GSoC 2013 - Introduction

[N B Prashanth]

Hello everyone!

I am N B Prashanth, currently pursuing my masters in Embedded Systems at
NTU, Singapore. I was looking through project ideas for GSoC 2013, and I
found a few in the pidgin wiki that I am interested in. The topics I would
like to work on are :

1. Rewrite chat log backend and frontend - Pidgin/libpurple
2. Easy plugins with a website - Pidgin/libpurple
3. Android "proxy" client - Pidgin/libpurple

Before jumping into the topics, I would like to introduce myself in short
as mentioned in the SoC Discussions page . I am an electronics &
communication engineer (BE) / embedded engineer (MS) but have worked on
several programming based projects. I have good experience programming with
C/C++, Java and Python but can also work with ruby, PHP, JavaScript and a
few other technologies. I have been using linux as my primary OS for a few
years now and am comfortable with programming on it. I am familiar with git
and svn. I have been a student in GSoC 2011 and 2012 and have a good
understanding of how the program works.

Regarding SoC2013, I would like to work on any of the topics mentioned
above. However, I have a few doubts and suggestions, which I would like to
discuss.

In the first project, I have seen the mockups shown in the ideas page. The
"better one" looks a lot better and a lot less cluttered compared to the
current UI. From what I understand for this project, the need is to write a
library to store chat logs and make a UI to display them. However, I would
like to know the language and frameworks that have to be used. Qt? GTK?
Python? - I am sorry, I have not checked the source code yet, though i
would guess its c/c++.

For the second project, I would like to suggest an approach that is used in
KDE to install plugins. The application would open up a plugin manager
which would display a list of plugins that are stored on a server/website
and the user can look at the screenshots or information and install them
from within the application. I personally feel that this is a better method
than using something similar to 1-click install as this way the user doesnt
have to leave the application and visit a website. I would like to hear
your opinions regarding this...

And finally, for project 3, I am quite unclear on how it works.

mobile client registers to user's "server" and ......

I am not sure what the user's server here is meant to be. I would like some
clarification of this if possible.

I would be glad to work on any of these projects if given a chance. If
required, I can start off and demonstrate some basic work in the next few
days to help the community decide about my application. If there are any
set of tasks you would like me to perform prior to submitting my
application, please let me know.

Also, If possible, I would like to know who the mentors for these projects
would be so that I can find out more.

Thank you for taking time to read so much. Looking forward to suggestions
and comments.

-- 
Warm regards,
N.B.Prashanth
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