Google are running their Summer of Code again this year. If you're not
familiar with it, see:
https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/
We decided to apply a while back, but it's now time for orgs to
actually apply - the deadline is just a few days away (Feb 20th).
The main priorities right now are:
* Refreshing the list of project ideas. I've done some cleaning up,
but the better the breadth and depth of ideas we have, the more
likely we are to be selected:
https://trac.xapian.org/wiki/GSoCProjectIdeas
Ideas do *NOT* have to be for work on Xapian itself - projects
related to Xapian in other software are within scope (e.g.
integrating Xapian into a framework, or adding Xapian search to an
application). You'll need to provide mentoring related to the
other software, but we can help out with Xapian-specific questions.
Ideas don't need to be fully planned out - we expect the students to
do some research, planning and to discuss the project as part of
getting from the project idea to their proposal. But we do need to
clearly say what the aims are, give some pointers to useful
resources, and a list of required or beneficial skills. And the
scope needs to be suitable for taking a student developer about 12
weeks of full time work to complete (ideally including getting it
merged).
If you have a suitable idea, feel free to add it to the page, or
raise it for discussion here or on IRC.
This list is one of the key things google look at when reviewing org
applications, so we want it to be in great shape by 20th. You can
still add or improve ideas after then, but it's less likely to make a
difference to us being selected.
* Identifying potential mentors. Every idea on the list should have at
least one suitable potential mentor attached.
If you're interested in acting as a mentor for one of the ideas
there, please update the page.
One of the questions I need to answer in the org applications is
how many mentors we have, so if you are interested in mentoring, then
speaking up in the next few days would be helpful. It's OK for us to
end up with more mentors than we say at this point, but being able to
realistically respond will likely help our application.
* Talking to the students who've started to appear.
If you are a student eligible for GSoC and interested in working on
Xapian, please feel free to get in touch. You don't have to choose from
the ideas on the list - you're welcome to propose your own project
ideas.
If you want to discuss being a mentor or a student, or a project idea,
you can do so on the mailing list or on #xapian on freenode (if you
aren't already an IRC user, see https://trac.xapian.org/wiki/GSoC_IRC for
links to a web IRC client).
There's also a general GSoC IRC channel - #gsoc on freenode.
Cheers,
Olly
On 14 Feb 2016, at 11:35, Olly Betts <olly at survex.com> wrote:> * Refreshing the list of project ideas. I've done some cleaning up, > but the better the breadth and depth of ideas we have, the more > likely we are to be selected: > > https://trac.xapian.org/wiki/GSoCProjectIdeasI?ll take a look and have a further think. I think it?s worth making the LTR project proposal even more specific: to clear up and incorporate all worthwhile code from 2014 with a copyright-clean codebase (I?ve looked at this in the past, but then got distracted; I think I could explain it to someone and help them work through it, but I?ve set aside some time later this week to write up what I think needs doing in more detail). That should, as previously discussed (and as currently in the proposal), include tests and some examples to help tighten the API. J -- James Aylett, occasional trouble-maker xapian.org
On Sun, Feb 14, 2016 at 11:35:21AM +0000, Olly Betts wrote:> Google are running their Summer of Code again this year. If you're not > familiar with it, see: > > https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/Google Summer of Code wrote: | "Congratulations! Xapian Search Engine Library has been selected as a | Google Summer of Code 2016 mentor organization."> * Identifying potential mentors. Every idea on the list should have at > least one suitable potential mentor attached. > > If you're interested in acting as a mentor for one of the ideas > there, please update the page.The process for signing up as a mentor in Google's system is different this year. An org admin has to invite mentors via the website by specifying email addresses. So if you're interested in mentoring but haven't said anything yet, please come and talk to me or James (we're "org admins" in GSoC terms). I would especially encourage previous GSoC students to consider mentoring - you'll have a good understanding of how GSoC works, and it's a great way to continue involvement in the project. You don't need to be able to answer every question a student might ask to be able to usefully help with mentoring, you just need to know where to look or who to ask. Cheers, Olly
On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 12:10:11AM +0000, James Aylett wrote:> I think it?s worth making the LTR project proposal even more specific: > to clear up and incorporate all worthwhile code from 2014 with a > copyright-clean codebaseI know you've since updated the project idea along these lines, but for the record I fully agree. The primary goal should be producing a polished LTR module with a clean API, documentation, good test coverage, etc. That may make it appeal to a narrower demographic, but in previous years the LTR project has tended to be disproportionately popular, so I don't think that's a problem. Cheers, Olly