Meet the Noops

Developers spend most of their time making useful things with code. This summer, we want you to try your hand at making something just for fun.

Meet the Noops. They’re 20 amazing machines designed to do absolutely nothing. And they’re ready for you to work with them. Every Noop is a black box—a machine that emits a data signal for you to work with.

What does each Noop do?

The first Noop is the Hexbot that only emits a hex code. Any number of the 16,777,216 hex code colors may be transmitted and you can do anything you want with this data. Display the color? Sure. Display an 80s movie poster with a chosen hex code as the dominant color? Even better.

The rest of the Noops behave similarly, each emitting their own sets of data signals:

• Vexbot emits a stream of coordinates and speeds.
• Directbot sends an endless sequence of instructions.
• Drumbot transmits delightful sequences of beats for you to work with.
• Fizzbot will tirelessly provide Fizzbuzz challenges and track exactly how quickly you can solve them.

What can I do with the Noops?

Each week we’ll reveal five Noops that you can challenge in any language you like. We’ve provided starter code in JavaScript, but you can play with the Noops in any language that can make an HTTP request. Check out the API documentation and get examples on how you can interact with the Noops on the project’s home page.

All challenges are open to all developers. Whether you’re just learning to code or you’re a seasoned developer, we’d love to see what you can do. Post your code on the forum, and we’ll share the most clever ideas.

Make something fun. Or maybe something playful. Or maybe something beautiful. Most importantly, have fun with the code.

Meet the Noops

Written by

Kaitlin Pike

@kcpike