Summer of Code - Getting Started: Difference between revisions

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The following is distilled from the [[Projects]] page for the benefit of potential [http://code.google.com/soc/Google Summer] [http://sophia.estec.esa.int/socis2012/?q=node/13 of Code] students. Although students are welcome to attempt any of the projects in that page or any of their own choosing, here we offer some suggestions on what good student projects might be.
{{Note|GNU Octave is a [https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2024/organizations/gnu-octave mentoring organization for GSoC 2024].}}


= General Guidelines =
Since 2011 the GNU Octave project has successfully mentored:
* [[Summer of Code | '''42 participants''' 🙂]]
* [[Summer of Code | '''44 projects''' 📝]]
in [[Summer of Code]] (SoC) programs by [https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/ Google] and [https://esa.int/ ESA].


Octave is mostly written in (sadly, mostly undocumented) C++ and its own scripting language (m-scripts), which includes (or should include) most of the Matlab language as a subset. We generally prefer a different Octave house style to the usual Matlab style for m-scripts, but it's primarily a superficial stylistic difference. Additionally, there are bits and pieces of Fortran, Perl, C, awk, and Unix shell scripts here and there. In addition to being familiar with C++ and/or Octave or Matlab's scripting languages, you should probably be familiar or learn about Octave's infrastructure:
Those SoC programs aim to advertise open-source software development and to attract potential new Octave developers.


* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_build_system The GNU build system] is used to build Octave. While you generally don't need to understand too much unless you actually want to change how Octave is built, you should be able to understand enough to get a general idea of how to build Octave. If you've ever done a <tt>configure && make && make install</tt> series of commands, you have already used the GNU build system.
= Steps toward a successful application =
* [http://mercurial.selenic.com/ Mercurial] (abbreviated hg) is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_Version_Control_System distributed version control system] (DVCS) we use for managing our source code. You should have some basic understanding of how a DVCS works, but hg is pretty easy to pick up, especially if you already know a VCS like git or svn.
* You should also read the same [http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/doc/interpreter/Contributing-Guidelines.html#Contributing-Guidelines contributing] [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/etc/HACKING guidelines] we have for everyone.
* We primarily use [https://mailman.cae.wisc.edu/listinfo/octave-maintainers mailing lists] for communication. You should follow basic mailing list etiquette. For us, this mostly means "do not [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_posting#Top-posting top post]".
* We also have [http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/chat.html an IRC channel]. The atmosphere is more relaxed, and we may talk about things that are not at all related to Octave.
* [http://octave.sf.net Octave-Forge] is a project closely related to Octave where packages reside. They are somewhat analogous to Matlab's toolboxes.
* In addition, you probably should know '''some''' mathematics, engineering, or experimental science or something of the sort. If you've used Matlab before, you probably have already been exposed to the kinds of problems that Octave is used for.


= Suggested projects =
# 😉💬 '''We want to get to know you (before the deadline).  Communicate with us.'''
#* Join [https://octave.discourse.group/ '''Octave Discourse'''] or [[IRC]] for general discussion and to ask questions (Please do not use the bug tracker for general GSOC inquiries unrelated to specific bugs found with Octave.) Using a nickname is fine.
#* Show us that you're motivated to work on Octave 💻.  There is no need to present an overwhelming CV 🏆; evidence of involvement with Octave is more important.
#* '''<span style="color:darkblue;">If you never talked to us, we will likely reject your proposal</span>''', even it looks good 🚮
# 👩‍🔬 '''Get your hands dirty.'''
#* We are curious about your programming skills 🚀
#** Your application will be much stronger if you [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=octave fix Octave bugs] or [https://savannah.gnu.org/patch/?group=octave submit patches] before or during the application period.
#** You can take a look at the [[short projects]] for some simple bugs to start with.
#* '''Use Octave!'''
#** If you come across something that does not work the way you like ➡️ try to fix that 🔧
#** Or if you find a missing function ➡️ try to implement it.
# 📝💡 '''Tell us what you are going to do.'''
#* Do not write just to say what project you're interested in.  Be specific about what you are going to do, include links 🔗, show us you know what you are talking about 💡, and ask many [http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html smart questions] 🤓
#* Remember, '''we are volunteer developers and not your boss''' 🙂
# 📔 '''Prepare your proposal with us.'''
#* Try to show us as early as possible a draft of your proposal 📑
#* If we see your proposal for the first time after the application deadline, it might easily contain some paragraphs not fully clear to us.  Ongoing interaction will give us more confidence that you are capable of working on your project 🙂👍
#* Here’s a sample proposal outline that you can use as a reference when drafting your own application. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kGtT9_f0FrXdCKwyKEWwOV6R-AU90bkd/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115736651221450989198&rtpof=true&sd=true Sample Proposal]
#* Then submit the proposal following the applicable rules, e.g. for [https://google.github.io/gsocguides/student/writing-a-proposal GSoC]. 📨


The following projects are broadly grouped by category and probable skills required to tackle each. Remember to check [[Projects]] for more ideas if none of these suit you, and your own ideas are always welcome.
= How do we judge your application? =


== Numerical ==
Depending on the mentors and SoC program there are varieties, but typically the main factors considered would be:


These projects involve implementing certain mathematical functions in Octave.
* '''You have demonstrated interest in Octave and an ability to make substantial modifications to Octave'''
*: The most important thing is that you've contributed some interesting code samples to judge your skills. It's OK during the application period to ask for help on how to format these code samples, which normally are Mercurial patches.


