[HN Gopher] Google Summer of Code 2023
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       Google Summer of Code 2023
        
       Author : Nicole9
       Score  : 237 points
       Date   : 2023-03-17 06:44 UTC (16 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (summerofcode.withgoogle.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (summerofcode.withgoogle.com)
        
       | More-nitors wrote:
       | I'm no longer student at a university (working) -- can I apply?
       | are there any age restrictions?
        
         | ghoshbishakh wrote:
         | I believe you must be enrolled as a student in some accredited
         | institution.
        
           | em-bee wrote:
           | not anymore
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | yes, the program is now open to anyone. i don't think there are
         | age restrictions.
         | 
         | the primary condition is that you are new to FOSS and are not
         | an active contributor already
        
           | nalinidash wrote:
           | You should be over 18.There is no maximum age restriction
           | though.
        
           | hgsgm wrote:
           | > the primary condition is that you are new to FOSS and are
           | not an active contributo
           | 
           | Why? People who are interested and caring enough to start
           | without getting paid, and who have shown they are more likely
           | to succeed, are the ones who are excluded? That's toxic to
           | FOSS culture.
        
             | em-bee wrote:
             | the point of the program is to attract new contributors,
             | not to reward old ones. how is that toxic?
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | lokedhs wrote:
       | I loved summer of code and participated every year. Then one year
       | they changed the system and all of a sudden it was no longer
       | possible to submit in any language.
       | 
       | Like everything else by Google they had become boring. The best
       | part of summer of code was always the interesting solutions in
       | all kinds of languages.
       | 
       | I usually used Common Lisp for these problems, and even though I
       | believe it's supported, it's just not fun anymore.
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | you are confusing something. that is not the summer of code
         | program
        
           | progbits wrote:
           | They mean Code Jam.
           | 
           | And I agree, it was nice to see ridiculous solutions in
           | obscure languages (or pen+paper), which you can't get on
           | codeforces/topcoder.
           | 
           | But now that too has been cancelled...
        
       | ArtWomb wrote:
       | Summer of MediaPipe ;)
       | 
       | https://mediapipe.dev/
        
       | mixedbit wrote:
       | The first Summer of Code without Chris DiBona.
        
         | gpderetta wrote:
         | I was in the SoC 2006 and I still remember Chris setting
         | everything up and communicating with the students.
         | 
         | edit: Having the SoC experience on my CV certainly helped land
         | my first job.
        
           | goy wrote:
           | Which org did you work for during GSoC ?
        
             | gpderetta wrote:
             | Boost.
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | chris hasn't been running GSOC for some years now. i am not
         | sure he was even involved in GSOC after he stopped.
        
         | cdibona wrote:
         | While the program was part of my portfolio, it really has been
         | Stephanie Taylors' work for years. She's pretty remarkable!
        
       | commodorepet wrote:
       | I took part in GSoC in 2007, it change my whole life. Coming from
       | Eastern Europe and with very little English it exposed me to
       | experienced engineers from Silicon Valley that I would never
       | think to contact. That lead to an internship at NASA a year
       | after, and those references lead to a Ph.D. from Ivy League and a
       | career in AI. That short acceptance letter turned to my life
       | upside down and I can't be more grateful that Google is still
       | doing it for another generation of engineers.
        
         | MattJ100 wrote:
         | Snap! 2007 was my year too, and yes, it really sparked
         | everything for me.
         | 
         | Very new to the community, my accepted GSoC project was adding
         | some features to an XMPP library. I discovered recently that
         | this library is in use by the Zoom desktop client.
         | 
         | Now, 15 years later, I'm the Executive Director of the XMPP
         | Standards Foundation and our organization is still
         | participating in Google Summer of Code. It's great to have new
         | people in the community, especially the ones for who GSoC is
         | that same spark it was for me and many others, and the ones who
         | stick around long after GSoC ends.
         | 
         | GSoC 2007 was also the year they gave us Karl Fogel's Producing
         | Open-source Software book (he managed to sign every copy!).
         | This amazing instruction manual, combined with the GSoC
         | experience, gave me the confidence to launch my own open-source
         | projects (such as the XMPP server software that powers things
         | such as Jitsi Meet).
         | 
         | I'm really glad that the GSoC programme continues, and hope it
         | will deliver the same kind of impact for new generations of
         | developers and open-source projects.
        
