Project ideas to appreciate the art of programming

Summary

Many developers want to start a side project but aren't sure what to build. The internet is full of ideas that are basic and dull. Here's our list of 73 project ideas to inspire you. We have chosen projects that teach a lot and are fun to build. 1. Bittorrent Client Build a BitTorrent client that can download files using the BitTorrent protocol. You can start with single-file torrents. This is a great way to learn how P2P networking works. Read the official BitTorrent specification here. 2. Wordle Solver Build a program that solves Wordle. This can be a great lesson on information theory and entropy. You'll also get hands-on experience at optimizing computations. This YouTube video will get you started. 3. Deepfake Implement Optimal Transport from scratch to morph one face into another while preserving identity and structure. You'll apply linear programming to a real problem. You can try and morph your face on the Mona Lisa. Or maybe not... Here are some OT resources and a paper which proposes a solution. 4. Spreadsheet Create a spreadsheet with support for cell references, simple formulas, and live updates. You'll learn about dependency graphs, parsing, and reactive UI design. The founder of the GRID spreadsheet engine shares some insights here. 5. Container Build a lightweight container runtime from scratch without Docker. You'll learn about kernel namespaces, chroot, process isolation, and more. Read this to understand how containers work. 6. Geometric Theorem Proving Build a system that uses Euclid's postulates to derive geometric proofs and visualize the steps. You'll learn symbolic representation, rule systems, logic engines, and proof theory. The Mizar project aims to formalize all of mathematics, and has been going on since the 1970s. You can efficiently implement Gelernter's visionary 1959 paper today. 7. Googlebot Google uses a crawler to navigate web pages and save their contents. By building one, you'll learn how web search works. It's also great practic...