[GSoC][Proposal v1] My proposal for GSoC 2020

[Angel Pan <dinoallosaurus1111@gmail.com>]

Hello everyone.
Here is my proposal for GSoC. A review or criticism would be appreciated.

Google doc version:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Nkesmet7X7U42lsvksXoiEBrnOppKicWHYKneEQsQ8/edit?usp=sharing

Best regards,
Angel

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# Unify ref-filter formats with other `--pretty` formats

## Contact Information

Full name: Yun Pan(Angel Pan)

Email: [dinoallosaurus1111@gmail.com](mailto:dinoallosaurus1111@gmail.com)

IRC: dinoallosaurus

GitHub: dinoallo

Timezone: UTC+8

## Short Biography

I am a first year student in Computer Science at Zhejiang University
in China. It's my first time participating in GSoC. I have had
experience working with C/C++, shell scripts, Python, Go and Perl. I
am interested in writing CLI or system scripts/configurations, which
is the main reason I apply to Git project. I might be relatively new
when it comes to contributing on-line project. However, I am a quick
and avid learner so if I don’t have enough skills to complete the job,
I can self-learn immediately.

## Working Environment

My operating system is Arch Linux, which I started using it about half
an year ago. Before then I was using Debian-based systems like Ubuntu.
And I have some experience using git on Windows as well.

I mainly use Emacs and VS Code as my editor but I can use Vim also. I
am able to use both markdown and Org-mode on Emacs for documenting

## Coding/Contributing Experience

C is my *native* language I like to config my computer and automate
some work on it by myself so I learned shell-scripts and other
scripting languages.  Now I write code related to back-end for the
student club at my university.

Since I used to develop web before, there is a small-project written
in Python with Django on my GitHub page. From the experience of
applying to git, I obtained much deeper knowledge about git and how it
works. No matter what the outcome is, I am looking forward to
contributing more to git and work with all the developers.

### Microproject

Mailing list: https://lore.kernel.org/git/pull.595.git.1585588586605.gitgitgadget@gmail.com/T/#u

GitHub: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/595

Status: waiting to be review.

## Introduction

Currently, the placeholder used in ref-filter expansion `%(foo)` has
not yet supported in `--pretty` format.

Using the new ref-filter formats has its own convenience.  For
example, the format `%(foo)` is more human-readable, easy to process,
and extensible if we want to add some options in each placeholder(like
`%(trailers:only=bogo)`) . Hence,  users can just simply add the
options in the placeholder if needed, reducing their frustration in
constructing long and complex output command.

My goal is to unify the the ref-filter formats with `--pretty` formats
and generalized them in git:

* Get rid of unrecognizable placeholders like `%an` to `%(authorname)`.
* Introduce format-scripting(like the one used in `git-for-each-ref`)
to `--pretty` and even make a field in user's configuration to use
default format-script for `--pretty`.

## Deliverables/Timeline

### ~ May 5th

* I will keep an eye on git project and make more patches to it if possible.
* At the same time, getting to know more about the community and
collaborating with others.

* Also I will talk to my potential mentor, to get more concrete and
constructive advise about my project. Last, finalize my project.

### May 5th ~ June 2nd

Community-bonding period:

After having rounded understanding about the community and all the
past work, I would like to revise my previous ideas regarding to my
project if there is a much better solution or other problems. Then, I
will start to work on a part of my project:

* Carefully examine `ref-filter` related code to see what I can learn
from(the implementation, etc...) and what to avoid doing.
* Replace the placeholders in `--pretty` with new formats and names.
* Commit patches to obtain reviews from the community.

### June 2nd ~ June 10th

The cushion period. Finish the unfinished work from last phase. If all
the job is done, add test scripts and future documentation.

### June 11th ~ July 3rd

I will be occupied in this phase since the final exams take over. I
might not be able to work on some actual change but is free to reply
to anyone in the community.

### July 3rd ~ July 17th

* Gathering all reviews and criticisms from the community and revise
my previous patches if needed.

* Add test scripts and documentation.

### July 17th ~ July 28th

* Implement the format-scripting in `--pretty`
* Commit the patches to obtain reviews from the community

### July 28th ~ August 12th

* Gathering all reviews and criticisms from the community and revise
my previous patches if needed.

* Add test scripts and documentation.
* [option] configuration on pretty

### August 12th ~ August 25th

Final revision and discussion.

### August 25th ~

Submission

*If I complete my job earlier than I plan, than I would like to come
up with more improvements and new features in my project.*

 ### Side-note

* Before my summer vacation, I can code for 2-3 hours per working day
and 4-6 hours on weekend.
* My summer vacation starts from July 3rd to early September, which
fits well with GSoC's schedule. I will be able to spend half of my day
on my project.
* English is not my first language so if I have grammatical or other
errors in documentation or communication, a review will be
appreciated.



## Conclusion

First, I would like to say thank you to all developers that have
helped me or replied to me in the mailing list.

I want to join an active open-source community online for a really
long time but I was too shy before and got caught up with the college
entrance exam. I think GSoC is a good platform to start my journey.
Though I was not able to get the information in time and it's late for
me to commit my submission before deadline, I still decided to apply.
Because if I hadn't, I would regret someday.

As I mentioned before, maybe I have little experience to
online-contributing, but I will learn the required skills to overcome
obstacles. My lust for knowledge is my greatest power.

Last but not least, it's a pleasure to join the open-source community.
Let's collaborate and make the online world better.

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