         | cl42 wrote:
         | GSoC 2005 (I think) checking in, too!
         | 
         | Worked on building an R plugin for OpenOffice, so you can use
         | the spreadsheet as an interface to R.
         | 
         | Also my first time working with professional software engineers
         | and codebase. So much fun.
         | 
         | Amazing what a great program this continues to be!
        
       | codexb wrote:
       | OMG, I can't believe Plone is still kicking. God, please, nobody
       | work on that. It doesn't need to exist any longer.
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | why? it's no worse than drupal or any other CMS.
        
       | lurker919 wrote:
       | GSOC brings up so many emotions in me. 2 years of rejection at
       | the proposal stage made my heart shrivel and weep as much as any
       | ex-lover. The yearly ritual of going through the orgs and
       | projects felt like ruffling through presents under a Christmas
       | tree. My first acceptance in 2015 gave me joy, fame, glory among
       | peers and immeasurable confidence. If only real world jobs could
       | be as joyful.
        
       | boomanaiden154 wrote:
       | I participated in Google Summer of Code last year and had an
       | amazing experience. I was able to work on an awesome project (ML
       | for replacing heuristics in LLVM), met a ton of amazing people
       | that I otherwise wouldn't have come across, and gained a ton of
       | SE experience, all while getting paid for it (something that
       | might not have been an option outside of GSoC for someone fresh
       | out of high school).
       | 
       | I now have an internship lined up for the summer due to the
       | connections that I made and am working in a pretty exciting area
       | of research. GSoC might have completely changed what I'll be
       | doing in the future and definitely was an amazing opportunity.
       | I'm signed up as a mentor this year, so hopefully I can help
       | provide some of that experience to someone else.
        
       | Mashimo wrote:
       | Mixxx <3
       | 
       | I don't use it myself. But it's good to see an open source
       | solution in the DJ ecosystem. More and more DJ software go the
       | monthly subscription route.
       | 
       | Oh BTW, if someone is bored: I think this library needs some RUST
       | dev help: https://github.com/Holzhaus/rekordcrate/pull/71 In
       | theory, this library would allow open source project to write
       | "Pioneer rekordbox usb keys" Pioneer hardware are used in a lot
       | of clubs around the world and effectively need music files
       | exported by Rekordbox. Would be cool to have 3rd party apps do
       | this.
        
         | biorach wrote:
         | Oh wow, this could be really helpful in opening up the
         | ecosystem
        
       | matchbok wrote:
       | Unrelated, but the navigation on this site is very confusing. How
       | have we moved from standard top heads with links to a mystery
       | meat navigation button in the top left that hides everything,
       | with the header vertically oriented. So weird.
        
       | codetrotter wrote:
       | Yay FreeBSD is there this year as well
       | https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/organizati...
        
       | ancieque wrote:
       | GSoC is a remnant of the old Google. Glad to see it is still
       | there.
        
         | klysm wrote:
         | shhhhh don't tell them or it may get vanished
        
       | TheLoop75 wrote:
       | I'm currently a cs masters student and write my thesis this
       | summer (dont have a project yet). I wonder if I will be able to
       | find a project in GSoC and write a thesis with a mentor ?
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | the focus of GSOC is code, so your thesis would have to be very
         | code heavy for that to work. do you have a topic yet? if not,
         | look at what organizations/projects fit your field of
         | study/interest, and talk to your supervisors if you could write
         | a thesis around one of those.
         | 
         | then (if accepted) you work on the code for GSOC and write your
         | thesis for your school.
        
           | TheLoop75 wrote:
           | Thanks this helps. Yes I want to combine software development
           | with some sort of machine learning. I think this applies to
           | almost every analytical field. In GSoC Orgs like learning
           | software for kids are interesting. But I have to dive deeper
           | into the projects offered..
        
       | DeathArrow wrote:
       | We should have more programs where large companies teach, mentor
       | and tutor students while letting them work on something useful
       | and tangible.
        
         | jmmv wrote:
         | Like internships?
        
       | ulfw wrote:
       | Will there be a summer of more layoffs too? A second round like
       | Facebook?
        
       | prxtl wrote:
       | I was a Summer of Code student back in 2009, and it defined my
       | career in software engineering, and completely changed the way I
       | looked at building real world software.
       | 
       | Not directly, but being a GSoC student led to some interesting
       | international travel and freelancing opportunities. I met many
       | senior engineers who'd spent decades more than me (at that point)
       | and was able to sit in on their discussions and meetings. I
       | wasn't even directly involved or responsible for anything, I was
       | still a student... but just by osmosis, it shaped so many of my
       | thoughts and opinions.
        
