Student Manual
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Winter of Code ‘18
Student Manual
Summary
1. What is Winter of Code(WoC)?
2. Why Should I Apply?
3. Skills you need
4. Objectives Of the Program
5. How To Apply?
6. Time To Code
7. Submission
What is Winter of Code(WoC)?
You saw the website of WoC and we hope that you’ve got the gist of it but
what exactly is WoC?
Winter of Code is an initiative by Open Source Student Community called
Devlup Labs at IIT Jodhpur for the ones, who have never done any
open-source project oriented contributions or collaboration with other
people. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) development is something
that students will get to involve in during the winter vacations and kick start
their journey of Open Source contributions.
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All of the work will be done by the student under the guidance of her/his
mentor(s). WoC is similar to Google Summer of Code (GSoC) but limited to
students from IIT Jodhpur only. GSoC is a global program that matches
students up with open source, free software and technology-related
organizations to write code and get paid for the same.
WoC in a similar way, is aimed at introducing students to the open-source
world. Registered students can apply for at max 3 projects from the project
list, which will be released on October 14, 2018.
Every project in the list will have at least one mentor. Students will then write
a proposal and pitch it to the mentor who shall be guiding them on the
project once agreed upon.
Why Should I Apply?
Well now you’ve known that WoC seems like something productive to do in
the end of the semester and during winter vacations. But am I good
enough? Do I even need to do this? etc…
Mock for GSoC
If you wish to apply for GSoC in the coming summers, WoC is probably one
of the best things going to happen with you in December. It will be very
much similar to GSoC but conducted at institute level.
Work Experience
WoC is a place where you don’t just get to apply your skills but also get to
acquire a bunch of new ones. Working in collaboration is one important skill
for anyone to have in their arsenal. On the other hand, the mentors of the
projects themselves have recently been through their internships and other
sources of experience, similar to what you would be going through while
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creating your first pull request. You’ll learn to work collaboratively while
working on the code and managing the source with version control.
Boosting Confidence
It’s nightmare to send your first pull request! You feel like what is it, how am I
gonna read all this code and understand it. But once you push your first pull
request, it feels really great. It’s good to see your code to be used by several
other people.
Acquiring New Skills
You might be adding your piece of code to the existing project, you will get
to learn the structure of the software and more about the process of
creating it from scratch. This will help you in creating your own projects.
Connect with People
Participation in WoC will help you connect to people on campus and help
you build your network which will be beneficial in the long run.
Or simply because you love to code
If you think that coding really fascinates you and you love doing it, then
simply express that love, by being a part of Winter of Code!
Skills You Need
Communication! You will have to communicate efficiently. Nobody is going
pursue you to apply for WoC. You’ll have to get in touch with the mentor
regarding the project if you need any clarification or clear your doubt about
how certain part of the code works. If you can make others aware about
your problems, they’ll definitely give you a solution for the same.
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Your Gear! Since you’ll write code and push it online. This requires you to
have a computer and a working internet connection with you.
Tip:
Don’t be afraid if you don’t have a Linux/Ubuntu operating system. Your
mentor is there to help you out.
Objectives of the Program
The major objectives of WoC are :
●Inspire students to get involved in Open Source software
development.
●Help 1st and 2nd year students to master the development workflow
of Git and GitHub.
●Connect with seniors on the campus, this will help them be in contact
even after WoC ends.
●Prepare for other Open Source programs like Google Summer of
Code, Outreachy, etc.
How To Apply
Registration
Navigate to the WoC website and sign in with your Google account.
Contact your prospective mentor
Each project in the project list will have the details of the mentor(s) for that
project. After picking a project you need to setup the project on your local
machine and then contact the mentor(s) regarding any doubts/problems you
may be facing.
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At the same time, we do hope that the students be polite while contacting.
One should understand that after all, most of the mentors are students
themselves, and they might not always be available. Ideally one should wait
for at least a day for the mentor’s reply.
Time To Code
Choose A Project
In the beginning you can choose any project you like, go through the
project, try to find issues in it, discuss it with mentor(s) and try to fix the
issue. After the proposal period, you’ll be assigned a project if selected
along with respective mentor(s). Projects can be seen under the Projects
section of WoC website. Use the Devlup Labs blog to find resources on
learning Git and Github workflow.
Software Development
You’ll be writing purposeful code, writing tests to establish that your code
works. Add lots of cool stuff depending on your project. After deciding what
to code, use Git to keep track of the changes and create pull requests on
GitHub. Communicate with your mentor about further requirements and/or
improvements.
Coding Style
Every good project follows some guidelines on the code style used in it.
Correct indentation, obeying line lengths, etc. are the features which make
the code more and more readable. Many of the projects have automated
code style checks.
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Writing Documentation
Without documentation, it is so hard to read any code. Hence, add
information in README, in the comments of code(if necessary) etc.
Submission
Report Submission
At the end of the 5 weeks, you will have to create a report. Failure to do so,
will not result in successful participation. The report can be as descriptive as
you like, but must contain the following points:
●Features you worked upon
●List of pull requests you created
●Summary of your work
Disclaimer:
In case of any inconsistencies and issues, the decision made by the WoC
organising committee members shall be final.
Talk is cheap! Show me the code!!!
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