Summer Coding 2010 proposal - New Features of Dorrie

About you

1. What is your name?
   • Ming Yin
2. What is your email address?
   • dev.myin@gmail.com
3. What is your wiki username?
   • myin
4. What is your IRC nickname?
   • myin
5. What is your primary language? (We have mentors who may speak your preferred languages and can match you with one of them if you request.)
   • English
6. Where are you located, and what hours do you tend to work? (We also try to match mentors by general time zone if possible.)
   • Shanghai, P.R.China. UTC+8.
7. Have you participated in an open-source project before? If so, please send us URLs to your profile pages for those projects, or some other demonstration of the work that you have done in open-source. If not, why do you want to work on an open-source project this summer?
   • I have solid background in programming and experiences working for some big software companies such as Microsoft. I have design and developed several web application projects which would help me a lot with this project Dorrie. I have also worked as a network administrator, which help me gain knowledge and experiences in linux the system. However, most of these projects are unavailable as a reference here since they are of internal uses only.
   • Although most of my previous works have nothing to do with open source, I am really passionate with it. It makes a difference as a contributor to the community, which is very significant for me.
   • I have some of my small schoolworks in google code:
     • http://code.google.com/p/y86/
     • http://code.google.com/p/pycomposer/
     • http://code.google.com/p/eduadminsys/
   • It is usually not easy to start contribute to open-source communities without help from existing members. And the Summer Coding program is just a wonderful opportunity for the students to get started with it.

About your project

1. What is the name of your project?
   • New Features of Dorrie
2. Does your project come from an idea on the Summer Coding 2010 ideas page? If so, provide a link for reference, as well as a link to any discussions with mentors about your proposal.
   • Yes. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Summer_Coding_2010_ideas_-_Dorrie
   • I discussed with the mentor through emails.

1. Describe your project in 10-20 sentences. What are you making? Who are you making it for, and why do they need it? What technologies (programming languages, etc.) will you be using?
   • Dorrie is a Web interface to build customized Fedora Remixes. It is a Free Software licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3 or later and written using Django/Python.
     • User management - integration with FAS.
     • Tabbed workflow with AJAX.
     • Search Packages.
     • Add default users to Kickstart. Custom root password.
     • Hostname
     • Default Wallpaper, home directory content,
     • Add user defined repositories.
     • Upload Custom packages.
   • The major audiences of the project are those who want to create Fedora remixes. They usually need to do a lot with package and system configurations, as well as various files, which would be rather complicating and bothersome. Dorrie provides a friendly user interface and simplifies the operations with this kind of works. This can save time and minimize errors for both the inexperienced and those who do this often.
   • We use Django on Python to implement the web application with html and javascript on the client side. AJAX techniques are involved. Back-end scripts are implemented with python too.
2. What is the timeline for development of your project?
   • My schedule is as follows:
     1. Jun.1 - Jun.13 Learn the existing codes and related techniques. Work out detailed requirements regarding functionality, layout, etc. with my mentor.
     2. Jun.14 - Jun.20 Complete the design of the whole project, and then amend it with my mentor.
     3. Jun.21 - Jul.4 Learning relevant APIs, implementing the user management related features, including integrating with Fedora, adding kickstart users and set initial information such as password of the accounts.
     4. Jul.5 - Jul.11 Implementing file related features, such as home directory contents, wall papers, initial files, etc.
     5. Jul.12 - Jul. 18 Implementing package related features, including searching functions, adding custom packages, etc. And do optimization in algorithms in this part.
     6. Jul.19 - Jul. 25 Implementing configuration features for system related settings (e.g. Hostname).
     7. Jul.26 - Aug.9 Add AJAX to the pages.
3. Convince us, in 5-15 sentences, that you will be able to successfully complete your project in the timeline you have described. This is usually where people describe their past experiences, credentials, prior projects, schoolwork, and that sort of thing, but be creative. Link to prior work or other resources as relevant.
   • I have solid background in programming and experiences working for some big software companies such as Microsoft. I have design and developed several web application projects which would help me a lot with this project Dorrie. I have also worked as a network administrator, which help me gain knowledge and experiences in linux the system. However, most of these projects are unavailable as a reference here since they are of internal uses only.
   • Although most of my previous works have nothing to do with open source, I am really passionate with it. It makes a difference as a contributor to the community, which is very significant for me.
   • I have some of my small schoolworks in google code:
     • http://code.google.com/p/y86/
     • http://code.google.com/p/pycomposer/
     • http://code.google.com/p/eduadminsys/

You and the community

1. If your project is successfully completed, what will its impact be on the Fedora community? Give 3 answers, each 1-3 paragraphs in length. The first one should be yours. The other two should be answers from members of the Fedora community, at least one of whom should be a Fedora Summer Coding mentor. Provide email contact information for non-Summer Coding mentors.
   • This tool is based only on Fedora. It helps those who want to create Fedora remixes to a great extent, and even a wider range of the end users of those remixes.
2. What will you do if you get stuck on your project and your mentor isn't around?
   • There are several separate tasks in this project, and thus I can always switch to a different one if I get stuck in some task. I would keep it and figure out several possible solutions, and ask the mentor for his opinions.
3. In addition to the required blogging minimum of twice per week, how do you propose to keep the community informed of your progress and any problems or questions you might have over the course of the project?
   • I will keep the page updated, and follow up the mailing list. Any one can get touch with me easily with irc or email.

Miscellaneous

1. We want to make sure that you are prepared before the project starts
   • Can you set up an appropriate development environment?
     • Absolutely yes. And I have already done it.
   • Have you met your proposed mentor and members of the associated community?
     • Yes, we have communications through emails.
2. What is your t-shirt size?
   • XXL
3. Describe a great learning experience you had as a child.
4. Is there anything else we should have asked you or anything else that we should know that might make us like you or your project more?

Comments

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