaking from experience to smooth out obstacles in the actual use process.
Quick Start Guide for TiDB Database Application Group Introduction to quickly getting started with the TiDB database
TiDB Technical Documentation (Chinese)TiDB Technical Documentation (English) TiDB Product Group TiDB has rich and comprehensive official documentation. Through the documentation, beginners can quickly master the basic knowledge of TiDB, and old users can check technical details when encountering problems.
【Development Essentials】TiDB Database Development Specifications TiDB Product Group A collection of detailed content on TiDB database development specifications
【Source Code Learning Resources】TiDB, TiKV, TiFlash, Chaos Mesh, etc. Source Code Interpretation Supply Station TiDB Product Group A collection of source code interpretation content for TiDB, TiKV, TiFlash, Chaos Mesh, etc.
PingCAP Blog TiDB Product Group The official PingCAP blog revolves around TiDB, TiKV, Chaos Mesh®, and related ecosystems, including technical dry goods from PingCAP employees and community members, covering principle analysis, application practice, architecture thinking, and more. It has launched series articles such as “TiDB Source Code Reading”, “TiKV Source Code Analysis”, and “Distributed System Frontier Technology”, taking you through the forefront of distributed and cloud-native fields.

Learning Video Library

Course Name Applicable Track Description Remarks
Backend Developers Learning TiDB Application Group A series of courses related to TiDB, suitable for backend developers to learn. The entire course series includes 5 courses, with 3 recommended learning paths based on everyone’s knowledge field and learning goals. You can choose according to your actual situation. Learning videos are temporarily free, from PingCAP Training&Certification.
Distributed Database Kernel Development Course (Talent Plan) TiDB Product Group Learn the distributed database kernel development course in a step-by-step manner, allowing everyone to deeply understand and master TiDB/TiKV related knowledge and practical skills. Learning videos are temporarily free, from PingCAP Training&Certification.
Core Principles and Architecture of TiDB Database [TiDB v6] General This course will introduce the architecture and design principles of the TiDB database, which is the foundation for future management, development, performance tuning, and troubleshooting. Learning videos are temporarily free, from PingCAP Training&Certification.
Analyzing TiDB from an Application Development Perspective Application Group Demo video of actually using TiDB to build applications, you can follow along to experience the usage process of TiDB. Workshop: mini OSS Insight
TiFlash Source Code Interpretation TiDB Product Group The most comprehensive and latest collection of TiFlash source code interpretation materials.

IV. RFC Template & Submission Method

  • RFC Template: Click “【here】(【重点】Hackathon 2022 RFC 设计文档模板 - TiDB 的问答社区)” to view the RFC template
  • Submission Deadline: October 17, 21:00
  • Submission Method: Submit the RFC project to the team leader’s GitHub gist, copy the gist link, click the link, and the team leader fills in the link to submit the RFC
  • Complete RFC submission to participate in the lottery: After the competition starts, teams that successfully submit RFCs within a specific time period will be randomly selected to receive TiDB community mystery gift packs
    • 9/13 - 9/22: 4 teams will be drawn
    • 9/22 - 9/30: 3 teams will be drawn
    • 10/1 - 10/14: 2 teams will be drawn

V. On-site Coding & Final Presentation Schedule

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VI. FAQ

  1. How many people can form a team for TiDB Hackathon?
  • A team can have up to 4 members. Solo participation is also supported.
  1. What is the prize pool for TiDB Hackathon?
  • The total prize pool for the entire event is 350,000 RMB. Each track has first, second, and third prizes, with 50,000 RMB for the first prize, 25,000 RMB for the second prize, and 15,000 RMB for the third prize. There are also special awards such as the Public Welfare Contribution Award, Technology Trend Award, Cloud Application Ecosystem Award, and Best Campus Award.
  1. When can we start coding?
  • On-site coding for the final. This event does not allow early coding, and the judges will strictly review whether the participants’ works comply with the rule that “the first line of code must be submitted after the preliminary results are announced”.
  • If you encounter questions not answered in the learning materials, you can join the Hackathon 2022 participant group, where mentors will provide online Q&A and live sharing sessions from time to time.
  • Teams that enter the final are encouraged to participate in on-site coding and presentations, as coding on-site with teammates creates a better atmosphere.
  1. Will the Application Group and TiDB Product Group be scored separately in the preliminary and final rounds?
  • Yes, this year there are two tracks: Application Group and TiDB Product Group, with separate judges and awards for each track in both the preliminary and final rounds.
  1. What is the on-site competition process?

