Re: [gsoc2020][Boost.GIL] Advice needed regarding competency.

From: Mateusz Loskot (mateusz_at_[hidden])
Date: 2020-02-23 16:38:04

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 at 16:39, sarthak via Boost <boost_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone, I am Sarthak, a second year undergraduate engineering student. I
> wish to contribute to boost open source development during gsoc2020,
> specifically to Boost.GIL. But, I am not sure whether I am competent enough
> [...]

One of the reasons Boost asks students to solve competency test
is to also help students auto-evaluate their skills.

> First, my reasons to contribute to boost -
> - I am reasonably proficient in programming (C++ included). I know I will be
> able to demonstrate it through programming competency test and all. In my
> day to day programming I normally do not use meta programming techniques
> which are prevalent in boost, this has made me more excited to work on boost
> because I will get to use these new fancy constructs :D

Well, it often takes also "to create" these fancy constructs
and that may turn into a serious obstacle.

> - I just want to be part of open source community for once, sincerely. I
> have been using FOSS since forever and as a developer I have been longing to
> pay back, this is a good chance for me to do the same.

Perhaps you should consider to start contributing to Boots libraries
without any serious obligations like GSoC first. Pick a library of your
interest, find a feature you'd like to implement, do the work,
submit pull request, collaborate with reviewers, get your work accepted.
That approach would improve your confidence along with experience and skills.

> - Why GIL (Project 1)? I want to learn image processing.
>
> Now this is where it gets tricky, the thing is that I am passionate about
> doing image processing, but I am not well versed with its theory. I have
> done a course on Signals and Systems in my university but that is pretty
> much it. This means that at the least I would need to learn image processing
> algorithms as we go on.

Well, that feels similar to the metaprogramming issue discussed earlier.

If you look at recent GIL pull requests which some interested students
submitted as their competency tests, you should get an idea of what
a basic expression skills and knowledge looks like. For GSoC project
itself it takes more, often much more.

> Not that I hate it (on the contrary in fact) but
> that I am not really sure if it is possible at all for someone like me to
> contribute meaningfully during the few months of GSoC. I would love to hear
> from a mentor's experience of previous students on this. Honestly I would
> like to be rejected now if at all than after submitting my proposal with
> false hopes, or worse moving on with GSoC with such false hopes.

I was one of GIL mentors during GSoC 2019.
AFAIR, we received 15 or more proposals to GIL alone
and quality of those proposals was from zero to hero.
Given that Google allocated 11 slots to Boost
https://lists.boost.org/Archives/boost/2019/04/246073.php
the competition during proposals selection was serious.
There are risks on both sides and mentors have tough task too.

If you read Google's guidelines to mentors here
https://google.github.io/gsocguides/mentor/selecting-a-student
you should get an idea what aspects are taken into account.

Best regards,
--
Mateusz Loskot, http://mateusz.loskot.net