From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
MIME-Version: 1.0
In-Reply-To: <361d2c0d16ae44890a1a2515f261c800@terzarima.net>
References: <361d2c0d16ae44890a1a2515f261c800@terzarima.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:09:27 -0300
Message-ID: <32d987d50903251709o5c7d4785m6d2702f2cecbcf3@mail.gmail.com>
From: "Federico G. Benavento" <benavento@gmail.com>
To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Subject: Re: [9fans] request for more GSoC project suggestions
Topicbox-Message-UUID: c5430baa-ead4-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025

hola,

I think we usually ask for drivers because that's what keeps some
of us away of using Plan 9 natively or in new hardware, but I
also get Charles point, soo..

I'd really like to see p9p for windows and/or 9vx for windows as well.
for the first, I heard somewhere that a german fellow even got acme
going, but I don't know where that work is, for the latter there is also
a port stalled.

As for applications for Plan 9, the ones we need (read to cope with
the rest of the world) are too big for a soc project, so even if I don't
like gcc, a port would help on this matter.

right now, one can get by running old linux binaries and linuxemu+
equis, so improving linuxemu is also a project I'm interested.

just my opinion

On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 12:16 PM, Charles Forsyth <forsyth@terzarima.net> w=
rote:
> There are GSoC project suggestions at http://gsoc.cat-v.org/ideas/
> but I think more are needed, and that it would be especially good
> to have a further set of useful but simpler and smaller projects.
>
> Projects need to be non-trivial for GSoC, but shouldn't
> be hard enough that many of us would shun them (or indeed, have shunned t=
hem).
> Based on my experience several years ago,
> I'd also look for projects that are modular, so that the set of deliverab=
les can be extended
> or reduced depending how things go. That worked well for the
> projects I was involved with.
>
> The problem with ports of the system or device driver writing, in my expe=
rience,
> is that satisfying though they are, and as necessary
> as they might be, they are typically quite hard to
> supervise, and will usually be fairly difficult for relative novices.
> There is quite a bit to learn for most students just to
> get started and be productive in the programming environment,
> although 9vx does make that much easier.
> Application-level projects are typically easier to
> supervise because they don't need specialised equipment,
> and many more people on this list and elsewhere can help
> with plausible advice, and also help debug when students are stuck. (Advi=
ce will
> sometimes be contradictory, but that's not a bad lesson to learn, too.)
> It's quite hard to help when special hardware or kernel-level debugging i=
s involved.
> Because quite a bit in Plan 9 (or Inferno/9vx/p9p etc) is done at
> user-level that is done at kernel-level in other systems, that shouldn't
> narrow the scope much. =C2=A0I wrote "application-level" not just "user-l=
evel"
> earlier because I thought it would be good to have some
> interesting applications of the system. =C2=A0Of course, I don't mean
> to preclude system-level things when students are especially keen
> on that (as indeed I was during my school and university years).
>
> I don't know where the best place to suggest or discuss them would be,
> but I thought this list would reach nearly everyone interested.
>
>



--=20
Federico G. Benavento