Summer of Code - Getting Started: Difference between revisions

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{{Note|GNU Octave is applying to be a [https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/organizations/gnu-octave mentoring organization for GSoC 2023].}}
{{Note|GNU Octave is a [https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/organizations/gnu-octave mentoring organization for GSoC 2023].}}


Since 2011 the GNU Octave project has successfully mentored:
Since 2011 the GNU Octave project has successfully mentored:
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# 😉💬 '''We want to get to know you (before the deadline).  Communicate with us.'''
# 😉💬 '''We want to get to know you (before the deadline).  Communicate with us.'''
#* Join [https://octave.discourse.group/ '''Octave Discourse'''] or [[IRC]]. Using a nickname is fine.
#* 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.
#* 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 🚮
#* '''<span style="color:darkblue;">If you never talked to us, we will likely reject your proposal</span>''', even it looks good 🚮
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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]] for more inspiration.
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]] for more inspiration.


{{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.}}
{{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].}}


== ode15{i,s} : Matlab Compatible DAE solvers ==
== Adding regression GAM and kNN classification functionality in statistics package ==


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],  
Generalized Additive Models and k-Nearest Neighbor algorithms are two important tools in advanced statistics used for regression and classification problems, respectively. The statistics package, although heavily developed during the past year, still lacks any functionality regarding these two algorithms.
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}}].
The scope is to implement both the respective class def objects as well as the relevant functions in a MATLAB compatible way.
 
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.


* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++; familiarity with numerical methods for DAEs
: Octave, familiarity with statistical methods
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''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]
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/pr0m1th3as Andreas Bertsatos]
 
== Custom re-implementation of the texi2html (v.1.82) command line tool ==


== Symbolic package ==
Implement a custom perl script 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.
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.


The [[Symbolic package]] provides symbolic computing and other [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_algebra_system computer algebra system] tools.  The main component of Symbolic is a pure m-file class "@sym" which uses the Python package [https://www.sympy.org SymPy] to do (most of) the actual computations.  The package aims to expose much of the functionality of SymPy while also providing a high level of compatibility with the Matlab Symbolic Math Toolbox.  The Symbolic package requires communication between Octave and Python.  In 2016 another GSoC project successfully re-implemented this communication using the new [[Pythonic|Pythonic package]].
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (hard)
* '''Required skills'''
: Perl, Octave, Texinfo, HTML
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/pr0m1th3as Andreas Bertsatos]


This project proposes to take this work further while also improving the long-term viability of the Symbolic package.  Some goals include:
== A function search index website for all Octave Packages ==
* the possibility of using Pythonic directly rather than as one possible communication layer.  For example, we might make "@sym" a subclass of "@pyobject".  We also could stop using the "pycall_sympy__" interface and use Pythonic directly from methods.  Note: there are open questions about how to do this during a transition time when we still support other IPC mechanisms.
* exposing more functionality of SymPy with ''less glue'' in between.  For example, we could allow OO-style method calls such as <code>f.diff(x)</code> as well as <code>diff(f, x)</code>.
* Improvements to the Pythonic package and its long-term maintenance.
* fixing up Symbolic to work with the latest releases of SymPy and Octave.  The project has lagged for a few years and needs some efforts to port to recent and upcoming changes in SymPy code.
* making Symbolic easier to maintain.  The project currently has a low ''bus factor'': improving the CI, making regular releases easier, improving other aspects of maintenance and making the project more welcoming to newcomers.


Working on this project involves and interesting and challenging mix of m-file code, Python code, and in the case of Pythonic, perhaps some lower-level C code.
Develop additional functionality for the pkg-octave-doc package than will search all pkg compatible packages listed in Octave Packages, enumerate the available functions from each package, and built a website with search capability that will list all functions’ names and their respective package(s). The function list should have links corresponding to their documentation or/and source code. This could be integrated in the current Octave Packages website and the implemented tool can be part of the current CI (used for testing a package before merging a new release) and automatically update the website with every package release. Alternatively, it can be a stand alone service which will monitor Octave Packages repository for any merged PR and update the function search index website accordingly.


* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++, Python; object-oriented programming (OOP) in Octave
: Octave, Bootstap 5 framework
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/cbm Colin B. Macdonald], [https://octave.discourse.group/u/mtmiller Mike Miller], Abhinav Tripathi
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/pr0m1th3as Andreas Bertsatos]


== Improve TIFF image support ==
<!--
== ode15{i,s} : Matlab Compatible DAE solvers ==


[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIFF Tag Image File Format (TIFF)] is the de facto standard for scientific images.  Octave uses the [http://www.graphicsmagick.org/ GraphicsMagic] (GM) C++ library to handle [http://www.graphicsmagick.org/formats.html TIFF and many others image formats]. However, GM still has several limitations:
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}}].


* GM has build option {{codeline|quantum}} which defines the bitdepth to use when reading an image:
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.
** Building GM with '''high quantum''' means that images of smaller bitdepth will take a lot more memory when reading.
** Building GM with '''low quantum''' will make it impossible to read images of higher bitdepth. It also means that the image needs to always be rescaled to the correct range.
* GM supports unsigned integers only, thus incorrectly reading files such as TIFF with floating-point data.
* GM hides details of the image such as whether the image file is indexed.  This makes it hard to access the real data stored on file.
 
