On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 11:29 AM Martin Jambor <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello, > > On Mon, Jan 19 2026, Richard Biener wrote: > > On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 4:08 PM Martin Jambor <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Hello, > >> > >> another year has passed, Google has announced there will be again Google > >> Summer of Code (GsoC) in 2026 and the deadline for organizations to apply > >> is already approaching (February 3rd). I'd like to volunteer to be the > >> main org-admin for GCC again but let me know if you think I shouldn't or > >> that someone else should or if you want to do it instead. Otherwise I'll > >> assume that I will and I hope that I can continue to rely on Thomas > >> Schwinge and David Edelsohn to back me up and help me with some decision > >> making along the way as my co-org-admins. > >> > >> ======================== The most important bit: ======================== > >> > >> I would like to ask all (moderately) seasoned GCC contributors to consider > >> mentoring a contributor this year and ideally also come up with a project > >> that they would like to lead. We are collecting proposal on our wiki page > >> https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/SummerOfCode - feel free to add yours to the top > >> list there. Or, if you are unsure, post your offer and project idea as a > >> reply here to the mailing list. > >> > >> Additionally, if you have added an idea to the list in recent years, > >> please review it whether it is still up-to-date or needs adjusting or > >> should be removed altogether. > >> > >> ========================================================================= > >> > >> At this point, we need to collect list of project ideas. Eventually, > >> each listed project idea should have: > >> > >> a) a project title, > >> b) more detailed description of the project (2-5 sentences), > >> c) expected outcomes (we do have a catch-almost-all formulation that > >> outcome is generally patches at the bottom of the list on the > >> wiki), > >> d) project size - whether it is expected to take approximately 350, > >> 175 or just 90 hours (see below about the last option), > >> e) difficulty (easy, hard or medium, but we don't really have easy > >> projects), > >> f) expected mentors, > >> g) skills required/preferred, and... > >> > >> h) [this is new] ...pointers to things applicant should study in order > >> to learn about the topic. Please think also about a way to verify > >> they can get basic stiff done (post test results, look up basic stuff > >> in a gdb session... etc) though these do not need to be listed, these > >> can be requested when they approach us. (See notes from Cauldron 2025 > >> GSoC BoF: https://gcc.gnu.org/pipermail/gcc/2025-October/246780.html). > > > > If GSoC does not have, we should, at least, set a clear expectation as to > > how usage of AI in completing the project is [not] allowed and should be > > documented. > > That is a good point. I believe GSoC leaves it to the participating > organizations to decide what is permitted. > > The question is however larger than just GSoC, and I am not particularly > inlined to try to steer that more general discussion - nor am I in a > position to attempt to. > > Nevertheless, I guess in the context of GSoC I cannot avoid it and plan > to basically explicitely ban it, if only because I definitely do not > want the relationship between GSoC mentors and contributors deteriorate > into mentors just talking to an LLM through "contributors." > > I'm not sure what the best wording is yet. Probably something like: > > "It is not permitted to use Large Language Model (such as ChatGPT, > Gemini, Copilot etc.) to generate any non-trivial (legally > significant) part of code that is produced as a part of GCC GSoC." > > I may add an exception for testcases (explicitely marked as such), that > seems harmless and potentially useful. Suggestions how to improve the > wording - in the context of GSoC only - welcome. > > (Also, please note that we have not been accepted to the program in 2026 > yet.)
Maybe also prominently add to the wiki that AI generated applications will be immediately disregarded (I expect the level of "spam" applications to rise considerably this year...) Richard. > Thanks for raising this important point, > > Martin > > > >> Project ideas that come without an offer to also mentor them are always > >> fun to discuss, by all means feel free to reply to this email with yours > >> and I will attempt to find a mentor, but please be aware that we can > >> only use the suggestion it if we actually find one or ideally two. > >> > >> Everybody in the GCC community is invited to go over > >> https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/SummerOfCode and remove any outdated or > >> otherwise bad project suggestions and help improve viable ones. > >> > >> Finally, please continue helping (prospective) students figure stuff out > >> about GCC like you have always done in the past. > >> > >> GSoC 2026 should be quite similar to the last year, the most important > >> parameters probably are these: > >> > >> - Contributors (formerly students) must either be full-time students > >> or be "beginners to open source." > >> > >> - There are now three project sizes: roughly 90 hors (small), roughly > >> 175 hours (medium-sized) and roughly 350 hours (large) of work in > >> total. The small option was introduced in 2024 but because our > >> projects usually have a lengthy learning period, I think we will > >> almost always want to stick to the medium and large variants. > >> > >> - Timing should be pretty much as flexible as last year. The > >> recommended "standard" duration is 12 weeks but depending on > >> contributor's and mentor's needs and circumstances, projects can > >> take anywhere between 10 and 22 weeks. There will be one mid-term > >> and one final evaluation. > >> > >> For further details you can see: > >> > >> - The announcement of GSoC 2026: > >> > >> https://opensource.googleblog.com/2025/12/shape-future-with-google-summer-of-code.html > >> > >> - GSoC rules: > >> https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/rules > >> > >> - Detailed GSoC 2026 timeline: > >> https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/timeline > >> > >> - Elaborate project idea guidelines: > >> > >> https://google.github.io/gsocguides/mentor/defining-a-project-ideas-list > >> > >> Thank you very much for your participation and help. Let's hope we > >> attract some great contributors again this year. > >> > >> Martin