'''Required skills''': You should understand quite a bit of mathematics. Words like "eigenvalue", "analytic", and "Taylor series" shouldn't scare you at all. There is probably little C++ experience required, and probably many of these problems can be solved with m-scripts.
* '''You showed understanding of your topic'''
*: Your proposal should make it clear that you're reasonably well versed in the subject area and won't need all summer just to read up on it.


'''Difficulty''': Mid-to-hard depending how much mathematics you know and how well you can read numerical analysis journal articles.
* '''Well thought out, adequately detailed, realistic project plan'''
*: "I'm good at this, so trust me" isn't enough.  In your proposal, you should describe which algorithms you'll use and how you'll integrate with existing Octave code.  You should also prepare a project timeline and goals for the midterm and final evaluations.


'''Potential mentor''': Carlo de Falco, Nir Krakauer, Fotios Kasolis, Luis Gustavo Lira
= What you should know about Octave =


=== Incomplete sparse factorizations ichol, ilu ===
GNU Octave is mostly written in C++ and its own scripting language that is mostly compatible with Matlab. There are bits and pieces of Fortran, Perl, C, awk, and Unix shell scripts here and there. In addition to being familiar with C++ and Octave's scripting language, you as successful applicant will be familiar with or able to quickly learn about Octave's infrastructure. You can't spend the whole summer learning how to build Octave or prepare a changeset and still successfully complete your project 😇


Implement incomplete Cholesky and LU factorization for sparse matrices. These functions are [http://www.mathworks.it/it/help/matlab/matrix-decomposition.html available in Matlab] as cholinc/ichol and luinc/ilu. Incomplete factorizations are useful as preconditioners
You should know:
for iterative solvers such as [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/119ce9f5e1a3/scripts/sparse/gmres.m gmres] and
# How to build Octave from its source code using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_build_system the GNU build system].
[http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/119ce9f5e1a3/scripts/sparse/gmres.m gmres] or [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/119ce9f5e1a3/scripts/sparse/pcg.m pcg].
#* Read in this wiki: [[Developer FAQ]], [[Building]]
The classic book [http://netlib.org/linalg/html_templates/node81.html Templates for the Solution of Linear Systems: Building Blocks for Iterative Methods] has a [http://netlib.org/linalg/html_templates/node100.html#SECTION00933000000000000000 chapter] describing the
#* Tools to know: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Compiler_Collection gcc], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_(software) make]
ILU algorithm in detail, though the algorithm described there should be adapted to Octave's internal Sparse Matrix file format which is [http://netlib.org/linalg/html_templates/node92.html#SECTION00931200000000000000 CCS] rather than [http://netlib.org/linalg/html_templates/node91.html#SECTION00931100000000000000 CRS]. The implementation of ILU in Octave has been recently discussed in the maintainers list and initial implementations were posted in this [http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/Ilu-function-tp4648677.html thread]. In another [http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/Re-Octave-maintainers-Digest-Vol-80-Issue-15-tp4646303.html thread] it was suggested to implement the ILU by interfacing Octave to [http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~saad/software/ITSOL/ ITSOL]. Compared to other
# How to submit patches (changesets).
projects in this section this one might require more knowledge of C++.
#* Read in this wiki: [[Contribution guidelines]], [[Mercurial]]
#* Tools to know: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercurial Mercurial (hg)], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git git]


