GGoogle Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code(GSoC) is a program that sponsors student developers during the months of April through August to develop features/modules for Sahana Eden. GSoC is a great platform for students to start open source development, and Eden has benefited greatly from student contributions over the years. Google Summer of Code is taken very seriously at Eden. The SMS system is one of the many integral components of Eden that owe their existence to a GSoC project. The fact that Sahana has never yet failed to be a participating organization is testament to the commitment and professionalism of the Sahana community for the GSoC program. Mentors are generally selected from a pool of experienced developers, some of who may be ex-GSoC students as well. Mentors put up a number of project ideas in the months prior to the commencement of the Summer of Code. Students then get in touch with mentors of the projects via email or IRC. Students can also propose their own ideas for projects different from the ones floated by the mentors.
Mentors then declare qualification tasks for students. These could include things like simple bug fixes, implementing minor changes to the system or even providing a blueprint for their project. It is essential that prospective students stay in touch with their mentors as this helps both the mentor and the student to assess the skill level of the student.
Once students have been selected, they get in touch with their mentors and draw up detailed plans on how to start their project. Students interact with mentors and the community at large to get up to speed with the framework and tools that Eden uses.
Students then begin coding for their projects. Weekly meetings over IRC are essential for both students and mentors to ensure that the project is on track. Students are also supposed to send weekly emails to the mailing list to update the community about their progress and also state the work that they will be doing in the following week.
Post GSoC, students and mentors ensure that the project gets merged to trunk and continue further development.
For more information on Google Summer of Code, go to http://code.google.com/soc/.
TTips for prospective students
- The early bird catches the worm. Start as early as you can. That gives mentors a chance to understand your skill level and your style of working. Moreover, you get to have a lot of time to learn the code base. This will be help you save time during your GSoC.
- Please be mindful of mentors' time. Most of them are active developers and may not be able to answer all your queries asap. The best way would to put in a mail on the mailing list, or just hanging out on IRC.
- If you are on IRC, please be careful not to send messages asking for a reply. Send in a message in a single line with your query, no need for greetings like hi or hello. Don't ask to ask. Please wait for a reply and do not send messages asking for a reply repeatedly.
- Before asking a question, be sure to search the Wiki, the mailing list and the recent IRC logs. Your question might have been asked by someone else already.
- It's ok to ask your mentor to review your project proposal before submitting it, but do not ask them whether you have been selected or not. You'll know when the result is out!
- Do not overstate your experience or capabilities. At the same time, do not understate. Give an honest description of your skills.
