Every user has work they need to do. The goal of Gentoo is to design tools and systems that allow a user to do that work as pleasantly and efficiently as possible, as they see fit. Our tools should be a joy to use and should help the user to appreciate the richness of the Linux and free software community, and the flexibility of free software. This is only possible when the tool is designed to reflect and transmit the will of the user, and leave the possibilities open as to the final form of the raw materials (the source code.) If the tool forces the user to do things a particular way, then the tool is working against, rather than for, the user. We have all experienced situations where tools seem to be imposing their respective wills on us. This is backwards, and contrary to the Gentoo philosophy.
Put another way, the Gentoo philosophy is to create better tools. When a tool is doing its job perfectly, you might not even be very aware of its presence, because it does not interfere and make its presence known, nor does it force you to interact with it when you don’t want it to. The tool serves the user rather than the user serving the tool.
The goal of Gentoo is to strive to create near-ideal tools. Tools that can accommodate the needs of many different users all with divergent goals. Don’t you love it when you find a tool that does exactly what you want to do? Doesn’t it feel great? Our mission is to give that sensation to as many people as possible.
- Twitter: Students interested in applying to do a project for Gentoo should join #gentoo-soc on the Freenode IRC network and the [email protected] mailing list. Announcements related to Gentoo's Summer of Code effort will be relayed to both places.
You can choose among our project ideas or come up with your own. The gentoo-soc mailing list, the gentoo-soc IRC channel or any of the listed mentors can provide feedback.
Write a proposal attempting to convince us why your project should be chosen. A few sentences are not sufficient in most cases to sway anyone.
Abstract. Try to keep this section in one paragraph. It should not be an in depth analysis.
Objective. What problem does the project solve? This does not need to be a long section.
Deliverables. What will the project consist of when it is finished? Source code, documentation, a build system, libraries, binaries. These should all be enumerated and described in details in your proposal.
Timeline. When will the deliverables be done? This section needs to be chronologically and technically detailed.
Biography. Tell us about yourself.
We highly recommend having some initial discussion with one of the mentors about your proposal before you submit it.
More information at: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code/2018/Application_Guidelines