GSoC 2009 Introduction

Hi, Google last week announced the projects they've accepted for PHP, if you didn't yet know then surprise! :-) On behalf of the PHP project I'd like to welcome our students, introduce you to your mentors and provide you with some general information about the project and program. The following projects have been accepted for the PHP project: * run-tests.php re-write

      by Georg Gradwohl, mentored by Zoe Slattery

* Xdebug code coverage improvements

      by Allister Beharry, mentored by Derick Rethans

* Bug Tracker improvements

      by Felipe Ribeiro Nogueira Barbosa, mentored by Philip Olson

* Plugin System for PhD

      by Moacir de Oliveira Miranda Junior, mentored by Hannes Magnusson

* Abstract Extension API and Dependency Interface

      by Varuna Jayasiri, mentored by Brian Shire

* Benchmarking improvements

      by Alexander Hjalmarsson, mentored by Nuno Lopes

* PhD Online Editor

      by KS Chan, mentored by Yannick Torrès

See http://wiki.php.net/gsoc/2009 for more details about the project Important Mailing lists: php.net mailing lists are open discussion lists which can be subscribed to by anyone and collected in public archives. The Main language is English, as most people on these lists aren't native speakers don't be ashamed of writing "bad English". For subscribing send an empty mail to the mentioned address and follow the instructions given in an automatic response. internals This list is For everybody working on the PHP core or

               it's  run-time, all decisions about PHP's core should be
               made there  the list is also open for questions about PHP
               internals. Please mind that this list is, most likely,
               the most read one of these I mention here so please think
               before spaming it ;-)
               address: internals@lists.php.net
               subscription: internals-subscribe@lists.php.net

webmaster This list is for discussions about the bug tracker and other

               scripts that run on the PHP website
               address: php-webmaster@lists.php.net
               subscription: php-webmaster-subscribe@lists.php.net

   qa       All of the testing related discussions happen on this list.
               address: php-qa@lists.php.net
               subscription: php-qa-subscribe@lists.php.net

   pecl    This list is for discussions about extensions for PHP or
               the PECL website.
               address: pecl-dev@lists.php.net
               subscription: pecl-dev-subscribe@lists.php.net

   doc      Everything related to documentation, talking about the
               documentation build system (PhD) and documenting new
               features.
               address: phpdoc@lists.php.net
               subscription: phpdoc-subscribe@lists.php.net

Depending on your project there might be other lists, please talk to your mentor for getting details. General rules on mailing lists: When writing to a mailing list please mind that you're writing to a whole bunch of people from different cultures with different background so try to be polite and clear about what you are saying - and don't feel insulted if you get "impolite" answers - we're all humans and make mistakes! When answering to mails please avoid top posting but cite the parts you're responding to and answer below them. See http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html When starting a new thread please don't response to another mail but start a new mail, else it will be sorted to the wrong place with mail clients. Please write plain text mails, not HTML mails. The php.net mailing lists don't set the "Reply-To" Header (on purpose) please remember to use your mail client's "Reply to All" button when answering to the list, use "Reply" for sending a private reply. Chats: Chats are an important way for communication, it's a place to get questions answered fast, at least sometimes. As most PHP developers are either from Europe or the states the most traffic in general is there from European noon till late evening or during American daytime. There are no "official" channels but #php.pecl on EFNet is a place with many developers hanging out. Please mind that IRC is no place for decisions. Decisions should, in general, be made on the list else you only get responses from people who are randomly around. An introduction about IRC can be found on http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/irctutorial.html Please ask your mentor for further advice for your specific project. Code management: The PHP project uses CVS for tracking it's code. For using php.net's CVS server please check http://php.net/anoncvs.php For getting write access on a repository you can request an account on http://php.net/cvs-php.php - before doing that please check with your mentor to define what kind of access you need for your specific project. Coding styles:

    For code written in the C programming language please mind our
    general standards: http://php.net/reST/php-src/CODING_STANDARDS
    Projects written in PHP should follow the PEAR Coding Standards:
    http://pear.php.net/manual/en/standards.php
    And again: Your specific project might have other standards, please
    check with your mentor.

Status Updates:

    At a minimum status updates should be sent every 2 weeks, these should be
    sent to the appropriate mailing list and cc'd to gsoc@lists.php.net,
    your mentor may ask for more regular updates.

Wiki:

    A wiki page has been created on http://wiki.php.net/gsoc/2009 for your
    accepted proposal, fill out any missing information and add a timeline, details
    about the repository you are working in would also help.

If you think I missed something? Ask your mentor, use one of the mailing lists or come on IRC. Please feel free to ask anyone on IRC, we don't bite! Other notes will be added at http://wiki.php.net/gsoc/2009/introduction Thanks, Scott GSoC Administrator for PHP