1,554
edits
Difference between revisions of "Summer of Code/Project Rules"
Summer of Code/Project Rules (view source)
Revision as of 21:14, 22 March 2022
, 21:14, 22 March 2022students -> contributors
m (fix Discord page link) |
(students -> contributors) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Here you will find several important rules which you have to agree to follow in order to be eligible to apply as a | Here you will find several important rules which you have to agree to follow in order to be eligible to apply as a contributor for the ScummVM project. | ||
These rules exist to make the program rewarding and problem free for all concerned and are designed based on several years of experience to help ''you'' get the most out of GSoC. Really, these are not meant to annoy you, rather we believe that by following them you will benefit far beyond just making us happy ;-). | These rules exist to make the program rewarding and problem free for all concerned and are designed based on several years of experience to help ''you'' get the most out of GSoC. Really, these are not meant to annoy you, rather we believe that by following them you will benefit far beyond just making us happy ;-). | ||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
==Before you apply...== | ==Before you apply...== | ||
* Take into account that '''Google Summer of Code is a 20 hours a week job'''. If you consider getting an additional part time job, have extensive exams or an extended vacation during the program, you need to be very careful to not burn out. You could help us to decide if you explicitly list your other commitments in your application. | * Take into account that '''Google Summer of Code is a 20 hours a week job'''. If you consider getting an additional part time job, have extensive exams or an extended vacation during the program, you need to be very careful to not burn out. You could help us to decide if you explicitly list your other commitments in your application. | ||
''Experience in previous years' GSoC has shown us that | ''Experience in previous years' GSoC has shown us that contributors with extensive extra commitments during the GSoC coding phase tend to really struggle to meet their goals. GSoC becomes a burden instead of being fun.'' | ||
* '''Get in touch with us''' and our community. In particular, visit our [[Discord Server|Discord]] channel #scummvm-gsoc, and/or email the technical contacts listed on the [[GSoC Ideas]] page for each task that sounds appealing to you. | * '''Get in touch with us''' and our community. In particular, visit our [[Discord Server|Discord]] channel #scummvm-gsoc, and/or email the technical contacts listed on the [[GSoC Ideas]] page for each task that sounds appealing to you. | ||
''Your best chance to find out whether ScummVM is right for you, and whether you are right for ScummVM, is to talk to us. We'll be happy to answer your questions and help you decide whether you like to work with us. Your chances of being accepted later on will also be much higher if we already know you a bit. And finally, regular attendance of our Discord channel is almost mandatory if you want to work with us anyway ;-)'' | ''Your best chance to find out whether ScummVM is right for you, and whether you are right for ScummVM, is to talk to us. We'll be happy to answer your questions and help you decide whether you like to work with us. Your chances of being accepted later on will also be much higher if we already know you a bit. And finally, regular attendance of our Discord channel is almost mandatory if you want to work with us anyway ;-)'' | ||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
==During GSoC...== | ==During GSoC...== | ||
* We require you to '''communicate with your mentor''' every second day. '''Failing to do so for more than three days without arrangement will cause you to be dropped from the program.''' | * We require you to '''communicate with your mentor''' every second day. '''Failing to do so for more than three days without arrangement will cause you to be dropped from the program.''' | ||
''Consider that GSoC is a nearly full-time obligation. If you don't show up on a regular job for three days in a row, without any prior notice or reporting in as ill, you also run a high risk of being fired. Now, this is not exactly a regular day job and you don't have to come into an office every day. But communication is absolutely essential to a successful GSoC project and experience has shown that | ''Consider that GSoC is a nearly full-time obligation. If you don't show up on a regular job for three days in a row, without any prior notice or reporting in as ill, you also run a high risk of being fired. Now, this is not exactly a regular day job and you don't have to come into an office every day. But communication is absolutely essential to a successful GSoC project and experience has shown that contributors that do not check in with their mentors (and the wider community) tend to struggle and produce weaker outputs. In particular, if you feel you are behind your schedule or otherwise in troubles, talk to us as soon as possible. Do not hide from your mentor -- they are here to help you at all times. Finally, this obligation doesn't have to be a burden, but rather should be a fun opportunity to chat with a nice fellow coder about interesting topics.'' | ||
* We ask you to '''keep a weblog''' (BLOG) with posts on a weekly or more frequent basis detailing your progress and experiences with your project/GSoC. | * We ask you to '''keep a weblog''' (BLOG) with posts on a weekly or more frequent basis detailing your progress and experiences with your project/GSoC. | ||
''This provides a valuable avenue for feedback and helps the involvement of the wider community. It also helps you to sort your thoughts and determine your own progress. Note that the blogs will be aggregated onto [http://planet.scummvm.org/ ScummVM's Planet site] so language and tone should be set accordingly.'' | ''This provides a valuable avenue for feedback and helps the involvement of the wider community. It also helps you to sort your thoughts and determine your own progress. Note that the blogs will be aggregated onto [http://planet.scummvm.org/ ScummVM's Planet site] so language and tone should be set accordingly.'' | ||
* Your code must comply to our '''[[Code Formatting Conventions]]'''. | * Your code must comply to our '''[[Code Formatting Conventions]]'''. | ||
''The formatting conventions are one of the main ways we keep consistency with such a large codebase. We want | ''The formatting conventions are one of the main ways we keep consistency with such a large codebase. We want contributors to work towards their code being incorporated into mainline ScummVM and this is a prerequisite.'' | ||
* You should at the very least verify that your '''code is compilable''' before you commit it. | * You should at the very least verify that your '''code is compilable''' before you commit it. | ||
''Checked in code does not have to be feature complete or anything like that but it should at least compile at all times. Mentors regularly review | ''Checked in code does not have to be feature complete or anything like that but it should at least compile at all times. Mentors regularly review contributos' code and having to spend hours making the code compile is a very thankless task ;) when that time could be better spent on review.'' | ||
* We expect you to '''commit early, commit often''' and to push your commits to GitHub often (ideally every day, or even multiple times a day). | * We expect you to '''commit early, commit often''' and to push your commits to GitHub often (ideally every day, or even multiple times a day). | ||
''We judge | ''We judge contributors' code based on what is checked in and take the view that 'if it's not checked in it does not exist' for the purposes of GSoC reviews. Don't be shy about this. You may feel your code is not 'good enough', but the best way to learn whether it actually is good or not, and also to get valuable hints on how to improve it, is to show it to us. Trust us, we will give you constructive feedback and won't bash you for what you produce.'' | ||
* Be present on our Discord channel while you work. This is not a strict rule but a strong suggestion. | * Be present on our Discord channel while you work. This is not a strict rule but a strong suggestion. | ||
''The Discord channel is where you will usually want to ask questions about your task, and might get help from other developers. Our code base is quite big and we know it takes time to get familiar with it. If you are not sure what the best way to do something is, please ask. It is good to take some time to think about it yourself before asking, but don't wait too long if you get stuck. There is no stupid question. Also, the Discord channel is the best place to meet our community and discuss old point&click adventure games or related topics!'' | ''The Discord channel is where you will usually want to ask questions about your task, and might get help from other developers. Our code base is quite big and we know it takes time to get familiar with it. If you are not sure what the best way to do something is, please ask. It is good to take some time to think about it yourself before asking, but don't wait too long if you get stuck. There is no stupid question. Also, the Discord channel is the best place to meet our community and discuss old point&click adventure games or related topics!'' | ||