D'oh, forgot the actual proposal ;) Here it is:
"
About Me:
My name is João Paquim, I'm 18 years old and I live in Lisbon, Portugal.
I am a first year Aerospace Engineering student at IST, and I've been
interested in programming for a couple of years now.
I started out learning Python. I learned basic programming concepts, but
stopped for some time, I can't really recall why.
A year ago, I decided to try out Linux. I started with Ubuntu, jumped
around between the different flavors and other distros based on it:
Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Mint, among others. I resumed my Python learning,
learning a bit of PyQt, and after some time decided to tackle C.
During my first semester at the University, I had a class on programming
(with C).
I worked on a project (a game using the Allegro library) and finished the
class with a grade of 19 (out of 20).
On my free time, I learned C++, a bit of Common Lisp and Prolog, and some
Bash scripting.
I'm really kind of addicted to programming and the variety of languages out
there ;)
Nowadays, I'm using Arch Linux with KDE 4.8 as my main OS, I have been
learning Qt for a couple of months and the KDE libs, git and x86 assembly for a
couple of weeks.
I haven't participated in GSoC before, and the only experience I've had
working with a group has been the aforementioned project for the Programming
class.
Abstract:
As noted in the project ideas page, Swift is currently lacking in
multi-account support.
My intention is to allow the user to easily and intuitively have several
accounts logged in at once, and implement the backend necessary to do so.
Contact details:
Main e-mail: [email protected]
Secondary e-mail and JID: [email protected]
Schedule/Commitments:
I'll have classes until 25/05, 6 tests from 2/06 until 15/06, and recovery
exams from 23/06 until 29/06.
I'll try to avoid the recovery exams, and even with all the tests, I'll
still be pretty available during June.
I have no obligations during July or August, however.
In terms of schedule, I prefer to work in the afternoon and evening, to
facilitate contact with people in the US (because of time zones).
I also have no problem with working in the weekends, although I may
occasionally be unable to do so.
Description:
My goal is to design and implement support for multiple accounts in Swift.
As it currently stands, only a single account can be used at any particular
moment in time.
Maybe for some users that's not too bad of a problem. But other users do
have multiple accounts, associated with different contexts, and would like to
be able to access them all at once.
The aim of this project is to provide a clean and simple way to manage the
various accounts, allowing the user to easily switch from their (for instance)
work contacts and JID, to their Google Talk account and friends contacts.
In terms of contacts management, the user will be able to either have
separate windows for each account or have them neatly sorted out in a single
window.
The same goes for the chat window, the user will be able to either keep
different windows for different accounts or just have separate tabs, identified
with the account name.
I will also work on simple cross-account stuff, like porting contacts from
one account to another.
In terms of account management, the user will be able to perform simple
add/remove accounts tasks, as well as associate a nickname with each account,
for instance.
Automatic login will work with various simultaneous accounts if desired,
each account having its own checkbox associated with auto-login.
I think this set of upgrades will greatly enhance the Swift experience for
several users who crave for this type of functionality.
My focus will be on clean and easy to use interfaces, while maintaining the
current Swift design, as well as a solid, efficient backend.
Why:
I've wanted to get involved with an open-source project for some time, but
always found making the move a bit too mind-perplexing.
GSoC makes this a lot easier, making the whole thing more comfortable when
it comes to contacting the organizations, besides providing financial incentive.
I want to know what it feels like to be a part of a large project, and take
my software development skills to the real world.
In terms of this specific project, I was drawn in because of its incidence
in Qt and GUI design, which is something I've been interest in for some time.
I'll learn a lot from the experience, not only Qt itself, but also what it
feels like to work with a large team.
And I sincerely hope that my improvements will make it to the "release"
version of Swift, so I could feel some sense of accomplishment ;)
Research:
I have read up a bit on XMPP (reading the O'Reilly book), started going
through the source code and have successfully compiled Swift on my local
machine.
I've also been reading up on general GUI design guidelines.
Approach:
I will look around various chat clients and see how (if) they implemented
this sort of stuff, and try and create something new and fitting into the
current Swift interface.
Implementing the backend shouldn't be as difficult, making the frontend
easy to use and good looking should be the main challenge.
In terms of timeline, I plan to study the existing code base, do my
research and have a rough model of how stuff will work by the beginning of May.
I will start to code during May, building prototypes and gradually
implementing features.
I will be a bit busy during some weeks of Junes, but still will try to have
a working model by mid-July.
Afterwards, I will devote to polishing the rough edges and testing out
everything.
If I catch any bug (even if outside the scope of this project), I will try
and correct it.
If I find myself with time to spare, I will consider working on other stuff
in the Project Ideas page.
Difficulties:
I'll need to learn some stuff to get through, but that's part of everything.
I'll have to read the Swift source code base, learn the Swiften library,
and sharpen up my Qt.
But I think I have a good set of existing skills that allow me to tackle
this project with some confidence.
Contacts:
I have sent a couple of e-mails to the JDev mailing list regarding this
GSoC application, but I haven't yet submitted any bugfixes.
"
Cheers,
João Paquim
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:25:34 +0100
Subject: Re: [jdev] Google Summer of Code
Hey everyone,
I have (I think) finished my proposal, and have submitted it.
I wanted to know your opinion on it, and whether I do or do not have a good
chance of being selected ;)
Cheers,
João Paquim
> Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:59:14 +0100
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [jdev] Google Summer of Code
>
> On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:18 PM, João Paquim <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hey,
>
> Hi there,
>
> > I just have a question: What exactly is the goal? To have multiple users
> > logged in using a single instance of Swift? To have various accounts logged
> > in at different times but associated with different sessions (in terms of
> > settings and stuff)?
>
> That project is about allowing a user to log in with multiple XMPP
> accounts they have at once (e.g. home and work at the same time).
>
> /K
> _______________________________________________
> JDev mailing list
> Info: http://mail.jabber.org/mailman/listinfo/jdev
> Unsubscribe: [email protected]
> _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
JDev mailing list
Info: http://mail.jabber.org/mailman/listinfo/jdev
Unsubscribe: [email protected]
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
JDev mailing list
Info: http://mail.jabber.org/mailman/listinfo/jdev
Unsubscribe: [email protected]
_______________________________________________
