Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Yes, another Google SoC is upon us. I signed up as a mentor with Dojo and Django. Both projects are on the leading edge of new wave of web-based applications doing extremely cool stuff. I anticipate that some smart students will bridge both projects, but individual projects are fine too.

What is Google SoC? Read the FAQ. Who can apply? Any student anywhere in the world can apply. You don't have to be Comp. Sci. major to participate. Why should I apply? You will gain a real world experience with open source projects on the bleeding edge of modern technology. Your code will be used by high profile projects (it will look spiffy on your resume). You will meet new people who "do it" instead of "talk about it". And you will earn $4,500 USD and a cool T-shirt as a proof of your participation.

We already started evaluating incoming proposals. You have to submit your proposal before 17:00 PDT on May 8, 2006.

Now some tips:

• You should "see" what you are going to do:
• Some sketch of general design will be very helpful.
• Outline of your timeline (conforming to SoC timeline) would be good too.
• It's okay, if you still need to fill the gaps in your vision of the project — both projects have vibrant communities, and mentors are here to guide you.
• We don't want you doing some insignificant work on remote outskirts of our projects. We know it is no fun. We want you to do something interesting, which can be immediately useful. So I suggest: try to resolve core problems, be bold and innovative.
• Try to see how you can improve the system, instead of how to use existing features. We will prefer core improvements over projects built using our frameworks. The former will benefit everybody, when the latter will be used by smaller group of people. Obviously we are interested in your code making the biggest positive impact.
• Aim high. Don't be afraid that the problem is bigger than SoC timeline. We can always scale it down, or stage it.
• If you came up with a small scope project, it is okay too. Try to bundle them until we have a proper chunk of work.
• If you need some ideas to get you started, don't fret: of course, we have suggestions. And we published them for Django, and for Dojo.