Summer of Code 2009

SamePlace is applying to participate as a mentoring organization to the Google Summer of Code 2009. Here you’ll find general information about the event, SamePlace itself, and a list of proposals for projects to work on. <h2>About the Google Summer of Code</h2> <blockquote> Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. </blockquote> Read more at the <a href="http://code.google.com/soc/">official home page of the initiative</a>. <h2>About SamePlace</h2> SamePlace is an instant messaging application based on the <a href="http://xmpp.org/">XMPP protocol</a> and the Mozilla platform. SamePlace can be used inside Firefox or as a stand-alone desktop client. As a Mozilla-based application, it can be developed not only by modifying <a href="http://github.com/bard/sameplace/tree/master">its source</a> but also through extensions. It is written in JavaScript and XUL. JavaScript in Mozilla can access a far wider range of possibilities than JavaScript on the web. It can use native components for network and file I/O, storage, and mostly anything you’d expect in desktop application development. JavaScript in Mozilla also provides parts of the language specification not widely implemented on the web such as <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/E4X">E4X</a>, which greatly simplifies XMPP handling. SamePlace was started in 2005 as a virtual presence client and gradually became both an end-user, <a href="http://www.sameplace.cc/blogs/bard/2008/2/12/09-released-091-released-contest-won">award-winning</a> IM client and a testbed for experimenting with <a href="http://2007.xtech.org/public/schedule/detail/97">cool ideas about the real-time web</a>. Some extensions built on SamePlace: <a href="http://chattytime.com">ChattyTime</a>, <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9970">xbookmarks</a>, <a href="http://hamen.homelinux.org/">NotifyMe</a>. Projects below involve one or more of the following skills areas: JavaScript, XUL, XMPP, C++, XPCOM, CSS, graphic design. Developer resources: <ul> <li>[[Creating SamePlace extensions]]</li> <li>[[Developing SamePlace]]</li> </ul> <h2>Ideas</h2> Feel free to propose more ideas or to inquire about the existing ones either on the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/mozlab">mailing list</a> or with the <a href="http://hyperstruct.net">maintainer of this page</a>. <h3>AutoPub extension</h3> This extension would retrieve data from configurable sources and publish it to configurable endpoints. Examples: <ul> <li>retrieve current tune from <a href="http://www.foxytunes.com">FoxyTunes</a> or <a href="http://www.songbirdnest.com">Songbird</a> and publish it as status message</li> <li>as above, but publish it as user tune event</li> <li>retrieve current URL from the browser and publish it as a browsing event</li> <li>retrieve funny quote from a web site or a local file and send it to a group of contacts</li> </ul> Programming language(s): JavaScript, XUL. Difficulty: quite easy. XUL possibly limited to a preference window; well-known APIs like XMLHttpRequest can be used to fetch remote data; more effort required to get local data (either from other extensions in Mozilla which might not always expose an obvious API, or from other applications on the OS). Resources: <ul> <li><a href="http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0118.html">User tune XMPP protocol extension</a></li> <li><a href="http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0195.html">User browsing XMPP protocol extension</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Notify extension</h3> This extension would install listeners for various XMPP events and let the user configure how to notify them. Examples: <ul> <li>show when a specific contact (or set of contacts) signs on using a desktop popup</li> <li>show when the user’s GMail account receives a new mail using a notification bar in the browser, optionally allowing the user to go to his inbox directly</li> <li>let user configure reminders, e.g. “when Joe is online, remind me to ask him about his new project”</li> <li>detect when a contact is publishing his current tune through the status message, and display that in a “notification stream” enriching it with a link to social music sites</li> </ul> Programming language(s): JavaScript, XUL. Difficulty: easy; involves basic understanding of the XMPP API in SamePlace for listening to events and some UI creativity to choose the least-intrusive ways to display notifications. Resources: <ul> <li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/talk/jep_extensions/gmail.html">GMail notification XMPP protocol extension</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/nsIAlertsService">Mozilla API for desktop popup notifications</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Thunderbird 3 integration</h3> Integrate SamePlace in Thunderbird 3. SamePlace used to be well-integrated in Thunderbird 2 but maintenance was cumbersome. However, <a href="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=385758">it would make many people happy</a>. Examples of integration: <ul> <li>host chats in the mail message area</li> <li>if a mail contact has an associated IM address, display his/her presence in his/her mails, GMail-style</li> </ul> Programming language(s): JavaScript, XUL. Difficulty: moderate; integration in Thunderbird 2 wasn’t straightforward and involved some hacks; be prepared to make good friends with the DOM Inspector. Resources: <ul> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Extensions/Thunderbird">Creating Thunderbird extensions</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/early_releases/">Thunderbird 3 beta releases</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Mobile/Small display interface design</h3> Design, and prototype with graphic mockups or even in vivo with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Fennec">Fennec</a>, a user interface for SamePlace on small interfaces, such as the in-browser sidebar and mobile phones. Programming language(s): basic knowledge of JavaScript and XUL if you also want to create a live prototype, otherwise none. Other knowledge: familiarity with or strong interest in User Experience design, vector drawing (preferably using an SVG-based software such as <a href="http://www.inkscape.org">Inkscape</a>). Difficulty: depending on your experience in user interface design, either a pleasant journey or a descent into hell. :) Resources: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/fennec/1.0a1/releasenotes/">Fennec download page</a> (also has releases for desktop machines).