Not long after we released our initial how-to introducing the new OpenFEC API, the 18F team announced that they were making even more available. Our followup post introduces some of the new additions and why they're so important.
Continue readingHow we designed new icons for Sunlight’s revamped blog series
Sunlight launched several new blog series earlier this month, and with it came the need for a refreshed set of icons. Here's how Sunlight's design team tackled this challenging but necessary task.
Continue readingCFPB releases new database of consumer complaints
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau recently announced that it was releasing consumer complaints against financial institutions. We're excited by the multiple easy-to-use formats and the variety of data being made available.
Continue readingOpenFEC makes campaign finance data more accessible with new API: Here’s how to get started
Big news in the campaign finance world: The Federal Election Commission is taking a huge step forward by making data accessible through a modern API. Here's how to get started with this informative new resource.
Continue readingImproving how citizens email Congress with smart illustrations
Last summer, Sunlight created a feature that allowed you to email your lawmakers as easily as a friend. One year later, we are still improving it by creating new illustrations to enhance the experience.
Continue readingSystem administration for junior devs: Using NGINX to handle HTTP requests
Presenting Part III of the junior developer's guide to system administration, where we will take a networked Web server and make it respond to HTTP requests at that same IP.
Continue readingIlluminating the jargon of criminal justice data with Elasticsearch
Working with criminal justice information has led to new challenges for Sunlight developers. Using a tool called Elasticsearch, we're cutting through the newfound jargon to produce a useful criminal justice database.
Continue readingExploring strategies for cleaning messy data
In the coming months, we'll be blogging about the challenges of entity resolution when dealing with messy data — because no one should have to navigate the stormy seas of government information alone.
Continue readingSystem administration for junior devs: An introduction
Presenting Part I of the junior developer's guide to system administration, demystifying what happens when a server — outfitted with a fairly standard NGINX/Unicorn/Rails stack — fields a Web request.
Continue readingSunlight Labs’ highlights from PyCon 2015
This month, a few members of Sunlight Labs continued our tradition of attending the always-exciting annual conference of North American Python developers: PyCon 2015. Here are the biggest highlights and takeaways from our trip.
Continue reading
59063