=== General purpose Finite Element library ===
= Suggested projects =
 
Octave-Forge already has a set of packages for discretizing Partial Differential operators by Finite Elements and/or Finite Volumes,
namely the [[bim package]] which relies on the [http://octave.sf.net/msh msh package] (which is in turn based on [http://geuz.org/gmsh/ gmsh]) for creating and managing 2D triangular and 3D tetrahedral meshes and on the [http://octave.sf.net/fpl fpl package] for visualizing 2D results within Octave or exporting 2D or 3D results in a format compatible with [http://www.paraview.org Paraview] or [https://wci.llnl.gov/codes/visit/ VisIT]. These packages, though, offer only a limited choice of spatial discretization methods which are based on low degree polynomials and therefore have a low order of accuracy even for problems with extremely smooth solutions.
The [http://geopdes.sf.net GeoPDEs] project, on the other hand, offers a complete suite of functions for discretizing a wide range of
differential operators related to important physical problems and uses basis functions of arbitrary polynomial degree that allow the construction of methods of high accuracy. These latter, though, are based on the IsoGeometric Analysis Method which, although very powerful and often better performing, is less widely known and adopted than the Finite Elements Method. The implementation of a general purpose library of Finite Elements seems therefore a valuable addition to Octave-Forge. Two possible interesting choices for implementing this package exist, the first consists of implementing the most common Finite Element spaces in the [http://geopdes.sf.net GeoPDEs] framework, which is possible as IsoGeometric Analysis can be viewed as a superset of the Finite Element Method, the other is to construct Octave language bindings for the free software library [http://fenicsproject.org/documentation/ FEniCS] based on the existing C++ or Python interfaces.
 
=== Improve logm, sqrtm, funm ===
 
The goal here is to implement some missing Matlab functions related to matrix functions like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_exponential matrix exponential]. There is [http://octave.1599824.n4.nabble.com/matrix-functions-td3137935.html a general discussion] of the problem.
 
=== Generalised eigenvalue problem ===
 
[http://www.mathworks.com/help/techdoc/ref/eig.html Certain calling forms] of the <tt>eig</tt> function are missing. The problem is to understand what those missing forms are and implement them.
 
=== Various sparse matrix improvements ===
 
The implementation of sparse matrices in Octave needs several improvements. Any of [[Projects#Sparse Matrices|these]] would be good. The paper by [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.MS/0604006 Bateman & Adler] is good reading for understanding the sparse matrix implementation.
 
=== Implement solver for initial-boundary value problems for parabolic-elliptic PDEs in 1D ===
 
The project will deliver a solver for initial-boundary value problems for parabolic-elliptic PDEs in 1D similar to Matlab's function <tt>pdepe</tt>. A good starting point is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_lines method of lines] for which you can find more details [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Partial_Differential_Equations/Method_of_Lines here] and [http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Method_of_lines here], whereas an example implementation can be found [http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Method_of_Lines/Example_Implementation here]. In addition, [http://www.pdecomp.net/ this page] provides some useful material.
 
== GUI ==
 
Octave is currently working on a new native GUI. It is written in Qt, but it is still not ready for production. There are various ways in which it could be improved.
 
'''Required skills''': C++ and Qt. Whatever tools you want to use to write Qt code are fine, but Qt Creator is a popular choice nowadays.
 
'''Difficulty''': Mostly medium, depending if you've had Qt or GUI development experience before.
 
'''Potential mentor''': Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso, Michael Goffioul, Torsten
 
=== Finish the Octave GUI ===
 
The GUI is currently on its own branch in hg. It is not stable enough and its design is still in flux. It is in a very alpha stage and needs to be turned into a real usable product. At the moment, it consists of the basic building blocks (terminal window, editor, variable browser, history, file browser) that are put together into a main interface. The GUI uses the Qt library. Among the things to improve are:
* improve integration with octave: variable browser/editor, debugger, profiler...
* define and implement an option/preferences dialog
* improve additional components like the documentation browser
 
=== Implement a Qt widget for manipulating plots ===
 
Octave has had for some time a native OpenGL plotter. The plotter requires some user interaction for manipulating the plots, and it's been using fltk for quite some time. We want to replace this with Qt, so it fits better with the overall GUI look-and-feel and is easier to extend in the future.
 
[https://github.com/goffioul/QtHandles QtHandles] is a current work in progress integrating the octave OpenGL renderer plus good support for GUI elements (uicontrol, uimenu, uitoolbar...). This project may initially consists of integrating the existing QtHandles code base into Octave. Then if time permits, further improvements can be made to QtHandles.
 
=== Create a better (G)UI for the profiler ===
 
During GSoC 2011, Daniel Kraft successfully implemented a profiler for Octave. It needs a better interface and a way to generate reports. This may be done with Qt, but not necessarily, and HTML reports might also be good.
 
=== Create a graphical design tool for tuning closed loop control system (control pkg) ===
 
When tuning a SISO feedback system it is very helpful to be able to grab a pole or a zero and move them by dragging them with the mouse. As they are moving the software must update all the plotted lines. There should be the ability to display various graphs rlocuse, bode, step, impulse etc. and have them all change dynamically as the mouse is moving. The parameters of the compensator must be displayed and updated.
Potential mentor: Doug Stewart
 
== Graphics ==
 
Octave has a new native OpenGL plotter (currently via [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fltk fltk], but we want to move away from that). There are several possible projects involved with it.
 
'''Required skills''': C++ and OpenGL. General understanding of computer graphics.
 
'''Difficulty''': Medium, depending on your previous understanding of the topic.
 
