VANCOUVER - No mainframes were destroyed and no security systems compromised at the only Canadian stop on Facebook's World HACK tour.

Instead, the hackathon offered Vancouver web developers the chance to pick the brains of the social media giant's engineers before putting their own software skills to the test in an intense day-long programming session.

Facebook's head developer James Pearce told QMI Agency his company came into Vancouver knowing the city has a well-established software community.

"We don't want to be limited to the feedback that we only get from the developers in Silicon Valley. We know that there are world-class developers all over."

Facebook engineers spent the morning coaching web developers on best practices when building applications for its website before the local software pros used an eight-hour window to create their own programs.

HootSuite chief technology officer Simon Stanlake said Facebook's presence at the hackathon is "a testament to some of the stuff that's coming out of Vancouver."

Invoke Media web developer Shih Oon Liong said he spent the session "winging it" on a prototype application that compiles all fan-created content - such as Rihanna remixes on SoundCloud - into one central location on Facebook.