On 18/03/2012, at 5:44 AM, [email protected] wrote: > Hi, > > My name is Melanie Rao, I am a student at the University of Edinburgh. > In the final year of my Bachelors in Artificial Intelligence and > Software Engineering, I was hoping to work on an open source project > this summer, and would be very keep to join Django through the Google > Summer of Code scheme. > > In particular, I am interested in the Error Report Project. I have > checkout the code from the SVN, and will try to get familiar with it > as much as possible in the next few days. Could you please tell me > what would be good ideas to familiarise myself with the system?
Hi Melanie, If you're new to Django, the best approach would be to work through the tutorial. Then, set yourself the task of building a simple web app of some kind; As you go, take note of every error message you get that is confusing or misleading. Then, start pulling on the threads. Go back and try and find out *why* each error message is generated -- not just what it means, but what sequence of code has caused it to be invoked. Try and work out how the error could be more useful e.g., is it just that the text is wrong? Is the text correct in some circumstances, but not others? Or is it a case of something where Django is doing something badly, like swallowing or wrapping an exception? If you're an old hand at Django, then skip the first step, and go straight to the thread-pulling :-) As some high-level project selection guidance, the error reporting project will be better suited to someone who has been using Django for a while, and is familiar with the ways Django reports errors -- and any patterns that emerge in errors. An existing familiarity with Django's internals wouldn't go astray, either. If you're newer to Django (or to Django's internals), might I suggest that the Validation project [1] might be a better project. The Validation problem has a much clearer definition, and there's a much smaller footprint of code that needs to be understood. Validation is a case of something where Django has an existing feature, but isn't making good use of that feature internally, and isn't exposing an API so that others can hook onto the feature. As such, it's a lot easier to establish exactly what needs to be done, and how hard it's likely to be, which means it's much more likely that your project will be accepted. [1] https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/SummerOfCode2012#Validationfunctionalityrevamping Yours, Russ Magee %-) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Django developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/django-developers?hl=en.