'''Potential mentor''': Michael Goffioul
 
=== Lighting ===
 
Implement transparency and lighting in OpenGL backend(s). A basic implementation is available in [http://octave.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/octave/trunk/octave-forge/extra/jhandles/ JHandles]. This needs to be ported/re-implement/re-engineered/optimized in the C++ OpenGL renderer of Octave.
 
=== Object selection in OpenGL renderer ===
 
This project is about the implementation of a selection method of graphics elements within the OpenGL renderer [http://glprogramming.com/red/chapter13.html]
 
=== Non-OpenGL renderer ===
 
Besides the original gnuplot backend, Octave also contains an OpenGL-based renderer for advanced and more powerful 3D plots. However, OpenGL is not perfectly suited for 2D-only plots where other methods could result in better graphics. The purpose of this project is to implement an alternate graphics renderer for 2D only plots (although 3D is definitely not the focus, extending the new graphics renderer to support basic 3D features should also be taken into account). There is no particular toolkit/library that must be used, but natural candidates are:
* [http://qt.nokia.com Qt]: the GUI is currently written in Qt and work is also in progress to provide a Qt/OpenGL based backend [https://github.com/goffioul/QtHandles]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_%28software%29 Cairo]: this library is widely used and known to provides high-quality graphics with support for PS/PDF/SVG output.
 
=== TeX/LaTeX markup ===
 
Text objects in plots (like titles, labels, texts...) in the OpenGL renderer only support plain text mode without any formatting possibility. Support for TeX and/or LaTeX formatting needs to be added.


The TeX formatting support actually only consists of a very limited subset of the TeX language. This can be implemented directly in C++ into Octave by extending the existing text engine, avoiding to add a dependency on a full TeX system.
The following suggested projects are distilled from the [[Projects]] page for the benefit of potential SoC participants.  You can also look at our [[Summer of Code|completed past projects]], or the current [https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/etc/ROADMAP.md | Octave Development Roadmap] for more inspiration.


On the other hand, the LaTeX formatting support is expected to provide full LaTeX capabilities. This will require to use an external LaTeX system to produce text graphics in some format (to be specified) that is then integrated into Octave plots.
{{Note|Do you use Octave at your working place or university? Do you have some numerical project in mind?  You are always welcome to '''propose your own projects'''. If you are passionate about your project, it will be easy to find an Octave developer to mentor and guide you. Please note that for such a proposal to be successful it will almost certainly involve initiating pre-proposal discussion over at the [https://octave.discourse.group Octave Discourse forum].}}


The matplotlib project [http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/users/usetex.html has already done this in Python] and might be used as an example of how to do this in Octave.  Mediawiki has also also done [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Texvc something similar].
== Adding more Classification classes and implementing missing methods in statistics package ==


== Interpreter ==
Although a ClassificationKNN class was added in the latest statistics release (1.6.1), it still lacks several methods (only `predict` is available at the moment). This GSoC project aims at implementing more methods, such as crossval, cvloss, lime, loss, margin, partialDependence, plotPartialDependence, etc., as well as adding more classdefs related to classification classes, such as ClassificationGAM, ClassificationDiscriminant, ClassificationSVM, ClassificationNeuralNetwork, ClassificationNaiveBayes, etc. The statistics package, although heavily developed during the past years, still lacks a lot of classdef functionality. The scope is to implement classification classdef objects and their relevant methods in a MATLAB-compatible way.


The interpreter is written in C++, undocumented. There are many possible projects associated with it.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (hard)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, classdef, good knowledge of statistical methods
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/pr0m1th3as Andreas Bertsatos]


'''Required skills''': ''Very good'' C and C++ knowledge, possibly also understanding of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnu_bison GNU bison] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flex_lexical_analyser flex]. Understanding how compilers and interpreters are made plus being able to understand how to use a profiler and a debugger will probably be essential skills.
== Custom re-implementation of the texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool ==


'''Difficulty''': Mid hard to very hard. Some of the biggest problems will probably be the interpreter.
Implement a compiled .oct function to relax the dependency of the pkg-octave-doc package on texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool, which is no longer maintained or further developed but also not readily available to all linux distributions. The idea is to have a `texi2html` function within the pkg-octave-doc package that will replace the functionality of the texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool. This will also help improve the speed of pkg-octave-doc processing large packages, which contain specific tags (such as @math) which are currently handled within Octave code.


