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digitalmars.D.announce - Tango and the Hackontest

reply Lars Ivar Igesund <larsivar igesund.net> writes:
I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
all to take a look, register and make a vote.

http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29

Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.

-- 
Lars Ivar Igesund
blog at http://larsivi.net
DSource, #d.tango & #D: larsivi
Dancing the Tango
Apr 19 2008
next sibling parent reply Bill Baxter <dnewsgroup billbaxter.com> writes:
Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.
 
 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29
 
 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


Hmm, I think despite the jury it's still going to be tough for Tango to 
get in on this one:
"""
the Hackontest jury will look at the submitted projects and developers 
and choose the three participating developer teams - three persons each 
- *according the highest promoted features* and the most promising 
hacker profiles.
""""

So a big part of the selection is going to be about how many people vote 
for particular features and projects.

I think that puts the odds highly in favor of well-known end-user apps 
(like Blender and OpenOffice) rather than library projects written in 
niche programming languages.  They also say PR for open source is a big 
reason for doing it.  So they're going to want to have competitors 
working on projects which can be easily explained to the public (like 
Blender and OpenOffice).

And ultimately only *three* projects will be selected.  So I think 
chances were probably a lot better for summer of code than they will be 
for this.

Still, I think it's great you registered.  It puts D and Tangos names 
out there in front of a lot of eyeballs.  And it will be even better if 
a significant number of people comment and show interest.

--bb
Apr 20 2008
parent reply Lars Ivar Igesund <larsivar igesund.net> writes:
Bill Baxter Wrote:


 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.
 
 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29
 
 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


 
 Hmm, I think despite the jury it's still going to be tough for Tango to 
 get in on this one:
 """
 the Hackontest jury will look at the submitted projects and developers 
 and choose the three participating developer teams - three persons each 
 - *according the highest promoted features* and the most promising 
 hacker profiles.
 """"
 
 So a big part of the selection is going to be about how many people vote 
 for particular features and projects.
 
 I think that puts the odds highly in favor of well-known end-user apps 
 (like Blender and OpenOffice) rather than library projects written in 
 niche programming languages.  They also say PR for open source is a big 
 reason for doing it.  So they're going to want to have competitors 
 working on projects which can be easily explained to the public (like 
 Blender and OpenOffice).
 
 And ultimately only *three* projects will be selected.  So I think 
 chances were probably a lot better for summer of code than they will be 
 for this.
 
 Still, I think it's great you registered.  It puts D and Tangos names 
 out there in front of a lot of eyeballs.  And it will be even better if 
 a significant number of people comment and show interest.
 
 --bb


I agree that the chances are slim (I initially thought there would be more than
3 teams), but I also think that as long as Tango is listed high (needs some
activity for our proposed requests), we will get some nice publicity. I also
think that even high profile open source projects, often have fairly few active
(as in programmers) contributors, and that Tango in number of contributors can
match many of them. The exception is the typical meta projects like KDE which
have very many contributors because they have so many subprojects.

And to expand a bit on what is needed - feature requests are not enough, people
need to register themselves as implementors - and as it is said, interesting
profiles is part of what weighs in in the selection process. The selected teams
will get a free 3 day trip to Zurich in Switzerland, in late September this
year.

What I am hoping, is that the promise of D somehow can be tested / proven
through such a contest - would a D team be more productive than one using C++
as the main language? I know that language probably isn't a focus, but maybe
the jury could be made to wonder through comments, project description (my
job), etc.

Lars Ivar
Apr 21 2008
parent reply Bill Baxter <dnewsgroup billbaxter.com> writes:
Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 Bill Baxter Wrote:
 

 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.

 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29

 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


 Hmm, I think despite the jury it's still going to be tough for Tango to 
 get in on this one:
 """
 the Hackontest jury will look at the submitted projects and developers 
 and choose the three participating developer teams - three persons each 
 - *according the highest promoted features* and the most promising 
 hacker profiles.
 """"

 So a big part of the selection is going to be about how many people vote 
 for particular features and projects.

 I think that puts the odds highly in favor of well-known end-user apps 
 (like Blender and OpenOffice) rather than library projects written in 
 niche programming languages.  They also say PR for open source is a big 
 reason for doing it.  So they're going to want to have competitors 
 working on projects which can be easily explained to the public (like 
 Blender and OpenOffice).

 And ultimately only *three* projects will be selected.  So I think 
 chances were probably a lot better for summer of code than they will be 
 for this.

