Tips for GSoC

By Yask Srivastava, GSoC15-Python Software Foundation

iyask.me
IRC: yask on irc.freenode.net

I often compare open source to science. To where

science took this whole notion of developing ideas in the
open and improving on other peoples' ideas and making
it into what science is today and the incredible advances
that we have had. And I compare that to witchcraft and
alchemy, where openness was something you didn't do.
-Linus Torvalds

What is Open Source ?

Open source software is software whose source code is available for modification or enhancement by anyone.
"Source code" is the part of software that most computer users don't ever see; it's the code computer programmers
can manipulate to change how a piece of softwarea "program" or "application"works.

But, what in the world is open-source? Its a question most of us foster for quite a few of our initial months here.
If you havent heard of Open Source software , wait that cant be, you must have heard and probably used Software with
its roots in open source. Firefox, Android, Chrome, LibreOffice, VLC all these giants are open source or derivative of wildly
popular open source software.

Free and Open source software is software, for which the source
code or recipe is freely available. This means that anyone can
download it, modify it and share it!
But fret not! The saga has just begun!
The world of open-source brings with it not only free, accessible, modifiable code, but a community of developers, a whole
host of coding styles, and people from around the globe who work together to improve software and code as a community.

Prerequisites

Passion for OpenSource

Because its inspiring!

People contribute not for money, but because of

passion.

Passion for writing

opensource projects

Auto Music Downloader

Auto Lyrics Tagger

Image Pastry

Anonymous Chatters etc

Passion to learn new things

# /bin/bash

Use *nix O.S

Use FOSS
And if you find bug, report it in its issue tracker.

Just contribute for

passion
Doesnt matter which organisation

Where do I find
projects?
!
https://openhatch.org

https://github.com/explore http://sourceforge.net/p/forge/helpwanted/ http://teachingopensource.org/ https:/

Start small
This is not the last time I am going to say this.

Steps
!
#1 Seek/Find/Reach out

notice itch
find code (eyeball community)

!
Do your thing

fork, clone
poke around code (grep, code, etc) commit, push (to your version)

!
Send back your work

pull-request (comment/email)

Well known projects have:

serious,
dedicated,
committed,
professional
people working on them.

Get involved early!

Write a KickAss
proposal

Your proposal should show that you've done your research. For example,
this is my proposal for PSF: (Show the website)

Here's another proposal by a friend: https://github.com/sympy/sympy/wiki/

GSoC-2014-Application-Sushant-Hiray:-Extending-Elementary-FunctionsCSymPy

All of these have a clear cut proposal with links to

existing code and an understanding of what steps
should be taken.

Idea of a "proposed timeline" or "schedule of

deliverables" section (PSF proposals have to use a
template, and this is one of the sections). This lets
you understand the project in depth, and also gives
you a chance to show off what you know about it. If
your org doesn't have a template for you to use, I
highly suggest you include such a section, and
spend time on it.

A clich

Communication is the
key
95% human problems are caused by ...
... and are solved by.

Developers love it when

you talk about the stuff
they have written
They are not annoyed by your questions.

Contribute as much as
you can
To the particular organisation you are interested in, which
is going to take part in GSoC

How FOSS is different

(Stable/Working) > (your ego)
!
Expect to get Rejection
but playful, friendly, caring rejection.
Aspiring to Concensus-Based Perfection (rather than minimum viable
product)

Learn to take "feedback"

(ie criticism)
Accepting criticism is actually a skill. YOU ARE NOT YOUR CODE.
Development is a continuum.

DROP YOUR EGO!

Its just not cool here.

DONT GET
DISHEARTENED
All mistakes will eventually be washed clean by time and entropy.
Nobody cares how many times you fall down, ONE fewer than the times you get up all that matters

Thanks!
Good luck for GSoC'16