'''Potential mentors''': John W. Eaton, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (hard)
* '''Required skills'''
: Perl, C++, Octave, Texinfo, HTML
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/pr0m1th3as Andreas Bertsatos]


=== Improve JIT compiling ===


Octave's interpreter is ''very'' slow on some loops. Last year, thanks to Max Brister's work, an initial implement of a just-in-time compiler (JITC) in [http://llvm.org LLVM] for GSoC 2012. This project consists in understanding Max's current implementation and extending it so that functions and exponents  (e.g. 2^z) compile with the JITC. This requires knowledge of compilers, C++, LLVM, and the Octave or Matlab languages. A capable student who demonstrates the ability to acquire this knowledge quickly may also be considered. Max himself will mentor this project.
== Port Chebfun to Octave and improve classdef support ==


=== Improve memory management ===
[https://www.chebfun.org| Chebfun] uses interpolation to approximate functions to very high accuracy, giving numerical computing that feels like symbolic computing.
The software is implemented as collection of "classdef" classes and is Free and Open Source Software.
However, Chebfun does not yet work with Octave, largely due to differences and issues with Octave's classdef implementation.
This project has two aims: (1) make changes to the Chebfun code to make it work on Octave and (2) improve Octave's classdef functionality.
Some initial steps toward to first goal can be found on [https://github.com/cbm755/chebfun/tree/octave_dev| this octave_dev branch].
The second goal will likely involve a collaborative effort because classdef is a priority on [https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/etc/ROADMAP.md | Octave's Development Roadmap] and because other proposed projects also involve classdef.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (hard)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, object-oriented programming, polynomial interpolation and approximation theory, C++.
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/cbm Colin B. Macdonald]


From profiling the interpreter, it appears that a lot of time is spending allocating and deallocating memory. A better memory management algorithm might provide some improvement.


=== Implement classdef classes ===
<!--
== ode15{i,s} : Matlab Compatible DAE solvers ==


Matlab has two kinds of classes: old style @classes and new style classdef. Octave has only fully implemented the old style. There is partial support for new classes in [http://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/shortlog/classdef our classdef branch]. There is irregular work here, and classdef is [http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_oop/method-attributes.html a very] [http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/events-sending-and-responding-to-messages.html complicated] [http://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/enumeration-classes.html thing] to fully implement. A successful project would be to implement enough of classdef for most basic usages. Familiarity with Matlab's current classdef support would be a huge plus. Michael Goffioul and jwe can mentor this.
An initial implementation of Matlab compatible Differential Algebraic Equations (DAE) solvers, {{manual|ode15i}} and {{manual|ode15s}}, based on [https://computing.llnl.gov/projects/sundials SUNDIALS],
was done by [https://gsoc2016ode15s.blogspot.com/ Francesco Faccio during GSoC 2016]. The code is maintained in the main Octave repository and consists mainly of the following three files: [https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/libinterp/dldfcn/__ode15__.cc {{path|libinterp/dldfcn/__ode15__.cc}}], [https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/scripts/ode/ode15i.m {{path|scripts/ode/ode15i.m}}] and [https://hg.savannah.gnu.org/hgweb/octave/file/tip/scripts/ode/ode15s.m {{path|scripts/ode/ode15s.m}}].


== Infrastructure ==
The {{manual|decic}} function for selecting consistent initial conditions for ode15i can be made more Matlab compatible by using [http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/JNMA.2002.291 another algorithm].  Another useful extension is to make ode15{i,s} work with datatypes other than double and to improve interpolation at intermediate time steps.


There are several projects closely related to Octave but not exactly core Octave that could be worked on. They are mostly infrastructure around Octave, stuff that would help a lot.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++; familiarity with numerical methods for DAEs
* '''Potential mentors'''
: Francesco Faccio, [https://octave.discourse.group/u/cdf Carlo de Falco], [https://octave.discourse.group/u/marco_caliari Marco Caliari], Jacopo Corno, [https://octave.discourse.group/u/schoeps Sebastian Schöps]
-->


'''Required skills''': Various. See below.
<!--
== PolarAxes and Plotting Improvements ==


'''Difficulty''': Various. See below.
Octave currently provides support for polar axes by using a Cartesian 2-D axes and adding a significant number of properties and callback listeners to get things to work. What is needed is the implementation of a dedicated "polaraxes" object in C++.  This will require creating a new fundamental graphics object type, and programming in C++/OpenGL to render the object.  When "polaraxes" exists as an object type, then m-files will be written to access them, including polaraxes.m, polarplot.m, rticks.m, rticklabels.m, thetaticks, thetaticklabels.m, rlim.m, thetalim.m.  This relates to bug {{bug|49804}}.


'''Potential mentor''': Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso, Carlo de Falco
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++; optional experience with OpenGL programming
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/rik Rik]
-->


=== Finish the Agora website ===
<!--
== Table datatype ==


In 2009, the Mathworks decided to restrict the terms of use Matlab Central, a place dedicated to Matlab collaboration. The Mathworks forbade copyleft licenses and using the "free" code found in Matlab central on anything other than Mathworks products (e.g. forbidding from using it on Octave, even if the authors of the code wanted to allow this). Thus Octave users have no place to centrally, quickly, and conveniently share Octave code. See the [[FAQ#Why_can.27t_I_use_code_from_File_Exchange_in_Octave.3F_It.27s_released_under_a_BSD_license.21|FAQ]] for more details.
In 2013, Matlab introduced a [https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/tables.html new table datatype] to conveniently organize and access data in tabular form. This datatype has not been introduced to Octave yet (see bug {{bug|44571}}). However, there are two initial implementation approaches https://github.com/apjanke/octave-tablicious and https://github.com/gnu-octave/table.


