Google Summer of Code 2008

Coding will formally start on Monday 26th May (though you're welcome to start earlier, if you're ready). You'll need to make sure that your build and test environment is up and running before this date. Here's a rough checklist:

• On your main development machine, make sure you have gcc and all relevant build tools (binutils, make, etc.) installed.

• Create a git tree cloned from the master gPXE git repository (see the download page).

• Check that you can build gPXE (i.e. type make!).

• Get a working DHCP server, TFTP server, HTTP server, and anything else you're likely to need for testing. If you have a home router providing DHCP, you'll probably need to disable it, or set up a physically separate network for gPXE testing.

• Check that you can test gPXE on real hardware. There are several suggested ways for doing this in the How to deploy gPXE section on the howtos page.

• Check that you can test gPXE under virtualisation. Ideally, get both bochs and qemu up and running. Instructions for doing this can be found in the contrib/bochs directory within the gPXE tree.

• If there is any equipment that you are expecting us to provide (network cards etc.), please let us know immediately so that we can get them shipped to you before coding starts.

• Talk to Marty (mdc) and make sure that you have a user account on rom.etherboot.org (for publishing your git repository), and an account for the wiki (for publishing everything else).

• Write up an expected timeline for your project on the wiki, listing milestones and the dates that you expect to meet them. You'll probably want to discuss this with us on IRC.

If you have any problems with any of these, just drop in to the IRC channel and ask for help. We'll happily talk you through anything you're not familiar with, e.g. setting up a DHCP server, or running a virtual machine for gPXE testing.

If you have exams that are likely to prevent you from completing the above preparation in time for Monday 26th May, then please tell us immediately so we can work out an alternative schedule.

We will hopefully see you in the IRC channel on most days anyway. Once a week, we'll hold a brief but formal progress meeting, via IRC, to talk about what you've done during the week, how you're doing with respect to your projected timeline, any problems you've encountered, etc. Twelve weeks pass by surprisingly quickly, and it's important that we do this to keep things on track.

Provisionally, the meeting will be every Friday at the following times:

This is based on the time zones that we assume you will be in over the summer; if these times are not convenient (or if Friday is not a suitable day), please let us know now.

The first meeting will be on Friday 23rd May, i.e. the Friday before the official coding start date.