The term hackathon is a neologism made up of the words “hack” and “marathon” and stands for an event in which people work together on software or/and hardware solutions. A hack stands for a (often creative, fast and effective) solution to a problem or a technical trick, while marathon stands for the extraordinary length of the event.
The goal of a hackathon is to find solutions to specific problems within the duration of the event. Usually there is a specific theme or the hackathon is technology related.
Originally, developer meetings were named under the term from 1999, which took place in the environment of operating system programming (OpenBSD/Sun Microsystems). Meanwhile, hackathons are a popular way to quickly turn new ideas into software or refine them through prototyping.
Many hackathon participants see the open, focused and liberal working model as the reason for the success of the event format. The usual constraints of software development no longer apply – it is up to the individual to decide who I work with and how. This leads to a sense of community that is perceived as strong.
While there are internal-only events, many organizers open their doors to external participants as well – anyone who can contribute to the bottom line.