In response to this, a website started to form, [http://agora.octave.org/ Agora Octave].
Based upon the existing approaches, the goal of this project is to define an initial subset of [https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/tables.htmlMatlab's table functions], which involve sorting, splitting, merging, and file I/O and implement it within the given time frame.


This should be relatively easy webdev in Python using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_%28web_framework%29 Django].
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (hard)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->


Things to be considered when working on this:
<!--
== TISEAN package ==


* [http://octave-forge.blogspot.ie/2012/08/octconf2012-agora-and-pkg.html discussion of Agora during OctConf2012]
The [[TISEAN package]] provides an Octave interface to [https://www.pks.mpg.de/~tisean/Tisean_3.0.1/index.html TISEAN] is a suite of code for nonlinear time series analysis. In 2015, another GSoC project started with the work to create interfaces to many TISEAN functions, but [[TISEAN_package:Procedure | there is still work left to do]]. There are missing functions to do computations on spike trains, to simulate autoregresive models, to create specialized plots, etc.  These are of importance for many scientific disciplines involving statistical computations and signal processing.
* [http://scipy-central.org/ Scipy Central] - a website with the same objective as Agora for Scipy. Their [https://github.com/kgdunn/SciPyCentral/ code] is released under a BSD license. Might be useful to reuse some parts.


Most of the basic functionality of Agora is already in, but there are many ways in which it could be improved, such as implementing comment threads, giving it an email interface, or a ReSTful API which could be used from Octave for package management.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++; FORTRAN API knowledge
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/kakila KaKiLa]
-->


=== Update the Emacs octave mode ===
<!--
== Better tab completion ==


[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs Emacs] has an octave-mode that requires a lot of updating and maintenance. This should also be an easy project if you already use Emacs and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisp elisp].
Links: [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?62492 https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?62492] and [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?53384 https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?53384]


=== Improve binary packaging ===
Description: currently pressing Tab at the Octave command prompt attempts autocompletion of all identifiers in scope (variables, functions, classdefs etc) as well as files and directories in the path. It is not context sensitive.


We would like to be able to easily generate binary packages for Windows and Mac OS X. Right now, it's difficult and tedious to do so. Any way to help us do this in a faster way would be appreciated. Required knowledge is understanding how building binaries in Windows and Mac OS X works. Medium difficulty.
Project: Improve tab completion. For example,


=== Installation of packages ===
* Typing
We would like to enhance the management of Octave-forge packages from within Octave environment. Currently there is a working (but rather monolithic) function that is used to do the job. The work would be to improve the way Octave interacts with the package server. Since the functionality is already sketched by the current function, the most important skill is software design.
: load x
and then pressing tab should ideally give all loadable files and directories starting with x, not unrelated results like variables or functions.  


'''Minimum requirements''': Ability to read and write Octave code. Minimal FTP/HTTP knowledge.
* Typing
:cd
and tab should only give directories.


'''Difficulty''': Easy
* Any file and directory names that are included in the results should include those with spaces and special characters including those that would be interpreted as operators by Octave.


== Octave-Forge packages ==
* Typing commands like
: axis
or
: format
and pressing tab should give only those options relevant to that command. E.g. format can be followed by short / long / loose / compact etc but not by a file or variable. Similarly axis can be followed by ij / xy / tight / equal / actual limits etc but not by files or directories. And so on for other commands. This should be made possible for both preexisting commands and for yet-to-be-written commands without any rewriting of existing function code or documentation.


=== Rewrite symbolic package ===
To get more examples, see how bash completion works. You can type git or hg and then tab and it will give the list of available commands. If you type "sort --r" and then tab, it gives the list of options to sort starting with "--r", etc.
Octave's current [http://octave.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/octave/trunk/octave-forge/main/symbolic/ symbolic] package for symbolic computation is outdated, fragile and limited in its capabilities. The new symbolic package should offer better Matlab compatibility, for example handling of symbolic matrices. Like the current symbolic package, the new package could use the proven [http://www.ginac.de/ GiNaC] library for symbolic computations.


The work would be to integrate GiNaC by using Octave's objects and classes. This can be done in C++ in a way similar to Michele Martone's new [http://librsb.sourceforge.net/ sparsersb] package.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->


'''Required skills''': C++. Ability to understand Octave and GiNaC API documentation.
<!--
== Graphics rendering back to front sorting ==


'''Difficulty''': medium.
Several incompatibilities have been identified in how Octave plots transparent objects in 3D, causing certain transparent objects to hide opaque objects behind them even though they're not supposed to. The vast majority of them were isolated to one problem: if the objects to be drawn are rendered such that the one farthest away from the viewer is rendered first and nearer objects are rendered on top of that, then transparency would be automatically achieved, but this needs very careful coding to stay performant and to avoid rendering objects that will be overwritten fully by others. See [https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?57980] for a summary.


