富有创造精神的“黑客马拉松”

　　马拉松，除了指字面意义上全程距离为42.195公里的长跑项目以外，现在还可用来形容各类持续时间很长的活动或事件，比如：舞蹈马拉松、绘画马拉松等。今天，我们来说说IT界的“黑客马拉松”。

　　A hackathon (also known as a hack day or codefest) is an event in which computer programmers and others in the field of software development, like graphic designers, interface designers and project managers collaborate intensively on software projects.

　　黑客马拉松（也叫“黑客日”或“编程节”）指计算机程序员和平面设计师、界面设计师以及项目经理等软件研发领域的其他成员深度合作参与软件项目的活动。

　　Hackathons typically last between a day and a week in length. Some hackathons are intended simply for educational or social purposes, although in many cases the goal is to create usable software.

　　黑客马拉松通常持续一天到一周的时间。有些黑客马拉松活动主要是以教育或社交为目的，不过多数情况下，此类活动都是为了研发可用的软件。

　　Hackathons tend to have a specific focus, which can include the programming language used, the operating system, an application, an Application Programming Interface (API), the subject and the demographic group of the programmers. In other cases, there is no restriction on the type of software being created.

　　黑客马拉松通常都有特定的关注点，包括使用的编程语言、操作系统、应用程序、应用程序编程接口、主题以及编程人员的组成结构。其他方面，对于创建软件的类型则没有限制。