This project aims to implement better TIFF image support using [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libtiff libtiff], while leaving GM handle all other image formats.  After writing a [https://octave.org/doc/v6.1.0/classdef-Classes.html classdef] interface to libtiff, improve the Octave functions {{manual|imread}}, {{manual|imwrite}}, and {{manual|imfinfo}} to make use of it.


* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~175 hours (medium)
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++
: Octave, C/C++; familiarity with numerical methods for DAEs
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/carandraug Carnë Draug]
: 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]
-->


<!--
== PolarAxes and Plotting Improvements ==
== PolarAxes and Plotting Improvements ==


Octave currently provides supports 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}}.
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}}.


* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
Line 123: Line 122:
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/rik Rik]
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/rik Rik]
-->


<!--
== Table datatype ==
== Table datatype ==


Line 135: Line 136:
: Octave, C/C++
: Octave, C/C++
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/siko1056 Kai] [https://octave.discourse.group/u/Abdallah_Elshamy Abdallah]
: ???
 
-->
== YAML encoding/decoding ==
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAML YAML], is a very common human readable and structured data format.  Unfortunately, GNU Octave (and Matlab) still lacks of builtin support of that omnipresent data format.  Having YAML support, Octave can easily read and write config files, which often use YAML or JSON.  The latter JSON format has been [[Summer of Code#GSoC_2020 | successfully implemented for Octave during GSoC 2020]].
 
The goal of this project is to repeat the GSoC 2020 success story with [https://github.com/biojppm/rapidyaml Rapid YAML] or another fast C/C++ library.
 
The first step is research about existing Octave/Matlab and C/C++ implementations, for example:
 
* https://code.google.com/archive/p/yamlmatlab/ (uses Java)
* http://vision.is.tohoku.ac.jp/~kyamagu/ja/software/yaml/ (uses Java)
 
Then evaluate (and to cherry pick from) existing implementations above, compare strength and weaknesses.  After this, an Octave package containing en- and decoding functions (for example <code>yamlencode</code> and <code>yamldecode</code>) shall be created.  This involves proper documentation of the work and unit tests to ensure the correctness of the implementation.
 
Finally, the package is considered to be merged into core Octave, probably after the GSoC project.  However, it can be used immediately from Octave as package and is backwards-compatible with older Octave versions.
 
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~175 hours (easy)
* '''Required skills'''
: Octave, C/C++
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/siko1056 Kai], [https://octave.discourse.group/u/Abdallah_Elshamy Abdallah]


<!--
== TISEAN package ==
== TISEAN package ==


Line 169: Line 150:
* '''Potential mentors'''
* '''Potential mentors'''
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/kakila KaKiLa]
: [https://octave.discourse.group/u/kakila KaKiLa]
-->


<!--
== Better tab completion ==
== Better tab completion ==
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]
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]


Line 195: Line 179:
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.
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.


* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->
<!--
== Graphics rendering back to front sorting ==
== Graphics rendering back to front sorting ==
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.
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.


This project can be a GSoC for a student who understands 3D graphics rendering.
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->
 
<!--
== Symbolic package ==
 
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.
 
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.
 
* '''Project size''' [[#Project sizes | [?]]] and '''Difficulty'''
: ~350 hours (medium)
* '''Required skills'''
: ???
* '''Potential mentors'''
: ???
-->


= Project sizes =
= Project sizes =

Revision as of 17:19, 11 March 2023

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

  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 🙂👍
    • Then submit the proposal following the applicable rules, e.g. for GSoC. 📨

How do we judge your application?

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

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

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 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 regression GAM and kNN classification functionality in statistics package

Generalized Additive Models and k-Nearest Neighbor algorithms are two important tools in advanced statistics used for regression and classification problems, respectively. The statistics package, although heavily developed during the past year, still lacks any functionality regarding these two algorithms. The scope is to implement both the respective class def objects as well as the relevant functions in a MATLAB compatible way.

  • Project size [?] and Difficulty
~350 hours (medium)
  • Required skills
Octave, familiarity with statistical methods
  • Potential mentors
Andreas Bertsatos

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

Implement a custom perl script 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. 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, Octave, Texinfo, HTML
  • Potential mentors
Andreas Bertsatos

A function search index website for all Octave Packages

Develop additional functionality for the pkg-octave-doc package than will search all pkg compatible packages listed in Octave Packages, enumerate the available functions from each package, and built a website with search capability that will list all functions’ names and their respective package(s). The function list should have links corresponding to their documentation or/and source code. This could be integrated in the current Octave Packages website and the implemented tool can be part of the current CI (used for testing a package before merging a new release) and automatically update the website with every package release. Alternatively, it can be a stand alone service which will monitor Octave Packages repository for any merged PR and update the function search index website accordingly.

  • Project size [?] and Difficulty
~350 hours (medium)
  • Required skills
Octave, Bootstap 5 framework
  • Potential mentors
Andreas Bertsatos





Project sizes

Since GSoC 2022 there exist two project sizes[1][2]:

  • ~175 hours (~12 weeks, Jun 13 - Sept 12)
  • ~350 hours (~22 weeks, Jun 13 - Nov 21)

Footnotes

See also