'''Potential mentor''': Lukas Reichlin
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->


=== Improvements to n-dimensional image processing ===
<!--
== Symbolic package ==


The image package has partial functionality for n-dimensional images. These images do exist in practice for example in medical imaging where slices from scans are assembled to form medical 3d images, or even exposures taken over time can result in 4d images. All of the base functions should be modified so that they can handle n-dimensional images, and corresponding Matlab functions such as <code>bwconncomp</code> or n-dimensional version of <code>bwdist</code> should be implemented.
The [[Symbolic package]] provides symbolic computing and other [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_algebra_system computer algebra system] tools via the [https://sympy.org SymPy Python library].  GSoC projects in 2016 and 2022 improved the package.


'''Required skills''': Mostly m-file scripting, perhaps some C++. Familiarity with common CS algorithms would be useful.
There are no specific plans for Symbolic in GSoC 2023, but improvements elsewhere that would help Symbolic include:
* Developing the Octave-Pythonic package.
* Fix the storage of non-expressions by working with upstream SymPy: currently we rely on deprecated functionality in SymPy.
* Improvements and fixes to classdef-related issues in Octave itself.
* Developing the Octave Jupyter kernel.


'''Difficulty''': medium.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->


'''Potential mentor''': Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso
= Project sizes =


=== Interface to Electronic Circuit Simulator ===
As of 2024, possible project sizes are 90 (small), 175 (medium), or 350 hours (large) <ref>https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/faq#how_much_time_does_gsoc_participation_take</ref>.


[http://sourceforge.net/projects/qucs/ Qucs] is a C++ based circuit simulation package. This project aims to create an interface to the Qucs algorithms to allow the transient, i.e. time series, simulation of circuits in Octave within a larger ODE system simulation, and possibly make other analysis types available directly from Octave. The C++ interface would be based on handle class syntax currently in development in the <code>classdef</code> branch of the repository. This method has already been successfully tested on other projects, and examples of this type of interface are available (e.g. [https://sourced.ecdf.ed.ac.uk/projects/see/xfemm here] and [https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/38964-example-matlab-class-wrapper-for-a-c++-class here]).
= Footnotes =


'''Required skills''': C++ and m-file scripting. Familiarity with new classdef syntax would be useful. May require some modification/adaptation of the Qucs sources. Familiarity with the Octave ODE solvers useful but not essential.
<references />


'''Difficulty''': medium.
= See also =


'''Potential mentor''': Richard Crozier
* https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/
* [https://google.github.io/gsocguides/student/ GSoC Student Guide]
* [https://google.github.io/gsocguides/mentor/ GSoC Mentor Guide]
* [https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/timeline GSoC Timeline]


'''Main Goals'''
[[Category:Summer of Code]]
* Create an Octave circuit class which can load and parse a Qucs circuit netlist
[[Category:Project Ideas]]
* Create class methods with functionality similar to the <code>trsolver</code> C++ class methods in Qucs, i.e with the ability to call the DC solution code, and transient solution code at each time step.
* Create a method of accessing the current circuit solution values in Octave at each time step.
'''Bonus Goals'''
* Create new circuit elements which allow Octave to apply voltages and currents during a circuit simulation.

Latest revision as of 05:22, 22 September 2024

Info icon.svg

Since 2011 the GNU Octave project has successfully mentored:

in Summer of Code (SoC) programs by Google and ESA.

Those SoC programs aim to advertise open-source software development and to attract potential new Octave developers.

Steps toward a successful application[edit]

  1. 😉💬 We want to get to know you (before the deadline). Communicate with us.
    • Join Octave Discourse or IRC for general discussion and to ask questions (Please do not use the bug tracker for general GSOC inquiries unrelated to specific bugs found with Octave.) Using a nickname is fine.
    • Show us that you're motivated to work on Octave 💻. There is no need to present an overwhelming CV 🏆; evidence of involvement with Octave is more important.
    • If you never talked to us, we will likely reject your proposal, even it looks good 🚮
  2. 👩‍🔬 Get your hands dirty.
    • We are curious about your programming skills 🚀
    • Use Octave!
      • If you come across something that does not work the way you like ➡️ try to fix that 🔧
      • Or if you find a missing function ➡️ try to implement it.
  3. 📝💡 Tell us what you are going to do.
    • Do not write just to say what project you're interested in. Be specific about what you are going to do, include links 🔗, show us you know what you are talking about 💡, and ask many smart questions 🤓
    • Remember, we are volunteer developers and not your boss 🙂
  4. 📔 Prepare your proposal with us.
    • Try to show us as early as possible a draft of your proposal 📑
    • If we see your proposal for the first time after the application deadline, it might easily contain some paragraphs not fully clear to us. Ongoing interaction will give us more confidence that you are capable of working on your project 🙂👍
    • Here’s a sample proposal outline that you can use as a reference when drafting your own application. Sample Proposal
    • Then submit the proposal following the applicable rules, e.g. for GSoC. 📨