       | manca wrote:
       | Glad to see this is still going. I was sad to see CodeJam being
       | shut down recently. We need more programs like GSoC and CJ as
       | they encourage students to take a part of something great and
       | contribute to the open source community.
       | 
       | My GSoC year was 2010 and it was definitely an amazing experience
       | -- not just getting to meet and work alongside amazing community,
       | but also to sharpen my software engineering skills, improve
       | communication and have fun along the way.
       | 
       | If you're a student, please find something interesting you'd like
       | to work on and apply! Find where the folks hang out and reach out
       | to them! They'll be happy to help you get started! Back in the
       | day we used irc.freenode.net as our communication hub for pretty
       | much all OSS talk, but I am sure there are Slack or Discord
       | servers now available for most projects.
       | 
       | Have fun!
        
       | danjoredd wrote:
       | Can I still take part in Summer of Code even though I have
       | graduated college? When I graduated in December 2020 I did a bit
       | of Help Desk work and then moved on to be a Systems Analyst, but
       | I have been thinking pretty heavily on switching over to being a
       | software engineer. Having this on my resume would absolutely help
       | my prospects
        
       | goy wrote:
       | Some advices for a first timer? I'm considering sending a
       | proposal to strace but I'm reading some part of the source code,
       | (git-blaming around) but I don't think I understand it enough to
       | modify it ...
        
         | hgsgm wrote:
         | You should already be working on a project you care about
         | before you start a proposal.
        
           | doytch wrote:
           | I disagree. I did GSoC on a project I hadn't been
           | contributing to beforehand and I still delivered useful
           | changes.
        
         | doytch wrote:
         | When have you ever seen a complex, in-production software
         | system and immediately thought "yeah I get this!"?
         | 
         | If you're anything like me, you'll have this feeling on every
         | new project and new job you start for a while. I'm in my late
         | thirties and am finally starting to realize that "hey, I have
         | this feeling a lot and it's always wrong."
         | 
         | Push through it. Write the proposal. I think the proposal-
         | writing process is the very best aspect of GSoC since it forces
         | you into something that you really don't tend to do in
         | traditional learning like universities. It forces you to think
         | a bit like a product person even and explain benefits and
         | tradeoffs, backing up your beliefs.
        
       | AddictedA1 wrote:
       | u have to start from earlier with jumping in between likely not
       | gonna get, open there dev chat already 50 people for 4 position 8
       | will be mentor. They not gonna prefer outsider, from december
       | stick around a lot then have best proposal likely gonna get.
        
       | iliekcomputers wrote:
       | GSoC basically changed my entire career. I'm glad that Google
       | keeps this running, especially given that they got rid of other
       | cool competitions like Codejam. Hopefully, they can continue
       | finding the budget for these extremely valuable contributions to
       | open-source.
        
         | assdontgot wrote:
         | do share some google employment stories, as these are aging
         | well haha
        
           | red-iron-pine wrote:
           | Sigh. Lots, arguably most, of those laid off were tech-
           | adjacent, not necessarily the core-engineering types that
           | would have been doing GSoC.
           | 
           | Plus GSoC is for the youngbloods, the noobs, and getting
           | their feet wet with real code and big orgs. It's a career
           | starter, not a career bastion.
        
             | [deleted]
        
             | ulfw wrote:
             | [flagged]
        
         | sailorganymede wrote:
         | How did it impact you, if I may ask?
        
       | bradrn wrote:
       | I really wanted to do GSoC last year. However, I am in the
       | Southern Hemisphere, and in contrast to the long Northern
       | Hemisphere summer holiday, during this time we have a short
       | winter holiday of only a few weeks. This year I still want to do
       | it, but I have the same problem -- April to August is simply not
       | a workable time period for me.
       | 
       | Thus: does anyone know if there are similar initiatives to
       | connect students with mentors, but with more flexible timing?
       | 
       | (Or, y'know, I guess I could just contact the people listed on
       | the GSoC page informally... but it would be nice if there were
       | something more organised!)
        
