My Journey of Integrating a Full-Stack Application with AWS
My experience in an AWS hackathon, where the real challenge is not just building individual components, but bringing everything together into one working application.
Every project starts with an idea, and for me, this hackathon was a chance to turn one of my ideas into something real.
I decided to build ThermaGuard, a prototype dashboard that helps people explore urban heat information and plan possible solutions based on their budget.
Urban heat is something that affects many cities. Areas with less greenery, more concrete, and limited shade can become extremely hot. I wanted to explore how technology could help people understand this problem and think about practical ways to address it.
That is how ThermaGuard started.
The dashboard brings together zone information and current weather data, along with options to explore and save proposed action plans. These plans can include planting trees, installing shade structures, and using cool roofs.
My idea was to create something that connects information with possible action and helps users think about how they could use a limited budget to explore different interventions.
It is still a prototype, but building it has already taught me a lot.
My Task: Bringing Everything Together
For this project, I am using React for the frontend, FastAPI for the backend, and AWS tools as part of my development journey.
One of my main tasks is to integrate everything and make sure the different parts of the application work together properly.
Building the frontend and backend is one thing, but connecting them is a different challenge. The frontend needs to communicate with the backend, API requests need to work correctly, and the overall application needs to behave as expected.
While working on this, I realised that integration requires patience and a good understanding of how the different components communicate.
Sometimes, even when individual parts work properly, connecting them can create new problems. Finding those problems, understanding their causes, and fixing them is a big part of the process.
I am learning to focus not just on writing code, but on making the complete application work as one system.
My First Experience with AWS
Honestly, getting started with AWS was one of the challenging parts for me.
As someone using AWS tools for the first time, I found it difficult at the beginning to understand how everything works and where I should start. There are so many services and concepts to explore that it can feel confusing when you are new to cloud technology.
Another thing I was thinking about was cost. I wanted to learn AWS and experiment with my project, but I also wanted to avoid unexpected charges while working on a hackathon prototype.
While exploring my options, I started using the AWS SAM CLI (AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line Interface).
I used commands like
sam build --use-container and sam local start-api to build and run my backend locally. This allowed me to test API endpoints and understand how a Lambda function and API Gateway-style setup could work without deploying those services to AWS.My application currently runs locally on my computer. I have not deployed AWS cloud services for ThermaGuard, so the project is not using AWS-hosted resources or generating AWS infrastructure charges.
For me, this was a useful way to start learning. Instead of worrying about deploying everything immediately, I could focus on understanding the tools, testing my backend, and getting the integration right.
I am still learning AWS, but this experience has made me more comfortable exploring it.
Learning While Building
One thing I have realised during this hackathon is that things do not always work on the first try.
Sometimes, you have to spend time understanding a tool, reading documentation, checking configurations, or figuring out why something is not behaving as expected.
But I think this is what makes building a project such a valuable experience.
When we learn something only in theory, we may understand the concept, but when we actually use it in a project, we discover the small details that make a difference.
Working with React, FastAPI, and AWS SAM has helped me understand how different parts of an application fit together. It has also taught me that learning a new technology takes time, and it is completely fine not to know everything at the beginning.
The important thing is to keep trying, learn from mistakes, and move forward.
Why I Chose to Learn Without Deploying First
As a beginner with AWS, I wanted to understand the basics before moving towards a full cloud deployment.
Using AWS SAM locally gave me an opportunity to explore the development and testing process without immediately creating cloud resources.
I also learned that using an AWS development tool and deploying an application on AWS are two different things. Understanding this difference is important, especially when you are just starting and trying to learn while keeping costs under control.
My current focus is on getting ThermaGuard working properly, understanding the integration, and improving the project step by step.
Once I have a clearer understanding of the deployment process and its costs, I can explore what the next stage of the project might look like.
What This Hackathon Means to Me
For me, this hackathon is not just about winning a prize. Of course, winning would be amazing, but I also want to use this opportunity to learn things that I can apply to future projects.
ThermaGuard has given me a reason to explore a real-world problem, work with different technologies, and challenge myself with something new.
I have learned that building a project is not only about the final result. It is also about the problems you solve, the concepts you understand, and the confidence you gain along the way.
I am still learning, and I know there is a lot more to explore, especially when it comes to AWS and cloud development.
But that is what makes this journey interesting for me.
What's Next?
My next goal is to keep improving ThermaGuard and make sure all its components work together as expected.
I would like to improve the dashboard, make the planning experience better, and continue learning about AWS so that I can understand how to take a local application towards a cloud deployment when I am ready.
I know that this is just one step in my journey, but every project teaches me something new, and I want to keep building on that knowledge.
For me, ThermaGuard is not just a hackathon project. It is a chance to learn, experiment, solve problems, and turn an idea into something real. I may still be at the beginning of my AWS journey, but I am excited to keep learning and see how far I can take this project.
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