I Got Selected for GSoC’20
If you don’t already know about GSoC, don’t worry I have got you covered. Google Summer of Code, popularly known as GSoC is a three-month-long Google administered global program that matches up students with opensource organizations work on projects having a strong user base. It provides students exposure to real-world software development, while open-source organizations get worthy contributors for making softwares better every day. A win for everyone!
Wait, what is Open-source?
I would rather not go into details of explaining open-source since there is already a ton of resources that describes it better than I ever could. In a nutshell, opensource softwares are those softwares whose source code is available for modification(sometimes with restriction). Believe me, open-source is one of the most beautiful things born out of the software industry. It brings human collaboration to a whole new level. You communicate and collaborate with people around the globe. Open-source is more than just code, it is an ideology, it is about people, making new connections, learning new things, sharing your knowledge and cherishing work of the community.
I feel you, I too get intimidated by new projects with big codebases. Every time I get this question, I just give the same answer, “Just dive in!”. Don’t pressurize yourself to patch bugs from the very first day, everyone has a different learning pace, take all the time you need. Try out the project as an end-user, follow the project’s documentation, setup development environment and build it from the source. Communicate with the community, introduce yourself and announce your intentions. All open-source organizations have a communication channel, it might be a mailing list, a Gitter channel or any other instant messaging service. Open-source is about keeping everything open so only use private messages when it is absolutely necessary. Some projects maintain a list of easy issues which are suitable for newcomers. If not, ask the community to suggest some issue for getting started.
OpenWISP
My application for GSoC 2020 was accepted with OpenWISP. OpenWISP is a hackable network management solution which makes it easy to administrator computer networks. For starters OpenWISP allows you to manage and automate dynamic configuration of new nodes, creation of VPN tunnels, initialization of WiFi access points, configuration of mesh networks, etc. The web modules are built with Django which is notoriously easy to extend and has a rich ecosystem of reusable components. The modularity and extensibility of OpenWISP make it easier to customize for a specific use. This summer I will be working on the Notifications module of OpenWISP as part of GSoC.
Why I chose OpenWISP?
I always had a knack for networking. I used to create a small network from old routers and play with their routing tables just for fun. Something about computer networks always fascinated me. This was the main reason for choosing OpenWISP over any other organization. The project dealt with something I am ambitious about. The other reason was my familiarity with Django. While Django provides a base for OpenWISP, there are more things in play, like Ansible, Docker, OpenWRT, NetJSON, etc which make OpenWISP functional as a complete solution. So getting into OpenWISP was not a cakewalk for me, but thanks to the awesome community who helped at every stage. Since OpenWISP embraces The Unix Philosophy, OpenWISP is split into simpler modules which follows “Do one thing and do it well”. This made contributing to them easier for me, as I only needed to focus on the functionality of the current module.
If you are interested in computer networks in any way, I can’t emphasize you enough to check out OpenWISP.
How can I apply for GSoC?
If you are eligible for the program you can surely participate as a student with an organization of your choice. Like students, organizations also apply every year for participating in GSoC. Accepted organization are usually announced in February, make sure that you stay updated with the timeline for current edition of GSoC. I have seen that people wait for the announcement of accepted organizations to start contributing. I suggest otherwise, you should start contributing now. GSoC maintains an archive of accepted projects and organizations selected in previous editions. Even if your organization does not get accepted, you will still learn a lot and your contributions won’t go in vain. Your primary focus should be to learn and contribute to open-source. For folks who are not eligible for GSoC as a student, you can still apply as a mentor for an organization. Mentors application are processed by each organization individually, so it is better to communicate with the community to know more about it.
I missed the application deadline for GSoC, what can I do?
There is nothing much you can do for the current edition. GSoC is just one of many programs out there which embraces open-source. Rails Girls Summer of Code, Linux Foundation Networking Internships, Outreachy to name a few. You can start exploring projects and organization from early on, start contributing to them. Having trouble finding out appropriate organizations? You can filter organizations depending on area of their work or technology they use on GSoC’s website. Try to find a project which interests you even if you are not comfortable working with the tech stack, your interest will keep you motivated in the long run. You have a complete year ahead of you to learn and contribute. Good Luck!
Open-source is not about competitions, it is about collaborations
My First Contribution to OpenWISP
Just to show that all contributions in open-source are significant regardless of being big or small, I would like to tell you about my first PR to OpenWISP. My first PR to OpenWISP was to add a favicon on the documentation website. Most of the users don’t even care about favicon. That PR introduced changes in one line, just one freaking line. Even so, I was so excited for getting my PR merged that I made a contribution to an open-source project. After getting my feet wet, I worked up my way from there. Looking for an issue which I can solve and learning new things along the way.
The above advice is just to motivate you for getting started with open-source. Please don’t be like a person below. Don’t keep chasing trivial issues. Get your feet wet and work up your way from there. Doing such will not only deteriorate your chances of getting selected but also sabotages your learning. You pretty much ruined the whole concept of contributing to opensource.
I hope you had a good read. May the FOSS be with you!
Further Reading
Learn how OpenWISP embraces The Unix Philosophy
The Open-source-software Movement