</li> <li>Aza Raskin’s inspiring posts covering the same problem area of small-screen UI for Firefox: <a href="http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefox-mobile-concept-video/">Firefox Mobile Concept Video</a>, <a href="http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/opening-thedesign-process/">A Glipse Into The Mobile Firefox Design Process</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aazarask.in+fennec&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">More…</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Invisibility</h3> Implement configurable user invisibility. Examples: be visible to everyone except a contact, be visible to a group of contacts only, etc. Programming language(s): JavaScript, XUL. Other knowledge: familiarity with XMPP. Difficulty: part of the challenge for this project is coming up with a user interface that doesn’t expose all the complexity of XMPP privacy lists while still presenting the 20% that makes up the 80% of the usefulness. Resources: <ul> <li><a href="http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0016.html">XMPP privacy lists specification</a></li> <li><a href="http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0126.html">Best practices in the implementation of invisibility</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">libpurple-based connector to foreign networks</h3> libpurple is a library providing a single API to connect to various instant messaging networks (MSN, AIM, ICQ, etc). This projects consists of wrapping libpurple in an XPCOM service and provide a translation layer between libpurple API and XMPP, so that for example the service will receive a <code><message/></code> XMPP packet and translate it to the appropriate libpurple API call. Programming language(s): C, C++. Other knowledge: Mozilla platform, XPCOM, threading, basic familiarity with XMPP. Difficulty: very hard if you don’t have significant C/C++ background, moderate otherwise. Resources: <ul> <li><a href="http://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/WhatIsLibpurple">libpurple page on the Pidgin wiki</a></li> <li><a href="http://wiki.github.com/bard/purplebridge">PurpleBridge</a>, a proof-of-concept implementing the same idea as a stand-alone process</li> <li>(XPCOM) <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Creating_XPCOM_Components/Component_Internals">Component internals</a></li> <li>How to build a binary XPCOM component using Visual Studio – https://developer.mozilla.org/en/How_to_build_a_binary_XPCOM_component_using_Visual_Studio (buggy wiki parser – just copy and paste)</li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">UI Theme(s)</h3> Mozilla applications are fully themeable (for many examples see the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:2">themes section of addons.mozilla.org</a> and the <a href="http://addons.songbirdnest.com/tag/theme">themes section of songbirdnest.com</a>). This project is about creating a UI theme for SamePlace, as well as driving changes to make the code base friendlier toward theme developers. Programming language(s): CSS. Other knowledge: XUL, and ideally some previous experience with theme development for a Mozilla-based application. Difficulty: you’ll need some time to get used to Mozilla CSS extensions. Other than that, standard CSS knowledge is 100% applicable. Resources: <ul> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Themes">MDC documentation on theme development</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Connectors to non-IM networks</h3> SamePlace can access non-XMPP networks through “connectors”. Connectors provide a translation layer between the protocol of the foreign service and XMPP. While services that bridge different IM networks are well known in the XMPP world, bridging with non-IM networks is far less explored and interesting. SamePlace comes with a Twitter connector. This project is about implementing connectors for two more non-IM networks, either RSS and Facebook or other options to be discussed with the student. Programming language(s): JavaScript. Difficulty: the SamePlace part is quite straightforward, it merely requests network data and translates it to XMPP packets; most complexity will probably come from the APIs of the selected services. Resources: <ul> <li>Source of the Twitter connector for SamePlace: http://github.com/bard/sameplace/tree/7e63e6c6eef2e222b077b92180451431408d01cb/chrome/content/connectors (buggy wiki parser – just copy and paste)</li> <li><a href="http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0100.html">XEP-0100 – Gateway interaction</a> – The “traditional” way to build bridges between networks in XMPP</li> </ul> <hr /> <h3 style="vertical-align:middle;">Jingle file transfer through libjingle</h3> Jingle is a way to create p2p binary stream between two XMPP clients even when they are both behind firewalls. The <a href="http://www.google.com/talk/">Google Talk client</a> uses it for audio calls and file transfer. This project consists of wrapping Google’s open source <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/talk/libjingle/index.html">Jingle library</a> into an XPCOM binary component to make it available to the Mozilla platform. Programming language(s): C++. Other knowledge: XPCOM; understanding of the XMPP signaling Difficulty: high. Libjingle is a complex piece of software, it includes its own XMPP classes but those need to be scrapped away and replaced with xmpp4moz; binary XPCOM development is also not for the faint of heart. Resources: <ul> <li>(XPCOM) <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Creating_XPCOM_Components/Component_Internals">Component internals</a></li> <li>How to build a binary XPCOM component using Visual Studio – https://developer.mozilla.org/en/How_to_build_a_binary_XPCOM_component_using_Visual_Studio (buggy wiki parser – just copy and paste)</li> <li><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/talk/libjingle/index.html">libjingle documentation</a></li> </ul> 2009-11-21T18:30:19-08:00 157468 summer-of-code-2009

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Summer of Code 2009

2009-03-15T16:00:45-07:00

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