[jifty-devel] Google Summer of Code Proposal

[Jesse Vincent]

On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 05:15:21PM -0400, Jason May wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I am applying for Google Summer of Code and have completed my
> application/proposal. I am at the point where I want to gather input
> from the mailing list. Thank you.

Generally, it looks pretty good. I'd submit it and see what happens.

-j

> My application:
> 
> 
> Jason May
> 
> jason.a.may at gmail.com
> 
> "Improving Jifty with Morphic Database Schemas"
> 
> 
> Synopsis
> 
> Having worked with Jifty and its method of database upgrading, specifying the
> database version for each new column that was added has become a chore. I
> propose that morphic schemas can be completed in a summer's worth of full-time
> work, and I would be fit to do the job.
> 
> 
> Benefits to the Perl/Open Source Community
> 
> Everyone using the Jifty framework will benefit from these features.  Morphic
> database schemas would eliminate the tedium of upgrading an application's
> database schema.
> 
> 
> Deliverables
> 
> When the project is complete, morphic database schemas will be fully
> functional, as well as a large library of "validators" and "canonicalizers" as
> a supply for the virtual models.
> 
> Project Details
> 
> Currently, Jifty automatically upgrades the database, but only when the
> developer orders it.  When a column in a model is modified or added, the
> developer has to explicitly tell Jifty which version of the database this
> change occurred in by adding a "since" attribute to the column.  Otherwise the
> database will not update the changes when you command Jifty to update the
> schema.
> 
> After some investigation into the development history of Jifty, I discovered
> that Jifty already has a branch devoted to auto-versioning. Unfortunately, due
> to lack of time, the developers have not done much work on it.  I would
> therefore like to devote my entire summer to make morphic database schemas a
> reality.
> 
> Jesse Vincent (the lead developer of Jifty) pointed out that using virtual
> models might help with auto-versioning, and that there is already a
> virtual-models branch of Jifty which stores the model definitions in the
> database.  However, according to Andrew Hanenkamp, the virtual-models branch is
> not very popular in production.  In fact, the only person that uses the branch
> in production is himself.  However, it would certainly help implementing
> morphic database schemas by updating the version automatically with SQL as
> opposed to having the barrier of having the database version marked in Perl
> code.
> 
> Another approach I came up with is to represent model definitions partially in
> a database for anything that we would want to be automated.  The rest of the
> model definition can reside in the Perl code.  Since there's already a
> virtual-models branch, though, this may not be necessary.
> 
> Using virtual models would likely require me to create an isolated library of
> built-in canonicalizers and validators designed for the virtual models.  Since
> the models will be in a database, there will not be a lot of room to create
> complex models using Perl.  For instance, suppose a Jifty user implements an
> input for a phone number which needs to be canonicalized a certain way for the
> database.  Something other than the model would have to canonicalize the entry,
> since the model is completely virtual.  Attributes such as zip codes and
> email addresses would need external validations as well.  There would be
> many possible validations for different types of entries that I haven't yet
> considered.
> 
> My primary plan is to start with the morphic database schemas before I begin
> working on the canonicalizer/validator library in case any snags occur. The
> library is not necessary for the morphic database schemas. It would just be the
> immediate step after the morphic database schemas is complete. In the worst
> possible case, I will work with the library after the deadline as my own
> personal contribution outside of the Summer of Code program.
> 
> 
> Project Schedule
> 
> May 26:    Failing tests for the morphic database schemas will begin.
> 
> June 2:    Failing tests will be written for morphic database schemas, and the
>            coding of the functionality will start.
> 
> July 7:    Morphic database schemas will be functional. Writing failing tests
>            for the library of canonicalizers and validators will begin.
> 
> July 14:   Failing tests will be written. Coding for the canonicalizers and
>            validators will begin.
> 
> July 21:   Integration of the canonicalizer/validator library with the
>            morphic database schemas will begin.
> 
> July 28:   Integration will be complete. More tests and code will begin to be
>            written for the canonicalizer/validator library.
> 
> August 11: Work on the canonicalizer/validator library will be complete.
> 
> 
> References and Likely Mentors
> 
> I contacted Shawn Moore about possible ideas for Jifty. I also contacted Jesse
> Vincent about ideas. I also talked to Andrew Hanenkamp about the idea of using
> the virtual-models branch, which was very helpful in consolidating my thoughts
> for the auto-versioning creation process.
> 
> As the pilot of the entire project, Jesse was the most prominent resource. He
> helped me with priorities for the timeline and informed me of the available
> development branches in Jifty that would aid in my development.
> 
> Shawn Moore offered to mentor me for this project. I am willing to work with
> any mentor that is assigned for the project.
> 
> 
> Bio
> 
> Perl was my language of preference during high school.  When I graduated high
> school in 2005 I noticed that I was lacking experience in the business aspect
> of IT, so I enrolled in Information Sciences and Technologies at Penn State
> University.  My campus is a Microsoft-oriented environment, but I continued
> working with free and open source software outside of school.  I discovered
> that I had a true love for open source and I became a part-time college student
> so I could devote more time to working with open source.  Although this was a
> good experience, I plan to go back to school full time to complete my studies
> in the fall after a summer of dedicated open source work.
> 
> I gained a lot of web programming experience from various part-time desk jobs,
> contracting jobs, an internship, and a non-profit organization.  At my desk
> job I was a help desk consultant with the extra responsibility of being on
> the special projects team, which consisted of programming help desk
> applications.  As a contracted programmer I worked with a team of seven
> coders and collaboratively used PHP and MySQL.  I have been an intern as an
> assistant web developer for the Penn State York Campus where I researched
> various web frameworks and made updates to the campus website.
> 
> I began working with SQL in a college class my freshman year, and I haven't
> stopped since: SQL played a large part in many of the applications I wrote
> since then.  Some examples of the SQL-driven applications I wrote was a
> web-based registration form for SCROUNGE (a non-profit organization that
> refurbishes and donates donated computers), a web-based interface for
> IRC log statistics compilation, and web-based data collection and reporting for
> HVAC manufacturers, consumers and regulatory organizations. All applications
> required extensive SQL.
> 
> I recently discovered Jifty and used it to build various small applications.
> Having also worked with a few other popular web frameworks, I found Jifty to be
> my favorite due to Perl's flexible nature.  Because I was interested in the
> source, I started following the Jifty mailing list and contributing various
> suggestions and security fixes to the main branch.
> 
> My open-source contributions have recently been focused on Jifty, and this
> internship would provide me with an opportunity to focus on it even more.
> Hopefully the internship could also motivate me to possibly contribute to other
> organizations, whether they are directly related to Jifty or not.
> 
> Implementing morphic database schemas to the Jifty framework would be one of
> the largest accomplishments in my life, and would be very effective in finding
> a job by showing The Perl Foundation my abilities and potential to learn.
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