GSOC how to begin

Announcement: Welcome to Scribus, Welcome to the Google Summer of Code!!

Here is a short introduction on how to proceed toward a successful GSOC.

Scribus is a DTP software

To begin with, you have to become familiar with Scribus

• Read the wiki and documentation
• Use Scribus for basic uses, and for some more complex real world uses. Check out Success_stories
• Note the strengths and the weaknesses of the tool.

Scribus is a community

Scribus is an international community. The mailing list has users hail from all over the globe since 200x?

Ways to connect to the community are through:

• IRC #scribus on freenode
• Mailing lists Subscribe to the user and dev list
• Scribus forums

Note: Please use the same nickname on the media you subscribe to (IRC, lists, forum, GSOC site, etc)

Be friendly on these places. Show your interest if you're interested.

Scribus is code

You have to discover the code and the tools for coding

Subscribe RSS to follow the bug tracker and the commits
Install svn and get a copy of the dev version's source

Compile the dev version 

Look at the bug tracker and see if you could fix some bugs.
Some easy to fix bugs are marked with the "easyhack" tag
but there are other possibly easy to fix bugs.
Some are brand new virgin bugs offered to your talents, 
some other have allready been worked on but need more work :
fixing, testing and updating with current svn version.

See:

• http://bugs.scribus.net/search.php?tag_string=easyhack
• Low Hanging Fruit‎

Strategies for Success

1. Introduce yourself, your skills, your experience
2. Good communication is very important for the success of the GSOC
3. We have to understand you and feel that you understand us

Trust scribus team and scribus users : we are all very willing that you enter GSOC and succeed to improve Scribus.

Jump In

1. Open an account on the mantis bug tracker (request on irc via Malex or MrB).
2. Study and fix a first bug
3. You can ask for help, and we'll be happy to help when possible
4. Howerver, show that you can be autonomous and don't expect too much support (currently all the devs are volunteering their precious time)
5. Carefully test your fix : it has to fix the issue and should not introduce any other issue.
6. When ready, upload your patch on the bug tracker
7. Explain the fix in your report
8. A good fix might be quickly merged in the trunk version. You will know you are on the good track
9. Anyway, go on, without waiting, with a slightly more complex fix.

Repeat

GSOC is a dynamic

Taking part to the GSOC requires dedication and perseverance

When you enter this path, you will slowly discover the Scribus world 
as well as the the (Scribus) GSOC world.
Simultaneously, the Scribus team members will slowly discover you too.
It's an organic process.

You may eventually encounter a possible Scribus GSOC projects idea
that captivates your interest enough to work on. 

When this happens:
  Make propositions.
  Study the project. 
  Start a blog or a wiki for your project so as to show your progress. This will also greatly benefit you. 
  Draw diagrams or code charts, Imagine data structures. 
  Make a proposal of UI. Build some real dialog window.

They need not be perfect, their sole purpose is to show 
your understanding of the issue and of the project
and your ability to brainstorm, organize, present, and persuade the team with your solutions. 
These are all very important skills that will serve you well from here on forward.

These steps will enable you to build a project proposal for the GSOC too.

Define and plan the content of your future work : what shall you achieve, 
how long time will each step require.

Be ambitious, be realistic (levelheaded) and thou shalt succeed !

When accepted, this project will be full time job for you for the
duration of 2 months (As per the GSOC agreement.)