[GSoC Application Review] Application Review for Wayland Project

[Pekka Paalanen]

On Sun, 13 Mar 2016 18:22:18 +0100
Armin Krezović <armin.krezovic at fet.ba> wrote:

> Hello Pekka, Quentin and Kat (sorry, don't know the real name yet).
> 
> Pekka and Quentin have volounteered to review my GSoC application
> draft for the Wayland project. Pekka also suggested to add Kat to
> the list of reviewers.
> 
> As suggested, I've used Google Docs to create a document. You can
> access it at:
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bBgH8h9UiAPkipGjxHePnmcVU73Tef033-xojVWIhCU/
> 
> Embedded below is the text from document, so you can comment on
> individual sentences/paragraphs/etc if needed.
> 
> Thank you in advance and looking forward to your reply.

Hi Armin,

nice to hear from you. Since we last talked, I have learned that it is
actually encouraged for students to make their proposal drafts
completely public. You said public commenting is fine, so here it is.

> --- BEGIN HERE ---
> 
> Project Proposal: Weston output management enhancements
> 
> Armin Krezović
> 
> Introduction
> 
> My name is Armin Krezović, an engineering student studying at
> Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla, Bosnia
> and Herzegovina.
> 
> Project Scope
> 
> I am interested in implementing output hotplug in Weston. That
> includes making Weston able to start without any outputs present
> and implementing logic that handles output plugging/unplugging
> at runtime. When that's done, Weston will be able to properly
> configure newly plugged outputs, deconfigure unplugged ones and
> handle a situation when all outputs have been disconnected.
> This also includes applying different options for hotplugged
> outputs when their configuration is specified in the
> configuration file. And finally, depending on how long it will
> take to implement all the tasks listed above, I will try to
> implement output layout configuration through the Weston
> configuration file.

You might also want to consider if rewriting the output configuration
to match better the libweston architecture is in or out of scope for
your project. For reference, here are my thoughts on that:
https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/wayland-devel/2016-February/027250.html

If anyone tackles that, you may need to interact with those changes.

I think you could be more clear and concrete on what the minimal project
goals are. For example, specifying some use cases and how Weston should
work there, a bit like the project idea in the wiki is written.
Something that we can easily test (manually) and see if it is done or
not.

Minimal project goals are what make or break your project as a whole
when the GSoC is over, so you should be confident you can achieve them
in the available time.

Weston already handles, more or less, output hotplugging and
unplugging, and configuring from weston.ini. You just cannot unplug the
last output AFAIK, and there is no way to affect the layout yet.

> Why am I the right person for this task?
> 
> The main reason I want to work on this is to help the project
> grow, but also to learn new skills, both in programming and
> communication/collaboration/team work. I also want to learn
> and understand how display output work in Linux. I have
> contributed to Weston before. I wrote a couple of patches for
> the build system and have implemented configuration options
> for touchpad acceleration. All of those patches have landed
> in Weston. I have also implemented a feature suggested as a
> "small contribution" before applying for GSoC (Panel clock
> configuration), which has been reviewed and submitted to the
> Weston git repository.

Do you have experience in other FOSS projects?
Hobby projects?

> Dedication
> 
> Since I'm still attending classes and need to study to pass them,
> I won't be able to dedicate a lot of time to the project during
> semester (which ends mid June). I expect to be able to dedicate
> at least 25 hours a week in that period, where most of that time
> will be on weekends. I'll still be available on work days to
> send patches, respond to feedback, communicate with people who
> are only available during their work hours, etc. After the
> classes and terms are done, I should be able to dedicate more
> time (up to 40 hours a week, more if needed), which should be
> enough to compensate for all the time I may lose during the
>  +semester and accomplish all the tasks listed above.

This is important to reflect in your tentative work schedule/plan.

The mid-term evaluations will come in mid-June. You should have
verifiable goals for the mid-term, I think.

> Communication
> 
> I have worked on a project where developers were from different
> time zones and countries and had no difficulties with that.
> Although I speak Bosnian language, I am confident that my
> English is good enough that I can use it to communicate with
> people related to the project. I also have no problem in
> communicating via e-mail, IRC or any kind of reviewboard. I'm
> familiar enough with git, so I can easily set up a fork for the
> project where the progress can be tracked by mentor and other
> interested parties.
> 
> --- END HERE ---
> 

I think it would be good to also draft a timeline. When you start, how
much time you have available weekly, and when will you do and how long
it might take to:
- do the mandatory reporting GSoC requires
- weekly public reports on your progress (blog?)
- getting to know the code base before you can make a dent
- each of the tasks you can came up with that will lead to your goals

The schedule/plan will undoubtedly change during the project if you get
selected, but some sort of guess to begin with would be very good. You
need to know where you start and what you tackle next.


Thanks,
pq
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