GSoC 2010 real chance to participate?

[Payne]

Hello guys,


I just want to ask if it is real for choosing me to participate on this nice project in GSoC 2010. I'm asking because actually I don't know NetBeans plugin development or your application source codes. I saw last year participants and all of them had Master degree or PhD. I have only Bachelor degree. I thing I know Java very good, 2 weeks later I plan to make SCJP 6 certification.

So how are participants choosen? Are there any requirements? Have you any ideas what projects will be published? Is GSoC in this project more about NetBeans plugin development, some kind of algorithms, or something else?

[mbastian]

Hi

Knowing the source code is not a requirement for GSOC, and it is not always useful. If your subject is a module that doesn't interact so much with others and achieve a set of jobs the development can be done quite independently. And we have APIs for that.

Netbeans Plugin Development is technically similar as traditional Java Swing. However, your software architecture may follow concepts about modularity to nicely fit into Gephi and reuse existing APIs.

Last year, Jeremy had only Bachelor Degree. Your motivation and the quality of your abstract (a detailed abstract is asked to every student) are evaluated first. But of course, the experience also matters.

We have a lot of ideas for the future. You can have a look at the Roadmap. GSoC subjects are not set yet, but for sure GPU engine and Data Laboratory are top priorities.

[admin]

Hi,

I've posted the questionnaire we use to select students: Questionnaire

cheers

[Payne]

Thanks for responses.


I would like to ask another question. I like the "Data Laboratory" proposal. I download source codes and browse Attributes API module.

The question is: Should I create some kind of proposal, some graphical proposal what I would like to implement? Or the questionary is just enough. I ask, because the next 2 weeks I will be a team leader in Erasmus project called "Enterprise integration" and I dont know if there in hotel in Espoo, Finland will be internet connection. So next 2 weeks there may be a communication problem. Or should I do some work, code or maybe ideas?


Thanks very much for advices...

[admin]

I would say "Go as far as you can", but don't take too much time at first because we don't know if you will be selected.

I advise you to completely rewrite the proposal in your own words, draft some GUI views, and follow the "Writing you application" part in the Questionnaire. Last year, Patrick McSweeney gave us an excellent proposal in PDF for the very competitive "Network Algorithms and Statistics" proposal, and that made the difference.

If you think that your programming skills are one of your strong points, feel free to convince us about this: tell us where to find some of your past coding project, or start coding something in Gephi like an algorithm or a file I/O

[oiziz]

"Go as far as you can" sounds a bit scary

I mean a postdoc will go way further than an undergraduate ever can simply due experience and time coding. Similarly, someone who is 22yrs old with 6yrs experience will go further than 29yrs old with 2 yrs experience.

Will there be room for less experience programmers to compete for some spots even if they show potential but do not have yet the same capcity?

Overly experienced programmers in GSoC = good for organization/bad for aspiring programmers?

[admin]

We assume that we don't have the time to take too much less experienced programmers. This is the student's responsibility to make a realistic proposal and balance the quantity of work.

Our goal is not to see the work completely achieved, but to make them regular comitters of the project.