 Still, I think it's great you registered.  It puts D and Tangos names 
 out there in front of a lot of eyeballs.  And it will be even better if 
 a significant number of people comment and show interest.

 --bb


 
 I agree that the chances are slim (I initially thought there would be more
than 3 teams), but I also think that as long as Tango is listed high (needs
some activity for our proposed requests), we will get some nice publicity. I
also think that even high profile open source projects, often have fairly few
active (as in programmers) contributors, and that Tango in number of
contributors can match many of them. The exception is the typical meta projects
like KDE which have very many contributors because they have so many
subprojects.
 
 And to expand a bit on what is needed - feature requests are not enough,
people need to register themselves as implementors - and as it is said,
interesting profiles is part of what weighs in in the selection process. The
selected teams will get a free 3 day trip to Zurich in Switzerland, in late
September this year.
 
 What I am hoping, is that the promise of D somehow can be tested / proven
through such a contest - would a D team be more productive than one using C++
as the main language? I know that language probably isn't a focus, but maybe
the jury could be made to wonder through comments, project description (my
job), etc.
 
 Lars Ivar
 



Just a heads up -- I heard there's a $1000 cap on travel expenses, which 
isn't likely to cover the air fare to Zurich from many parts of the 
world.  So it's not necessarily even a free 3-day trip to Zurich, 
depending on where you live.  But free for Euro-folk, I suppose.

--bb
Apr 21 2008
parent reply Lars Ivar Igesund <larsivar igesund.net> writes:
Bill Baxter Wrote:


 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 Bill Baxter Wrote:
 

 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.

 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29

 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


 Hmm, I think despite the jury it's still going to be tough for Tango to 
 get in on this one:
 """
 the Hackontest jury will look at the submitted projects and developers 
 and choose the three participating developer teams - three persons each 
 - *according the highest promoted features* and the most promising 
 hacker profiles.
 """"

 So a big part of the selection is going to be about how many people vote 
 for particular features and projects.

 I think that puts the odds highly in favor of well-known end-user apps 
 (like Blender and OpenOffice) rather than library projects written in 
 niche programming languages.  They also say PR for open source is a big 
 reason for doing it.  So they're going to want to have competitors 
 working on projects which can be easily explained to the public (like 
 Blender and OpenOffice).

 And ultimately only *three* projects will be selected.  So I think 
 chances were probably a lot better for summer of code than they will be 
 for this.

 Still, I think it's great you registered.  It puts D and Tangos names 
 out there in front of a lot of eyeballs.  And it will be even better if 
 a significant number of people comment and show interest.

 --bb


 
 I agree that the chances are slim (I initially thought there would be more
than 3 teams), but I also think that as long as Tango is listed high (needs
some activity for our proposed requests), we will get some nice publicity. I
also think that even high profile open source projects, often have fairly few
active (as in programmers) contributors, and that Tango in number of
contributors can match many of them. The exception is the typical meta projects
like KDE which have very many contributors because they have so many
subprojects.
 
 And to expand a bit on what is needed - feature requests are not enough,
people need to register themselves as implementors - and as it is said,
interesting profiles is part of what weighs in in the selection process. The
selected teams will get a free 3 day trip to Zurich in Switzerland, in late
September this year.
 
 What I am hoping, is that the promise of D somehow can be tested / proven
through such a contest - would a D team be more productive than one using C++
as the main language? I know that language probably isn't a focus, but maybe
the jury could be made to wonder through comments, project description (my
job), etc.
 
 Lars Ivar
 


 
 
 Just a heads up -- I heard there's a $1000 cap on travel expenses, which 
 isn't likely to cover the air fare to Zurich from many parts of the 
 world.  So it's not necessarily even a free 3-day trip to Zurich, 
 depending on where you live.  But free for Euro-folk, I suppose.
 
 --bb


Good point, although I find the text somewhat unclear. I originally interpreted
it as a free trip with a 1000 USD cap on the stay itself, mostly because your
interpretation will rule out most developers living elsewhere, at least without
costs, USD don't get you far in Europe these days.

The site probably should clarify such things better, but I haven't found any
good point of contact on the site.

Lars Ivar
Apr 21 2008
parent Bill Baxter <dnewsgroup billbaxter.com> writes:
Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 Bill Baxter Wrote:
 

 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 Bill Baxter Wrote:


 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.