How do we judge your application?[edit]

Depending on the mentors and SoC program there are varieties, but typically the main factors considered would be:

  • You have demonstrated interest in Octave and an ability to make substantial modifications to Octave
    The most important thing is that you've contributed some interesting code samples to judge your skills. It's OK during the application period to ask for help on how to format these code samples, which normally are Mercurial patches.
  • You showed understanding of your topic
    Your proposal should make it clear that you're reasonably well versed in the subject area and won't need all summer just to read up on it.
  • Well thought out, adequately detailed, realistic project plan
    "I'm good at this, so trust me" isn't enough. In your proposal, you should describe which algorithms you'll use and how you'll integrate with existing Octave code. You should also prepare a project timeline and goals for the midterm and final evaluations.

What you should know about Octave[edit]

GNU Octave is mostly written in C++ and its own scripting language that is mostly compatible with Matlab. There are bits and pieces of Fortran, Perl, C, awk, and Unix shell scripts here and there. In addition to being familiar with C++ and Octave's scripting language, you as successful applicant will be familiar with or able to quickly learn about Octave's infrastructure. You can't spend the whole summer learning how to build Octave or prepare a changeset and still successfully complete your project 😇

You should know:

  1. How to build Octave from its source code using the GNU build system.
  2. How to submit patches (changesets).

Suggested projects[edit]

The following suggested projects are distilled from the Projects page for the benefit of potential SoC participants. You can also look at our completed past projects, or the current | Octave Development Roadmap for more inspiration.

Info icon.svg
Do you use Octave at your working place or university? Do you have some numerical project in mind? You are always welcome to propose your own projects. If you are passionate about your project, it will be easy to find an Octave developer to mentor and guide you. Please note that for such a proposal to be successful it will almost certainly involve initiating pre-proposal discussion over at the Octave Discourse forum.

Adding more Classification classes and implementing missing methods in statistics package[edit]

Although a ClassificationKNN class was added in the latest statistics release (1.6.1), it still lacks several methods (only `predict` is available at the moment). This GSoC project aims at implementing more methods, such as crossval, cvloss, lime, loss, margin, partialDependence, plotPartialDependence, etc., as well as adding more classdefs related to classification classes, such as ClassificationGAM, ClassificationDiscriminant, ClassificationSVM, ClassificationNeuralNetwork, ClassificationNaiveBayes, etc. The statistics package, although heavily developed during the past years, still lacks a lot of classdef functionality. The scope is to implement classification classdef objects and their relevant methods in a MATLAB-compatible way.

  • Project size [?] and Difficulty
~350 hours (hard)
  • Required skills
Octave, classdef, good knowledge of statistical methods
  • Potential mentors
Andreas Bertsatos

Custom re-implementation of the texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool[edit]

Implement a compiled .oct function to relax the dependency of the pkg-octave-doc package on texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool, which is no longer maintained or further developed but also not readily available to all linux distributions. The idea is to have a `texi2html` function within the pkg-octave-doc package that will replace the functionality of the texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool. This will also help improve the speed of pkg-octave-doc processing large packages, which contain specific tags (such as @math) which are currently handled within Octave code.

  • Project size [?] and Difficulty
~350 hours (hard)
  • Required skills
Perl, C++, Octave, Texinfo, HTML
  • Potential mentors
Andreas Bertsatos


Port Chebfun to Octave and improve classdef support[edit]

Chebfun uses interpolation to approximate functions to very high accuracy, giving numerical computing that feels like symbolic computing. The software is implemented as collection of "classdef" classes and is Free and Open Source Software. However, Chebfun does not yet work with Octave, largely due to differences and issues with Octave's classdef implementation. This project has two aims: (1) make changes to the Chebfun code to make it work on Octave and (2) improve Octave's classdef functionality. Some initial steps toward to first goal can be found on this octave_dev branch. The second goal will likely involve a collaborative effort because classdef is a priority on | Octave's Development Roadmap and because other proposed projects also involve classdef.

  • Project size [?] and Difficulty
~350 hours (hard)
  • Required skills
Octave, object-oriented programming, polynomial interpolation and approximation theory, C++.
  • Potential mentors
Colin B. Macdonald





Project sizes[edit]

As of 2024, possible project sizes are 90 (small), 175 (medium), or 350 hours (large) [1].

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ↑ https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/faq#how_much_time_does_gsoc_participation_take

See also[edit]

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