  • The competition consists of an online preliminary round and an on-site final. The online preliminary round involves submitting creative idea design documents (RFC), and the top 30 teams in each track will enter the on-site hack and presentation. The on-site hack time is from 9:00 AM on October 22 to 12:00 PM on October 23, and the on-site presentation time is from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM on October 23.

  • The on-site final schedule is as follows:

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  1. What are the project scoring criteria?

  • The final scoring will be based on the participants’ on-site presentation and defense, evaluated from the following dimensions:

    • Application Group: Awards will be scored based on applicability, innovation, completeness, and presentation.

    • TiDB Product Group: Awards will be scored based on applicability, innovation, completeness, and presentation.

For details, see: 【重点】TiDB Hackathon 2022 评分规则 - TiDB 的问答社区

  1. How can individuals form a team & can you help with team formation?
  • Yes, after registering, add the assistant’s WeChat to join the participant group for team formation. You can also post in the community link (jump link) to look for teammates or recommend yourself, find missing teammates for your team, or join a suitable team.
  1. Are there any recommended learning materials?
  • The organizers will provide TiDB Hackathon learning materials, GitHub learning materials, and a learning video library.
  1. How is the Best Popularity Award selected?
  • This award involves two rounds of voting, with each person limited to one vote:

1.1. First round of voting [35% weight], projects that enter the final are eligible for voting, based on project name + introduction. The first round of voting will open simultaneously with the preliminary results announcement on October 19 and close at 24:00 on October 21

1.2. Second round of voting [65% weight], during the final live broadcast on October 23, voting will close half an hour before the final results are announced

  1. In which cities are the venues located?
  • Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Singapore. If more than five teams from the same city enter the final, an offline venue will be opened in that city.
  1. What are the benefits of participating in TiDB Hackathon?

  • Realize your creative technical ideas during the event

  • Meet more like-minded friends

  • Challenge yourself and challenge technology

  • Successfully challenge and win cash rewards

  1. Does the organizer provide meals and accommodation?
  • We will provide meals (one breakfast, two lunches, and two dinners) for participants and volunteers during the competition. Participants can stay overnight at the competition venue. If you need to rent a hotel near the venue, please arrange it yourself.
  1. Will the competition be canceled due to the pandemic?
  • We will closely monitor the pandemic situation. If there are uncontrollable factors, the competition will be held online instead of being canceled.
  1. What are the requirements for the participating projects in this event?

  • We hope that the participating projects in the Application Group can utilize your intelligence to achieve more fun and interesting technical implementations, and that TiDB’s capabilities can help you realize more interesting ideas.

  • We hope that the participating projects in the TiDB Product Group can achieve more innovative functions, tools, etc., based on the TiDB product itself.

  1. Can multiple awards be won simultaneously?
  • Of course, we have a rich set of awards and strongly encourage participants to compete for different awards.
  1. Is it necessary to present on-site (participate offline)?
  • Teams that enter the final are encouraged to participate in on-site coding and presentations, as coding on-site with teammates creates a better atmosphere.
  1. What skills and precautions are needed to participate in a hackathon?
  1. Is there an RFC template? How to submit it? When to submit it?
  1. Who is eligible for the Campus Team Award?
  • All team members must be: undergraduate students, master’s students, or doctoral students.

For more questions, click: Event Consultation

VII. Hackathon Offline Venue Information

China-Beijing

2nd Floor, Building C-7, Dongsheng Science Park, No. 66 Xixiaokou Road, Haidian District, Beijing

China-Shanghai

16th Floor, Building C, Bund SOHO, No. 88 Zhongshan East 2nd Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

China-Chengdu

Room 3205, Building 2, No. 666 Tianfu Avenue Middle Section, High-tech Zone, Chengdu

China-Guangzhou

Room 3702, Poly Zhongyue Plaza, No. 23 Xuan Yue East Street, Haizhu District, Guangzhou

Singapore

1 One North Crescent, Razer SEA HQ, Level 7, Singapore 138538

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| username: meathill | Original post link

So the preliminary round only evaluates the RFC; if you make it through, then you start preparing the PPT; coding begins in the final round; and finally, there’s the defense and awarding of prizes. Is that what it means?

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| username: TiDB社区小助手 | Original post link

That’s right~ That’s what it means.

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| username: TiDB社区小助手 | Original post link

Being shortlisted and starting to prepare the PPT is also a good idea, haha.