[GSOC] Rewrite chat log backend and frontend

[Adam Hamot]

Hello everyone,

My name is Adam Hamot and I am currently a Computer Science student ('15)
at the University of Maryland. I just recently found out that pidgin was
part of GSoC this year (after anxiously searching for a great matching
organization) and I would love to work with you all over the summer.

>From browsing the ideas list (
https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/FutureSOCProjects) I saw that the first
idea would be a perfect match for me as I am very interested in backend
code and love logging my chats! I have been using pidgin for just over 2
years now and it has never once failed me. I primarily use it to talk to a
couple of friends who are still using AIM and it is always nice to go back
and look at our logged chats. Of course the logging feature works but it is
not very elegant. I would like to change this by updating the logging
screen along with adding more capabilities.

I would just like to get some answers from everyone before I start working
on my application.

1) What exactly should my proposal for this idea include?

   - Should I go through the logging code (so far I've read over
   pidgin/gtklog.c and libpurple/log.c) and state how I would store the new
   chat log format using existing/new structs?
   - Are there more files pertaining to logging that I am missing?
   - Would I be better off creating my own file format for this task or
   should I use an existing one (JSON, YAML, etc)?


2) Do I have to create my own mockup if I feel the current mockup listed is
adequate?

3) Is it better to write my proposal and send it here to get feedback or
should I submit my proposal and then ask for feedback here? Mainly I would
love to get feedback before the application period ends so that I can have
a fully polished application and increase my chances of working with you
all.

I look forward to hearing from you.

-Adam
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://pidgin.im/pipermail/devel/attachments/20130429/a3bf5444/attachment-0002.html>