Summer of Code/2018

Sponsored Projects

Sugar Labs at GSoC 2018

Project Ideas

GSoC projects must involve some coding. Non-coding projects have been moved to the Non-Coding Projects Page.

Title	Mentor	Project
Python 3 port	Devel Team	Brief explanation Python 3 has been here for quite some time. We've investigated how to migrate and now it is time to do it. Expected results A Python 3 version of the Sugar toolkit, as well as the Sugar Desktop and a few activities. Knowledge prerequisites Strong Python and GTK experience
Migration of wiki activity pages to git	Activity team	Brief explanation We have 345 pages under Activities in this wiki. It would be more sustainable in the long run if these pages were embedded (in Markdown format) in their corresponding git repositories. Expected results Definition of migration process; migration of the majority of these pages Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of Markdown and Mediawiki markup; experience with git.
GTK-4 exploration	Devel Team	Brief explanation GTK-4 is coming soon [1]: probably in 2018. We need to be better prepared for the transition than we were for GTK-3. Expected results Design of a workflow for transitioning from GTK-3 to GTK-4 Knowledge prerequisites Strong Python and GTK experience
Internationalization and Localization	Chris Leonard Shivang Shekhar	Brief explanation A goal of Sugar Labs is to enable our users to experience Sugar in their own native language. See Translation Proposal To Do List for details. See Translation Team for framework description. Expected results Work flow improvements for i18n Knowledge prerequisites Some knowledge of Pootle; some scripting experience; Python and JavaScript
Full-color icons	Design team Jaskirat Singh perriefidelis	Brief explanation We have been discussing the implications of removing the duo-tone restriction on Sugar icons, allowing for full-color icons. We can likely use badges to compensate for any functionality we'd lose. (See [2] as one example of how we might proceed.). Like if an activity has not closed yet so it will be shown through a badge appearing on an icon. Repo can be found here https://github.com/sugarlabs/sugar-toolkit-gtk3/tree/master/src/sugar3 Expected results A patch to Sugar that uses badges to manage the icon notifications such as activity, sharing, achievements and much more. Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of GTK; Python.
Music Blocks optimizations	Walter Bender	Brief explanation Music Blocks has never been optimized in any way. It would be helpful to review the tone.js optimization recommendations, as well as build some unit tests to measure and improve the program itself. Expected results A more robust and responsive Music Blocks. Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of JavaScript, unit testing
Going Beyond Equal Temperament in Music Blocks	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima Marnen Laibow-Koser	Brief explanation Most modern music systems are designed around equal temperament. But there are many ways to chose and tune notes in a musical system that offer different expressive characteristics. See also MB issues for temperament, Articles about temperament, scales, and tuning and various materials related to temperament (.tb files that achieve temperament with existing MB features, videos of those files being performed, notes) Expected results Extend Music Blocks such that different approaches to temperament are available to the user. Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of JavaScript, music theory
Just say no to GTK2	Ignacio Rodriguez Cristian Garcia Abhijit Patel Ibiam Chihurumnaya Hrishi Patel	Brief explanation GTK2 and GST0.10 are end of life. We need to upgrade the remaining activities with these dependencies. Expected results New versions of at least 25 existing Sugar activities. Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of GTK, GST, and Python
Sugar Labs Social	Jaskirat Singh Samson Goddy Hrishi Patel Shivang Shekhar perriefidelis Abdulazeez Abdulazeez	Brief explanation Sugar Labs Social is a website project which should serve a purpose to help people understand and discuss project(s) around Sugar Labs. The goal of this project is to attract Teachers, Parents, Developers and fully communicate together in one platform. : It's a social website that can be used to attract maximum users and everything ( Blogs, New projects, Software, Activities, etc) can be uploaded on it which will attract more user and create their interest. : A competitive proposal must include some evidence that the approach taken will result in some use -- just because we build it doesn't mean they will come. Expected results It should have user logins, feed and a blog(medium like) that can be over viewed by people around the world Knowledge prerequisites Good Layout designing and coding experience with backend (Django, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, Mongo).
Lilypond Methodical Improvements to how Music Blocks generates Lilypond output	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Marnen Laibow-Koser	Brief explanation Music Blocks is capable of exporting Lilypond code of which general instructions can be found here in the Music Blocks guide and its source code can be found here. We would like to improve existing code where needed and implement needed features in a methodical way, which means we must 1) document how the Music Blocks source code works for current and future developers to learn and benefit from and 2) project manage this portion of Music Blocks development (e.g. "what works" and "what needs to be done". An example of a draft of a simple type of this analysis exists for you to start from.), as well as 3) implement and improve features. Expected results Implement and improve lilypond export features; Detailed documentation created for developer audience that details how Music Blocks exports to Lilypond; documentation to help manage what needs to be completed. Knowledge prerequisites Literacy in reading music; functional knowledge of Lilypond code (some of your own scores would be nice); Organizational and Project Management Skills; JavaScript
