GSOC 2016/Student Application ncoop

Contact Information

• Email Address: ncoop@fedoraproject.org
• Blog URL: https://ncoop.github.io/ (recently set up)
• Freenode IRC Nick: ncoop, n_coop
• Code Forges (GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, etc.):
  • https://github.com/ncoop/ (public repos)
  • https://bitbucket.org/ncoop/ (private repos)
• Social Media Accounts:
  • https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:ncoop
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncoop

Questions to answer

Why do you want to work with the Fedora Project?

I was introduced to Fedora by a teacher, and my Linux experience has come primarily from reading Fedora resources and progressively experimenting with Fedora. Therefore, I feel a bond to the Fedora community.

Have you participated in GSoC in the past? If so, what year(s) and which organization(s)?

I have kept track of GSoC for several years now, my first awareness being ScummVM. I'm more interested in contributing code for practical projects, and this is the first time I feel ready to commit as a participant.

Do you plan to continue contributing to the Fedora Project after GSoC? If yes, what sub-project(s) are you interested with?

I am initially interested in contributing to the projects I take personal interest in, such as Neovim, Raspberry Pi, and Desktop Environment-related packages. With some guidance, I can help update and package rpms and write documentation.

Why should we choose you over other applicants?

• I have worked with a variety of programming languages, including the relevant ones.
• I am already experienced with meeting professional expectations, and I work better under structured guidance and with established best-practices.
• I anticipate being able to contribute a large amount of time over the course of the program. The current phase of my education is coming to a conclusion, and I will be able to devote full attention to the project.
• I am a native English speaker and a mature writer.
• My personal motivation to work with and learn about Cockpit comes from my need to maintain several Linux hosts as part of my work. It would make my job easier if I can convince management to use this tool, so that less-proficient users can securely access and work with the hosts.
• Finally, I should point out that over the course of working with a Fedora/RedHat mentor, I will be far more motivated and better able to give back to Fedora Project long after the summer is over.

Have you contributed to any other open source organizations or projects? If so, do you have artifacts you can show so we can see your skill set(s)?

I have contributed to mame-rr and built macrolua. These projects were conceived to help the TASVideos and fighting game communities to record replayable sessions and to script replayable input sequences, respectively.

Do you have any other open source experience (even if not coding-related)?

Smaller scale coding projects are viewable on my Github page. Some of my older blog posts discussing my findings are also a form of open-sourcing.

Proposal Description

Overview and The Need

https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Summer_coding_ideas_for_2016#OStree_Rebases_in_Cockpit

Any relevant experience you have

I can code in the languages in which the project is written: shell, Javascript with jQuery, Python, and C. I have compiled some Fedora packages from source as well as Cockpit itself, although the project is not expected to require much C from me. I use git properly: making atomic commits, writing neat commit messages, per-issue branching, and (when possible) resolving merge conflicts. I have ongoing experience as a web developer.

How do you intend to implement your proposal

Refactoring will be done in the code base to a certain extent as discussed with the mentor and also the journaling feature - 'changelog' of glusterfs will be customised to serve the file-level synchronization.

A rough timeline for your progress

25 March - 21 April: Interim Period

• Blog regularly about the Fedora-related things I am already doing.
• Remain on top of Cockpit development, via IRC and the mailing list.

22 April - 22 May: Community Bonding Period

• Decide who my mentor is and buddy up.
• Make friends with other Fedora GSoC students.
• Contribute to other project issues, now with guidance.

Any other details you feel we should consider

I have keen interest increasing my Fedora and FOSS contribution. I also possess good knowledge of the project's codebase and I have been in regular touch with my mentor since path 2 months. link title