Re: [boost] [gsoc]

Subject: Re: [boost] [gsoc]
From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-03-26 14:20:01

Simonson, Lucanus J wrote:
> From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden]
> [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]] On Behalf Of Robert Ramey
>> Based on this I really have reservations that GSOC is really useful
>> to boost.
>
> Having gone through stages I through V that Robert describes myself,
> his description rings true.  I'll even admit to having some
> pathological stubbornness.  ;)
>
> I believe that GSOC is useful to boost.  There are people who want to
> go through all five stages, and many of them start that journey while
> they are students.  I think GSOC might help us find perhaps one or
> two such students per year in addition to the people who would join
> the community otherwise.  I write the rest of the GSOC projects that
> fail off as the price we pay to find those few.  Every engineering
> endeavor is in a state of failure until it succeeds.  Perseverance is
> how the people who mentor GSOC students got to that position and it
> is what we are looking for in the students.  I don't see us giving up
> on the quest, it's not in our character.
>
> Regards,
> Luke

Maybe I came across as more negative than I wanted.

I think the GSOC is fine. I just don't think it's realistic
as an option to getting more boost libraries or getting
people to work on finishing other boost libraries.

To me, the best use of student's time is to work on "toy"
projects where they learn something that the "real world"
(i.e. a real job) doesn't have time or interest to teach them.
A boost library is 2% inspiration and 98% real work.
They'll have a lifetime of the latter.  If we want to mentor
them - fine, but just don't count on many libraries out of it.

If a student is truely interested in doing something, we
should encourage them to take on a smaller project like
adding a small enhancement to some existing library.  For
example, adding a new kind of archive to the serialization
library would be a "bite size" chunk.  I'm sure there are
lot's of other things out ther.  We have alist of them somewhere.

Robert Ramey