Music Blocks' First Steps for Robotics	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Hrishi Patel Rishabh Thaney	Brief explanation What is needed to integrate Music Blocks with Robotics? This project is 1) to experiment with existing technologies to see what is already possible, 2) develop features (e.g. plugins, hardware modifications) needed to make interfacing possible, and 3) document the entire process and next steps Expected results A working method for interfacing with a simple robot; additional features within MB to ease interfacing; and full documentation of how to recreate successful projects (that a classroom could use); communication (we do not want to guess what experiments you are doing by yourself--do not be shy to send emails, videos, pictures DAILY!!!) Knowledge prerequisites Understanding of JavaScript (Music Blocks source code) and robotics (no particular method requested, just make sure it is free/libre); demonstrable documentation and self-management skills; NOTE: we value quality, clear ideas over expensive or pretty robots
Create Examples, Compositions, and New Experiments Every Day!	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima	Brief explanation Music Blocks has some examples already, but it would be nice to have one ambitious student really work for the summer to make new creative, thoughtful code everyday. (You will be expected to code in the Music Blocks language on a daily basis.) Secondary, but important goals, are bug reports when bugs are found, feature suggestions, and overall good and frequent communication with the Music Blocks team. Expected results Quality examples sent daily; variety of styles; runs entire gamut in terms of blocks used (we want a number of great examples for each and every block feature); organized documentation of all examples created, which can be finalized in the final weeks of GSoC Knowledge prerequisites Understanding of Music Blocks as a programming language; A good proposal is one that has a well-thought out and detailed list of music projects for each day of GSoC (time-frames, blocks used, musical styles, name of music to be transcribed); experience with music and composition/theory is a definite plus.
Music Blocks UI Improvements and Implementation	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Hrishi Patel Jaskirat Singh perriefidelis	Brief explanation Music Blocks has a good enough UI, but there are open issues remaining and it would be nice if a person with a high level of understanding of graphics and style were to proposal and implement changes that unify the entire look and feel of Music Blocks. Expected results Visually unified, beautiful and intuitive Music Blocks interface. Documentation to benefit future contributors to understand "what Music Blocks style is" (obviously this may change in the future, but a thoughtful rationale for the new style is expected). Knowledge prerequisites Understanding of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. Published work on UI (links to code, websites, etc)
Scales/Modes/Keys Design Improvements and Implementation	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Marnen Laibow-Koser Sachiko Nakajima perriefidelis Jaskirat Singh	Brief explanation There are features in MB for exploring modes/scales/keys which can are referenced in the guide. However, we suspect that there are better ways to organize keys. This project would be to reimagine how MB organizes pitches. We recommend that you read the discussions that have taken place already on GitHub as well as research how keys work as well as scholarly articles about temperament, scales, and tuning. Keep in mind that we would like to prepare for the possibility of chromatic pitch spaces that are not 12--for example, a chroma of 5 or 7 or 13, etc. What features and widgets are needed? Expected results Detailed documentation created for developer audience that specifies 1) proposed features and overall design, 2) purpose of design choices, 3) audit of code (e.g. What changes to our current approach may be necessary? Are there libraries that may be useful?) 4) widget design proposal as well as MB code design proposal. Knowledge prerequisites Understanding of Music Theory and/or group (or set) theory. Please read the articles at https://owncloud.libretools.com/index.php/s/2GtAhkvQpt3fYfF We are looking for candidates that can make a simple and effective design that can be implemented in JavaScript.
Create UI features for music analysis and visualization	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima perriefidelis	Brief explanation Music Blocks does not yet have a robust set of tools to help the user analyze their music (e.g. highest pitch, lowest pitch, pitches used, keys, musical form, intervals etc.). Additionally, users would very much benefit from features to help them visualize the way their music is constructed. Perhaps we could even create some features to help the user choose a style of music and the analysis highlights movements that violate that style's particular rules. Expected results New Features. Knowledge prerequisites Literacy in reading music; Music Theory knowledge; UI knowledge; JavaScript knowledge
Music Blocks Musical Ornaments Features	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima Marnen Laibow-Koser	Brief explanation The neighbor block feature is the first of a series of musical ornament features. There are many more possibilities, some of which are described in issue 909. The project would be to implement and document these features as well as to create example programs. Expected results New Features, documentation, and new example programs for each new feature. Knowledge prerequisites Music Theory knowledge; JavaScript knowledge; knowledge of Music Blocks and tone.js internals (please research)
