This is the base repository for Web App project. Please read the instructions for details.
Our project is a web application designed to help users find the nearest MBTA public transportation stop to any location in the Greater Boston area. It uses Mapbox for geocoding, the MBTA API for transit stop data, Flask for backend routing, and the OpenWeather API to display real-time weather conditions. As an extension, we added a Babson-themed forest-green interface and integrated live weather data as our “Wow!” feature.
The development process went smoothly because the tools and workflows aligned well with what we practiced in class. Most issues we encountered were small syntax errors or problems caused by working on the same files across different computers. One bigger challenge was ensuring the .env file loaded correctly, which taught us how important it is to run Flask from the correct directory. If we repeated the project, we would improve our workflow by organizing commits and collaboration sessions earlier.
This project was completed by Jack Regan and Sophia Pak, who divided work based on strengths and availability. Sophia focused on mbta_helper.py, while Jack handled app.py, and both collaborated on the HTML templates and the weather feature. Different schedules made syncing code tricky, but consistent communication and reviewing changes together helped keep the project on track. In the future, we would use a more structured collaboration plan to avoid version conflicts.
We learned how to work with APIs, interpret JSON data, structure a Flask application, and write helper functions to keep our code modular. We used ChatGPT and ChatGPT Codex to troubleshoot errors, clarify confusing behaviors, and generate small code snippets, which made development more efficient. One limitation was the small set of suggested APIs, as we hoped to explore more options but lacked guidance on which would fit the project’s scope. Overall, the project strengthened our understanding of backend development and API integration.