         | therealmarv wrote:
         | Word of advice from somebody who lived in Europe during GSoC
         | and also did not had 3 months free: Still do it if you are
         | young. It's invaluable and sometimes even more important for a
         | career in tech than the degree you get at the end of your study
         | (for me it was the case). Would not be were I am without GSoC
         | 2011.
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | one of the more recent changes is that the program is more
         | flexible. it's no longer only 3 months full-time, but there is
         | also the option to work on projects that are only half-size,
         | and i believe they can be done in the same full time frame.
         | look at the gsoc site for the specific rules and look for
         | projects that might fit. talk to mentors and see how you can
         | fit your time for a project like that.
        
       | samwestdev wrote:
       | How does it work? Can you partake in it even if you're not a
       | student?
        
         | progbits wrote:
         | The rules are quite clear and linked on the page but if you
         | can't be bothered:
         | 
         | > GSoC Contributors.
         | 
         | > Eligibility.
         | 
         | > Requirements. To participate in the Program, a GSoC
         | Contributor must: be eighteen (18) years of age or older upon
         | registration for the Program; for the duration of the Program,
         | be eligible to work in the country in which they reside; not be
         | an Organization Administrator or Mentor in the Program; and be
         | a student or a beginner to open source software development.
        
       | bow_ wrote:
       | GSoC is awesome and I'm happy to see it's still running.
       | 
       | The experience I got as a student in 2012 was invaluable for my
       | career in tech ~ more so since I did not formally study CS. It
       | introduced me to so much: a lot of the programming itself,
       | collaborating with fellow developers.
       | 
       | I spent one year preparing for it, and man seeing my proposal
       | accepted was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced
       | (much better than when I graduated, even). A close second is
       | knowing that I actually was helping people with my code (I still
       | keep the emails where people sent me questions about the library
       | API I was developing).
       | 
       | I hope this year's (and future) batches of students get to
       | experience the same (if not more) highs :).
        
       | timmg wrote:
       | Dumb question: is this only meant for students/non-professionals?
       | 
       | It seems like a fun thing to do in retirement :)
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | it's now open to anyone who is not already an active FOSS
         | contributor.
         | 
         | and yes, it does sound like a great way to start a new hobby
         | for your retirement days.
        
           | PartiallyTyped wrote:
           | According to the FAQ, you are not allowed if you are an
           | _experienced_ professional.
           | 
           | When is somebody an "experienced" professional? 1 yoe? 2 yoe?
        
           | gabanutrition wrote:
           | I've been contributing to FOSS once in a while, but I don't
           | considered myself an active one. I want to be one tho.
           | 
           | Can I still participate?
        
             | indrora wrote:
             | This comes up in the mentors list like clockwork. A tiny
             | patch here or there won't hurt your chances of getting your
             | proposal looked at. In fact, some projects required
             | extensive participation before accepting students, though I
             | think that has settled down in recent years now that the
             | requirement went from "student" to "New in Open Source
             | contributions"
        
       | UltimateEdge wrote:
       | Is it socially acceptable to post comments in code review as a
       | non-participant? There are some really cool projects listed for
       | the org that I worked for last year.
        
         | em-bee wrote:
         | if your comments are a positive contribution they may be
         | welcome. in code review it depends on what your role there is
         | or was. if it involves parts that you have contributed to (and
         | thus have experience with) then it should be fine.
         | 
         |  _the org that I worked for last year_
         | 
         | one of the goals of GSOC is to motivate you to continue to
         | contribute after your GSOC project completes. so you should
         | certainly be welcome to get involved. many GSOC participants
         | also volunteer as mentors later.
        
       | angryGhost wrote:
       | This looks awesome, wish I had a mentorship program like this
       | while learning. I feel like I would still gain a lot of value
       | from this but it seems like a full time commitment which I can't
       | do alongside work
        
       | zoobab wrote:
       | Looking for a student to add OpenWRT packages to OpenSuSE build
       | Service (OBS), so that you can host your own packages:
       | 
       | https://projects.freifunk.net/#/projects?project=openwrt_ppa...
        
         | champtar wrote:
         | OpenWrt packages repo accepts pretty much all open source
         | packages, would love to see efforts directed there to improve
         | the experience.
        
       | ognarb wrote:
       | It will be the forth year I will be mentoring projects \o/. If
       | someone is interested in contributing to KDE, we have a list of
       | ideas here: https://community.kde.org/GSoC/2023/Ideas
        
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       (page generated 2023-03-17 23:02 UTC)