Music Blocks Widget Improvements	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima Marnen Laibow-Koser	Brief explanation Music Blocks has a number of features to help users conceptualize musical concepts, which also help to create code. Please see the guide for more. There are a number of widgets that have not been integrated at all as well. This project would be to 1) fix widget bugs, 2) implement unfinished features (see issues), and 3) document and fully integrate these new features and improve existing features. is also a related feature Expected results New Features, fixes, documentation, and new example programs for each new feature. Knowledge prerequisites Music Theory knowledge; JavaScript knowledge; knowledge of Music Blocks and tone.js internals (please research)
Sugarizer School Box	Michaël Ohayon Lionel Laské Hrishi Patel Rishabh Thaney Shivang Shekhar	Brief explanation Sugarizer is the JavaScript version of Sugar, making education available of many platforms from web to mobile.:The app is composed by both a client side and a server side. The idea of this project is to develop a package to simplify deployment of Sugarizer in schools. This package will take two forms: 1 - An image for Raspberry Pi that could be flashed on a sd card that could automatically start a sugarizer server at boot and displays sugarizer client on the Pi. The server will be accessible by other devices from the local network. So the teacher has just to plug the RaspberryPI to expose a WiFi and the Sugarizer Server API/WebApp. So any computer connected to this WiFi could use Sugarizer Server WebApp and any tablet with Sugarizer App connected to this WiFi could benefit to collaboration, presence and backup its content on the server. 2 - Create one click to deploy scripts, to deploy a full Sugarizer stack on popular providers such as Amazon AWS or Heroku. So anyone could deploy a new Sugarizer Server instance on one of popular cloud platform without the need to dig into a complex setup process. Expected results Raspberry Pi image files. Deployment scripts. Knowledge prerequisites Sugarizer Server knowledge, Linux system administration knowledge, bash scripting capabilities, Docker enthusiasm. (This project may require to download many system files)
Sugarizer Exerciser activity	Lionel Laské Michaël Ohayon Jaskirat Singh	Brief explanation Sugarizer is the JavaScript version of Sugar, making education available of many platforms from web to mobile. The idea of this project is to create a new Sugarizer activity to allow users to create exercise and let other users play to this exercise. The activity will propose different templates for exercises. Typical exercises could be multiple-choice question, reordering a list of items, cloze text, group assignment, ... Once created, the exercise could be played locally or shared on the network using Sugarizer presence. At the end of the exercise a graph will give results for each participants. The activity should allow to integrate multimedia element (images, sounds, videos) coming from the Journal. The activity should as simple as possible so even a child should be able to create an exercise and share it. Like all Sugarizer activity, the activity should: adopt the Sugar UI, be responsive (work on any screen size), work with the keyboard and with the mouse (to support touch screen), use journal and use localization. Features inspiration could be found on LearningApps, Google Forms, LimeSurvey, ... Expected results A Sugarizer activity. Knowledge prerequisites HTML/JavaScript, UI Design, Sugarizer Development Tutorial
Music Blocks export	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima	Brief explanation Music Blocks is essentially a Logo interpreter. It would be great to be able to export Logo from Music Blocks. (We need to find a Logo that can handle the basic synthesizer needs to make it relevant.) Expected results A Logo export that is coupled to a music-enabled Logo interpreter. Knowledge prerequisites Literacy in reading music; Music Theory knowledge; UI knowledge; Logo and JavaScript knowledge Some new activity development will be required, e.g., The original TamTam had a keyboard that the user could use to play songs with their choice of instrumental sounds. Currently the version of TamTam in Sugarizer only allows the user to make a sound of one note on their chosen instrument. TamTam for Sugar Primero will have a keyboard option that will permit the playing of simple songs. A user's guide with suggestions for using them to meet educational goals while having fun. Expected results Sugar Primero will be available for free from all of the app stores Knowledge prerequisites Knowledge of JavaScript, some knowledge of Primary school curriculum.
Music Blocks inline documentation	Walter Bender Devin Ulibarri Sachiko Nakajima	Brief explanation There are three types of documentation for Music Blocks: documentation about how individual blocks work; short coding examples; and lesson plans. This project is about the first two. We can add inline comments to each block as it is defined in basicblocks.js from which help can be autogenerated for each block. And we can utilize the "make block" mechanism to generate on-the-fly examples of how to use blocks in combination to achieve different musical goals. The former will require some JavaScript programming; the latter, Music Blocks programming. Expected results In-line documentation for each block as well as in-line Music Blocks-coded examples of the core music ideas. Knowledge prerequisites UI knowledge; JavaScript knowledge; some background in music.