/QuickCrawl-Java

Quickly create a pub crawl

Primary LanguageJava

QuickCrawl

Aims to quickly create a pub crawl from 2 given locations. The back-end is written in Java. The front-end is in JSP, Javascript and some javascript google maps stuff. All dev was done in eclipse.

How does it work?

  1. Given 2 geo-locations (a, b) it will first create an area where a and b become the 2 opposite corners to form a rectangle.

  2. This rectangular space is the area we look for pubs and clubs (places). Using Yelp & Qype as data sources it downloads all the places in the area.

  3. The duplicate places are aggregated together so as to not offer duplicate places.

  4. Crappy places and ones that aren't reviewed are removed, if possible.

  5. Using a mixture of distance travelled, reviews & number of reviews [bayes] it will generate an optimal crawl.

  6. Google maps displays the pub crawl.

Issues

  1. You cannot create a pub crawl that goes in a circle. It only works if there is a start and end location and aims to create a straight line or near curved line.

  2. The weightings given for (reviews and distance) work Ok for a city but fall down when trying to create a pub crawl in the sticks.

  3. The distance between points (geo-located) does not take into account the curvature of the earth. e.g. 1 latitude degree becomes less and less (in terms of actual, physical distance) the further north you are.

  4. The 'website' is pap. It's my first attempt at a website and it needs completely rewriting.

  5. Bad data. Can't really do anything about idiot users who think Nando's comes under nightlife/drinking. It always gets highly rated and therefore appears in pub crawls, sigh.