Sorry it’s a little late folks, but better late than never! This week I interviewed Charley Hutchison, a 15 year old iOS and web developer (he likes math too)!
Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?
I’m 15 years old and I’m a web and iOS developer. I started out learning iOS development about 5 years ago, and since then have started doing web as well as learning a bunch of other languages and frameworks for a variety of things.
Your website says you’ve made three apps. Which was your favourite to make?
One of my favorite apps that I’ve worked on was a hackathon project that used the iPhone magnetometer to track the position of a magnet and allows the user to “write” with it.
You went to WWDC 2013 and 2015. How did 2015 compare to 2013? What was the scholarship application like?
First of all, WWDC 2015 had many more student scholars than 2013 did. 2015 was also not as focused on design as 2013 was, as 2013 was the year iOS 7 was released. The scholarship application was similar both years and it was to make an app that conveys your skills, bio, etc. The most difficult part of the scholarship app for me was the time frame, which was about two weeks, because I chose a project that took me a while to complete.
You have several Github repositories. You must enjoy doing little open source projects. What is compelling to you about open source?
I really enjoy being able to share little tools or libraries I’ve made with other people if I find them helpful to me. I really enjoy hearing that something I’ve made is useful, as well as getting contributions and feedback from other developers.
What do you see yourself doing after secondary school?
I plan on attending university and getting an undergraduate degree, though I’m not sure what field of study I would like to pursue. Possibly computer science, but I might also study math, physics, chemistry, or biology.
Of all the things you’ve ever worked on, what is the biggest problem you’ve faced? How did you solve it? What did you learn from it?
One of the hardest development projects I’ve faced was finishing my WWDC 2015 scholarship application. I was using Metal for 3D graphics, but I had never used it before, and so learning Metal as I made my app proved to be pretty challenging. I was able to finish it however, just by working quickly and skimming through the Metal documentation. I suppose I learned that I should have given myself more time to learn Metal, but it ended up working out well.
You can follow Charley on Twitter @glenwayguy.
Charley’s Hardware
Main Computer: Macbook Pro
Specs: 2013; retina display
Smartphone: iPhone 5s
Specs: 16 GB