The step-by-step guide to GSoC

5 min read

Google Summer of Code is the dream of many open source

programmers — even without the monetary perks, it is a thing
worth striving for.

Getting accepted for ​GSoC​ seems daunting at best and

herculean at worst. It seems like a tough nut to crack. So, in this
article, with the help of a few open source enthusiasts, Most of
them certified GSoC-ers, I hope to break down this seemingly
intimidating task at hand — Try to break down the process so
that GSoC seems more achievable.

STEP 1- Get acquainted with ​open source

Well, that’s not too hard, is it?

If you don’t know any language, that’s your start.

Now two roads diverge at this wood- learn a language you feel
comfortable with, if you’re not too sure of the project you want
to be involved with.

If you are sure about the flavour of project you want to do, full
steam ahead, and learn the language that necessitates.

Next, learn how to find your way around a version control

system- Git , Mercurial or the like- ​Git is the most popularly
used one.
Next, look up the repository of open source projects- skim
through the code base of companies, especially ones that have
been listed for GSoC in the past.

For the beginners-

This is about learning to work in a team, how to write good

code, teamwork, and of course- contribute. Introduce yourself
in the open source community, and keep in mind that for every
organization, the style of writing code differs just a tad bit — get
the hang of the style for a few organizations and try fixing easy
bugs (If you want to fix an existing bug, leave a comment on the
issue, and wait for conformation before proceeding to work on
the bug) — this gives you a flavor of the code base, and after a
week or so, you can try skimming through the code base, and
proceed to more challenging bugs, or patches, or even help
build the documentation.

Gentle reminders at this point — getting the code base and

setting it up is the hardest part- the rest is relatively simpler.
Every organization, has guidelines to set up its codebase in a
developer environment, and also a robust community of open
source enthusiasts who are all to ready to help just about
anyone with an interest take their fledgling steps- after all, like
any good collective effort, every little contribution matters in
open source.

Step 2- Find the organizations you want to work for.

Interest is key. You can search for organizations based on your

area of interest/language of interest.

Around early October, Select 3 to 4 organizations that have

been listed for GSoC in the past, and go through their projects
and homepage issues. Try not to go with the flow and choose
only well known organizations, lesser known organizations
have interesting projects, along with a greater chance of your
proposal getting selected.

Set up the codebase of the projects, compile it and run-

generally this makes it easier to find bugs, or go through
existing issues. From December to February, try to make your
presence felt in the organization.

GSoC selections depend to a great extent on how active you are

in the organization- aim for at least one issue/fix per week.
Once Google releases the list of organizations that are included
in GSoC, restrict yourself to one, at most two projects, and
increase your contributions to those projects- as a rule of
thumb, two issues/fixes per week.

Apart from this, try to join online discussions on various issues

and try to contribute your thoughts to the same.

Step-3 Draft your Proposal.

This is one of the most crucial steps of your GSoC application.

Take at least 10–12 days to frame your ​proposal​. Try to frame

it early, as mentors can review it, and guide you further. Try to
frame the proposal along the lines of the organization’s
expected projects, which they put up immediately after Google’s
announcement. (You can frame an entirely new proposal of you
have started early on and have been very active, but it is tedious
to get an organization to select a proposal outside their scope.)

Describe your work in detail with clarity-

Your proposal should advertise your work, and highlight how
you would be useful to the organization. It should include —
what you wish to do, how you wish to do it, if possible- a
mock-up of how it would look like and a timeline of your
proposed work and how your work is going to benefit the
organization. In addition, include your existing contributions
and provide links to the same.
Try to keep an active profile in the organization even after
submitting your proposal, as it can increase the chances of your
proposal getting noticed more. And yes, of course, keep your
fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Do your best : ​At the end of it all, if you do get selected,
keep in mind, it is impressive to get selected for GSoC, but it is
even more impressive to get selected and complete your project
in the best possible way- to become a certified GSoC-er.

Apply for GSOC ​:

https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/

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Post Source :​https://medium.com/@hellomeets/the-step-by-step-guide-to-gsoc-fea68daa8e0