[gsoc] Frequently asked questions

March 22, 2019

Posted by Seb

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Seb

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@students: Please make sure to read these three guides:

https://google.github.io/gsocguides/student/index
https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/faq
https://github.com/OrkoHunter/gsoc-FAQs
---

Additionally, here are some of the more common questions that we get asked:

Q: How do I apply for project ideas?
------------------------------------

You apply on Google's official GSoC platform. The applications are open from March 25 18:00 UTC	to April 9 18:00 UTC. This is a a _hard_ deadline and enforced by Google. Hence, we encourage you to submit your application early, s.t. you don't accidentally miss this year's GSoC.

https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/timeline

Q: Can I apply earlier?
-----------------------

Absolutely. You can continue to improve and update your application until its frozen on April 9 18:00 UTC (i.e. the application deadline). However, remember to submit the final PDF _before_ the deadline.

We encourage you to do so, because we might be able to provide feedback on your application before the application deadline. In other words: you would still have time to incorporate this feedback in your application.

Q: Can I send you my application for review?
--------------------------------------------

No. Please don't. We won't review any applications sent via email or other means. We will only review applications posted via Google's GSoC platform:

https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com

However, we do encourage you to discuss your ideas publicly as this will help you to create a stronger application.

Q: I'm new to D and would like to apply. Is this still possible?
-------------------------------------------------------------

Yes of course and we do encourage you to do so.
However, we recommend you to get involved with D prior to your proposal submission deadline in April.
Two good starting points are:

- https://tour.dlang.org
- https://wiki.dlang.org/Get_involved

Bugzilla can be a bit daunting at first, but there's also the "bootcamp" label on Bugzilla:

https://issues.dlang.org/buglist.cgi?component=phobos&keywords=bootcamp%2C%20preapproved&keywords_type=anywords&list_id=225005&product=D&query_format=advanced&resolution=---

You can always ask for help and pointers to getting involved on the DForum, IRC or Slack.

Q: Can you help me with picking projects?
-----------------------------------------

This depends on your personal preferences and as we don't really know you, we would have a hard time to help you to find a good project. However, the GSoC project idea page [1] provides quite a few ideas to help you to get started. If you already have experience with D, you might also want to propose your own project (maybe there's this one thing that always bothered you about D and you now can take an entire summer to fix/improve this).
For students who are new to D, we recommend picking one of the projects that are easier to get started.

My personal recommendation would be the Dub project (D's package manager) as moderately simple to get the ball going here:

- understand Dub's architecture (https://github.com/dlang/dub/blob/master/ARCHITECTURE.md)
- find an issue on Dub's issue tracker (https://github.com/dlang/dub/issues)
- clone/fork dub
- run build.sh to build dub
- fix the issue (-> this is your opportunity to learn more about D and Dub)
- submit the PR

Another good project for newcomers would be the Mir project as it doesn't depend on D's standard library, so the learning surface is lower.

[1] https://wiki.dlang.org/GSOC_2019_Ideas

Q: What can I do improve my application?
----------------------------------------

tl;dr:

- Gather feedback & knowledge on your project (e.g. here on this NG)
- Work out a realistic road-map
- Get involved with your project (e.g. fixing first issues)

Q: What should my application include?
--------------------------------------

Check this guide for more details:

https://google.github.io/gsocguides/student/writing-a-proposal

Q: What are the key criteria that you'll be looking at in my application?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few rough points that we will look at:

- your proposed road-map (i.e. how likely is it for you to finish successfully?)
- your skill set in regards to your project (i.e. have you done anything in the problem domain you're applying for?)
- engagement in the community / experience with D (i.e. your prior contributions to D)
...

I highly recommend you to read this student guide as it contains very helpful advice on the GSoC:

http://write.flossmanuals.net/gsocstudentguide/what-is-google-summer-of-code


Q: Will there be an interview stage?
------------------------------------

We will definitely ask you a few follow-up questions on your application when you're in your top selection. The more you answer in your application, the less we will need to ask you afterwards.

tl;dr:
 - make sure to provide a working email address in your application
 - keep checking your inbox every now and then after you submitted your GSoC application.


Q: Where can I ask more questions?
----------------------------------

- DForum (https://forum.dlang.org/newpost/general?subject=%5Bgsoc%5D)
- IRC (#d)
- (depending on the project) on its issue tracker
- Slack (#gsoc channel)
- Mail (gsoc [at] dlang [dot] rocks)

Happy hacking!

On Saturday, 6 April 2019 at 21:39:06 UTC, Seb wrote:
> On Thursday, 4 April 2019 at 14:09:20 UTC, Seb wrote:
>> On Sunday, 31 March 2019 at 19:38:17 UTC, Seb wrote:
>>> On Friday, 22 March 2019 at 10:25:04 UTC, Seb wrote:
>>>> ---
>>>> @students: Please make sure to read these three guides:
>>>>
>>>> [...]
>>>
>>> Bumping this to the front page as the application period is now open.
>>
>> Another bump as the application deadline is approaching soon.
>
> Final bump.
>
> The deadline for students to submit their Final PDF proposal is Tuesday, April 9 at 18:00 UTC.
> Students without Final PDF proposals cannot be accepted, and there will be no exceptions.

The last 24 hours are running. If you haven't submitted a proposal by now, this is your last chance ;-)

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