 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29

 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


 Hmm, I think despite the jury it's still going to be tough for Tango to 
 get in on this one:
 """
 the Hackontest jury will look at the submitted projects and developers 
 and choose the three participating developer teams - three persons each 
 - *according the highest promoted features* and the most promising 
 hacker profiles.
 """"

 So a big part of the selection is going to be about how many people vote 
 for particular features and projects.

 I think that puts the odds highly in favor of well-known end-user apps 
 (like Blender and OpenOffice) rather than library projects written in 
 niche programming languages.  They also say PR for open source is a big 
 reason for doing it.  So they're going to want to have competitors 
 working on projects which can be easily explained to the public (like 
 Blender and OpenOffice).

 And ultimately only *three* projects will be selected.  So I think 
 chances were probably a lot better for summer of code than they will be 
 for this.

 Still, I think it's great you registered.  It puts D and Tangos names 
 out there in front of a lot of eyeballs.  And it will be even better if 
 a significant number of people comment and show interest.

 --bb


 I agree that the chances are slim (I initially thought there would be more
than 3 teams), but I also think that as long as Tango is listed high (needs
some activity for our proposed requests), we will get some nice publicity. I
also think that even high profile open source projects, often have fairly few
active (as in programmers) contributors, and that Tango in number of
contributors can match many of them. The exception is the typical meta projects
like KDE which have very many contributors because they have so many
subprojects.

 And to expand a bit on what is needed - feature requests are not enough,
people need to register themselves as implementors - and as it is said,
interesting profiles is part of what weighs in in the selection process. The
selected teams will get a free 3 day trip to Zurich in Switzerland, in late
September this year.

 What I am hoping, is that the promise of D somehow can be tested / proven
through such a contest - would a D team be more productive than one using C++
as the main language? I know that language probably isn't a focus, but maybe
the jury could be made to wonder through comments, project description (my
job), etc.

 Lars Ivar


 Just a heads up -- I heard there's a $1000 cap on travel expenses, which 
 isn't likely to cover the air fare to Zurich from many parts of the 
 world.  So it's not necessarily even a free 3-day trip to Zurich, 
 depending on where you live.  But free for Euro-folk, I suppose.

 --bb


 
 Good point, although I find the text somewhat unclear. I originally
interpreted it as a free trip with a 1000 USD cap on the stay itself, mostly
because your interpretation will rule out most developers living elsewhere, at
least without costs, USD don't get you far in Europe these days.
 
 The site probably should clarify such things better, but I haven't found any
good point of contact on the site.


Yeh, I don't really know.  It's not my interpretation but rather one I 
heard on the Inkscape mailing list.

--bb
Apr 21 2008
prev sibling next sibling parent reply Bill Baxter <dnewsgroup billbaxter.com> writes:
Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.
 
 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29
 
 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


How about a serialization API?  Tango doesn't have one of those yet does 
it?

(Just throwing the idea out here, because it will look silly if I 
suggest it on the hackontest site when it already exists!)

--bb
Apr 20 2008
parent Lars Ivar Igesund <larsivar igesund.net> writes:
Bill Baxter Wrote:


 Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 I have registered Tango for the Hackontest [1], a Google sponsored
 competition for open source projects. Unlike Google Summer of Code, this
 project seems to have its participants decided by an independent jury, and
 so we probably have a bigger chance at being accepted. Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...) will
 do it. In any case, this can be a great show case for D, and I recommend
 all to take a look, register and make a vote.
 
 http://www.hackontest.org/index.php?action=Root-projectDetail%2835%29
 
 Contest prizes will go to those doing the actual coding.


 
 How about a serialization API?  Tango doesn't have one of those yet does 
 it?
 
 (Just throwing the idea out here, because it will look silly if I 
 suggest it on the hackontest site when it already exists!)


The IO protocol package is for explicit serializing, but I'm aware that many
don't think this is serialization. Automatic serialization is afaik implemented
in a few variations, Tom's (h3r3tic)  xpose comes to mind, but we find the lack
of flexibility imposed by D to be too limiting to include such a solution just
yet.

So to conclude, I don't think it will be a useful project to propose for the
Hackontest at least.

Lars Ivar
Apr 21 2008
prev sibling parent Walter Bright <newshound1 digitalmars.com> writes:
Lars Ivar Igesund wrote:

 Maybe enough
 community activty (suggest features for implementation, voting, ...)


It has my vote!
Apr 20 2008