Re: [9fans] request for more GSoC project suggestions

["Devon H. O'Dell" <devon.odell@gmail.com>]

2009/3/25 Paul Lalonde <plalonde@telus.net>:
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> I'd like to see a 3D graphics protocol.  Then I could run the host on some
> linux or window or mac box to do the display, and run the graphics app in
> Plan9, or inferno, or ...
>
> And (heresy aside) I've love a way to compile C++ programs for plan9.  That
> would give me a reason to get Plan9 up on this scary multi-core part I'm
> working on.  Without C++ support, I can't run the principle application I
> need :-(

Gogo reimplementation of cfront.

> Paul
>
> On Mar 25, 2009, at 8:16 AM, Charles Forsyth wrote:
>
>>
>> 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
>> them).
>> Based on my experience several years ago,
>> I'd also look for projects that are modular, so that the set of
>> deliverables 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
>> experience,
>> 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.
>> (Advice 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 is
>> 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.  I wrote "application-level" not just "user-level"
>> earlier because I thought it would be good to have some
>> interesting applications of the system.  Of 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.
>>
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