Summer of Code projects for GNU

[Nick Roberts]

In previous years the GNU Project has participated in the Summer of Code:

http://www.gnu.org/software/soc-projects/ideas.html

and is mentoring some of those projects this year:

http://code.google.com/soc/2008/gnu/about.html

In the past Emacs has not been directly involved but, assuming that Google run
a Summer of Code in 2009, I think that we should suggest some projects. It's
still a long way off but successful projects appeared to be quite organised,
e.g.,

http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-soc.html

At the moment, I'm just looking for some consensus.

For my part, I would like to suggest the migration of GDB in Emacs from
annotations to fully using GDB/MI and perhaps integration with ECB. I have
quite clear ideas about how to do that and I am willing to do the mentoring.

But it would be good to have other suggestions, which would require mentoring,
too.

[Chong Yidong]

Post by Nick Roberts
In the past Emacs has not been directly involved but, assuming that Google run
a Summer of Code in 2009, I think that we should suggest some projects. It's
still a long way off but successful projects appeared to be quite organised,
e.g.,
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-soc.html
At the moment, I'm just looking for some consensus.
For my part, I would like to suggest the migration of GDB in Emacs from
annotations to fully using GDB/MI and perhaps integration with ECB. I have
quite clear ideas about how to do that and I am willing to do the mentoring.
But it would be good to have other suggestions, which would require mentoring,
too.

Good idea.

One project that I can think of is a rewrite or revamp of the
customization code.

[Thomas Lord]

Post by Chong Yidong

Post by Nick Roberts
In the past Emacs has not been directly involved but, assuming that Google run
a Summer of Code in 2009, I think that we should suggest some projects. It's
still a long way off but successful projects appeared to be quite organised,
e.g.,
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-soc.html
At the moment, I'm just looking for some consensus.

Are you sure the GNU project should be supporting GSoC?

For their investment in the project, Google gets a lot of volunteer
marketing, with people putting up posters at universities, press
coverage, etc. Yet, they don't talk about free software but, rather,
open source. And, in administering the project, they collect a lot
of HR-type recruitment data, both demographic and individual,
about the students. And, they pick the funded projects by fiat rather
than accountably. And, they arguably underpay the host projects
relative to the supervisory and reporting obligations they impose.
And, Google is very much a proprietary software company with
no signs of trying to change that.

I think GNU (and FSF) should look at the past few years of
GSoC, at the amounts of money spent on students and towards
FSF, add that up, and say:

"Hey, we appreciate support. But this process is, at best, inefficient.
Your terms for getting that money is problematic. How about just
giving us that money directly, instead, through one or more NPOs,
earmarked for development? We don't want to encourage aspirants
to your program to advertise for you gratis. We don't want to be obligated
to report to you in those ways. We just want to advance software freedom
and develop free software and we can do that much better if you just
give us the money with fewer strings attached."


-t

Post by Chong Yidong

Post by Nick Roberts
For my part, I would like to suggest the migration of GDB in Emacs from
annotations to fully using GDB/MI and perhaps integration with ECB. I have
quite clear ideas about how to do that and I am willing to do the mentoring.
But it would be good to have other suggestions, which would require mentoring,
too.

Good idea.
One project that I can think of is a rewrite or revamp of the
customization code.

[Nick Roberts]

Post by Thomas Lord

Post by Nick Roberts
In the past Emacs has not been directly involved but, assuming that Google run
a Summer of Code in 2009, I think that we should suggest some projects. It's
still a long way off but successful projects appeared to be quite organised,
e.g.,
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/grub-soc.html
At the moment, I'm just looking for some consensus.

Are you sure the GNU project should be supporting GSoC?

I leave that judgement to those who are better informed than me and can
influence the GNU project. I would think that it has considered the issues.
It has participated over the past three years and has presumably found it
beneficial in the past.

On this list I think we need only discuss what Emacs related projects we would
like to see.

[Chong Yidong]

And, Google is very much a proprietary software company with no signs
of trying to change that.

Google is primarily an *in-house* software company.

[Miles Bader]

Post by Thomas Lord
Are you sure the GNU project should be supporting GSoC?

Yes.

-Miles

[Richard M Stallman]

I think GNU (and FSF) should look at the past few years of
GSoC, at the amounts of money spent on students and towards
FSF, add that up, and say:

I think it would be interesting to add it up,
and then think about what conclusions to draw.

[Bastien]

Post by Chong Yidong
One project that I can think of is a rewrite or revamp of the
customization code.

Does anyone uses Customization Themes?

(info "(emacs)Customization Themes")

I came across this while trying to use two custom files, one that I
would load when `window-system' is non-nil, the other one when it is
nil.

But I don't want to create a theme from scratch. It would be great to
be able to convert an existing custom file into a theme.

Does anyone have this in his Emacs toolbox?

(I'd also plead for a separate custom file for faces, but that's a
different issue.)