Heading to the Finish Line: Code.gov at Elastic DC
With December around the corner, you might think the Code.gov team would be winding down; but we are always looking forward to the next event, to the next opportunity. Continuing our forward momentum from the month of October, Code.gov took center stage at Chief in DuPont Circle as guests of the Elastic DC User Group. Speaking on behalf of the team were Federal Source Code Policy Expert Joe Castle and Lead Back End Developer Froilán Irizarry. Joining us for this evening with Elastic DC was Sean McBride of Operation Code DC.
GSA’s FSCP Expert Joe Castle led with a passion of his: the history of Open Source in the United States government. Open Source has been part of the government for decades, and Joe only reinforced Code.gov’s mission of encouraging more open source in the federal government with its history as our foundation. “It’s a logical progression,” Joe stated, a statement that resonated with the audience. Our next speaker was Froilán Irizarry, Code.gov’s Lead Back End Developer. A cold creeping up on Froi did nothing to hamper his talk on improvements in how search queries happen for our site:
- More robust indexing and search functionality. Better data indexing which led to a stronger, faster internal search engine, delivering results more efficiently.
- Application of more robust search languages. The search engine can look beyond the parameters it is given, searching for synonyms or stemming words related to the keywords offered.
- Archived indexes. Much in the same way search engines operate, our search engine stores recent search queries for a number of days, allowing us the opportunity to compare searches over time. Analyzing how searches are indexed allow Code.gov to modify and improve search capability across our platform.
Froi powered through his presentation despite his oncoming cold, and still he had the energy to take on many questions, his comprehensive talk made even more accessible. Our evening with the Elastic DC Group concluded with Sean McBride of Operation Code DC, who extended an invitation to a December Hackathon hosted by his newly-revived meetup group.
Code.gov’s evening with Elastic DC wrapped up what has been a very busy schedule for us since the month of October. It has been an amazing close to a terrific 2018 which has included everything from changes to the site (which Froi covered), to a successful Hack Day with GW-ACM, to our founder, Alvin Salehi, named as one of Apolitical’s World’s Most Influential Young People in Government in 2018. With all the honors and accolades this year has provided, we are still not yet done as Operation Code DC’s Hackathon begins this Friday, Code.gov offering projects and support when needed. We never turn down an opportunity for engagement. That engagement can also happen online, so make sure to visit us on Twitter or LinkedIn and share with us what’s on your mind. We look forward to answering whatever questions you may have for us; and to offer you a chance to make a difference, to innovate, and to create.
Code on.
