Re: my GSoC application - please review! (also, who will be my mentor?)

[Janek Warchoł]

On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 10:40 AM, Werner LEMBERG <address@hidden> wrote:
> please do
>
>  s/syllabe/syllable/

done, thanks!

> Besides this, it looks nice, and hopefully everything runs fine!  BTW,
> expect delays with the schedule :-)

i know :)


On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 11:16 AM, address@hidden
<address@hidden> wrote:
> On Apr 1, 2012, at 9:39 AM, Janek Warchoł wrote:
>> Also, since this is a new project not mentioned on our GSoC page, i
>> need to know who will mentor me - Mike? :)
>
> Doable, although if I mentor you you may wind up breaking more things than 
> you fix!

;)

> Below is a diff with some corrections.  It's very well written.  Besides what 
> I wrote below, three general comments:
> --) speak more assertively
> --) speak more confidently
> --) use less technical terms

thanks!


On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:55 PM, address@hidden
<address@hidden> wrote:
> I have a pretty good sense of how difficult each issue will be to fix - lemme 
> know if you need an order of attack once you get cracking on these problems.

Do you think i've chosen a good order of attach in my plan?
My problem is that i will have significantly more time in the second
half of the project.  However, i've read that it's better to start
with the most important (on thus often most difficult) part of the
project, because it's better for mid-term evaluations.

>  Summary:
> +[It may be worth it here to mention what lyrics are and show several
> +examples of how they are written in music (handwritten, hand typeset,
> +computer typeset).]

Good idea.
>  I'll investigate how much of the formatting
>  process can be done after line-breaking is calculated, as it would be
>  best to know where lines are broken and how much space is available
> @@ -43,7 +46,13 @@ for each notehead before calculating alignment of lyric 
> syllabes.
>  However, if this turns out to be impossible, I'll estimate measure
>  width and place syllabes according to worst-case scenario, and then
>  adjust their position after line breaking is done.
> -Most of the changes will be done Lyric_engraver class; however, fixing
>
> +[This "However" and the sentence above it are too technical and too iffy.
> +You are in competition with other candidates and you need to sound certain
> +of yourself.  Also, for them, lign-breaking, measure width, etc. do not
> +mean anything.  You need to use generic terms as much as possible and, when
> +you can, include pretty pictures.]
> +Most of the changes will be done Lyric_engraver class [again, not
> +comprehensible for someone outside of the project];

I'll try.  However, GNU application guidelines say

"What software will be added or changed? What parts of the project's
code will be affected? Which documentation will you update?
When we read this section of your proposal, we will be trying to
figure out how well you understand what needs to be done. We're more
likely to accept proposals from students who show us that they know
what needs to be done."

- that's why i tried to say something about the technical details.

>  4. June 11th - June 29th: exam session on University.  Reduced GSoC
>  activity; writing drafts for remaining features and asking the
>  development team for feedback and testing of my work.
> +[Stuff like this you can get rid of - just give the most pertinent
> +aspects of the plan.]

You mean "writing drafts and testing" or mentioning my exam session?
As for the exams (and the week of holidays mentioned later), GNU
guidelines say

"Remember to mention any periods during the summer when you won't
actually be available to work on the project"

> @@ -128,19 +140,12 @@ end of 2012 (quite possibly even longer).  The stipend 
> from GSoC will
>  cover my financial needs for at least 8 months - therefore in addition
>  to spending at least 400 working hours on LilyPond until August 20th,
>  I'll dedicate 40 hours a week to LilyPond in September and about 10-20
> -hours a week in the following months.  Otherwise (that is, if i'm not
> -accepted as a GSoC student) I'll have to find a part-time job, and
> -it's possible that I will have to stop contributing to LilyPond in the
> -next academic year.
> -
> -Additionally, I decided that if I suceed, I'll give $500 back to the
> -LilyPond community (i.e. pay one of the developers for implementing
> -some things that are too difficult for me to code).

Why do you think i should not mention this?  Is it because it's a
"negative message"?

> +the Epifania choir in which I sing bass and I regularly typeset vocal
> +scores.  I know how important legibility is in lyric typesetting and how
> +much clear lyrics will benefit choirs and thus music around the world.
> +Also, being the one who prepared the Lyrics Bug Report, I have been 
> collecting
> +scanned examples of published scores for a long time and I know how to do
> +the necessary research and coding to implement an elegant solution.

That's nice!

Many thanks for your help!
Janek