Google Summer of Code 2023

From QEMU

Introduction

QEMU is applying for Google Summer of Code 2023. This page contains our ideas list and information for applicants and mentors. Google Summer of Code is an open source internship program offering paid remote work.

Status: Google will announce accepted organizations on February 22 at 18:00 UTC. Applicants may get in touch with mentors now but please don't invest too much time until Google officially announces participating organization.

Application Process

1. Discuss the project idea with the mentor(s)

Read the project ideas list and choose one you are interested in. Read the links in the project idea description and start thinking about how you would approach this. Ask yourself:

  • Do I have the necessary technical skills to complete this project?
  • Will I be able to work independently without the physical presence of my mentor?

If you answer no to these questions, choose another project idea and/or organization that fits your skills.

Once you have identified a suitable project idea, email the mentor(s) your questions about the idea and explain your understanding of the project idea to them to verify that you are on the right track.

2. Fill out the application form

The application form asks for a problem description and outline of how you intend to implement a solution. You will need to do some background research (looking at source code, browsing relevant specifications, etc) in order to decide how to tackle the project. The form asks for an initial project schedule which you should create by breaking down the project into tasks and estimating how long they will take. The schedule can be adjusted during the summer so don't worry about getting everything right ahead of time.

3. Interview including a coding exercise

You may be invited to an interview consisting of a 30-minute coding exercise, followed by technical discussion and a chance to ask questions you have about the project idea, QEMU, and GSoC. The coding exercise is designed to show fluency in the programming language for your project idea (QEMU projects are typically in C but could also be in Python or Rust).

Here is a C coding exercise we have used in previous years when interviewing applicants: 2014 coding exercise

Try it and see if you can complete the sample coding exercise comfortably. We cannot answer questions about the previous coding exercise but hopefully it should be self-explanatory.

If you find the exercise too challenging, think about applying to other organizations where you have a stronger technical background and will be more competitive compared with other candidates.

Key Dates

From the timeline:

  • February 22 18:00 UTC - Organizations and project ideas announced
  • March 20 - April 4 18:00 UTC - Application period
  • May 4 18:00 UTC - Accepted applicants announced
  • May 29 - August 28 - Standard coding period (an extended timeline is possible depending on your project)

Find Us

For general questions about QEMU in GSoC, please contact the following people:

Project Ideas

This is the listing of suggested project ideas. Students are free to suggest their own projects, see #How to propose a custom project idea below.

Under Construction

How to add a project idea

  1. Create a new wiki page under "Internships/ProjectIdeas/YourIdea" and follow #Project idea template.
  2. Add a link from this page like this: {{:Internships/ProjectIdeas/YourIdea}}

This is the listing of suggested project ideas. Students are free to suggest their own projects, see #How to propose a custom project idea below.

Native Library Calls

Summary: Implement a native bypass for when a program running under linux-user calls a well known library call

When running under linux-user we translate the whole program which includes all the library calls. A number of well understood library functions are usually fairly heavily optimised for the processor they run on. For example the semantics of memcpy are very well understood. We could consider instead of translating those library functions call to native versions of the code. As the runtime of library functions is generally biased to a few core functions only a small subset would need to be hooked to be useful (mem*, str*).

Links:

Details:

  • Project size: 350 hours
  • Skill level: intermediate with a good understanding of how linkers link to library calls
  • Language: C
  • Mentor: Alex Bennée (alex.bennee@linaro.org)
  • Suggested by: Alex Bennée

Rust bindings for libnbd

Summary: Add Rust bindings for libnbd

Network block device (NBD) is a protocol for exporting block devices (disk-like things) between processes, either across the network or between processes on the same machine. libnbd is a client library and some tools for talking to NBD servers. This library has bindings in various languages such as Python, but not in Rust, and the project is about writing those bindings.

Note that the bindings in libnbd are generated. You must add Rust bindings to the generator so that they are updated automatically as the libnbd API evolves in future. Simply addng Rust bindings for the current API will not be enough to complete the project. The Rust bindings must also be of high quality and natural for Rust developers to use. Documentation and tests are also required.

Links:

Details:

  • Project size: 350 hours
  • Skill level: intermediate or advanced
  • Language: C, Rust, OCaml
  • Mentor: rjones@redhat.com rwmjones on IRC
  • Suggested by: Richard Jones

RDP server

Summary: An out-of-process RDP server using `-display dbus`

QEMU can export its display via D-Bus since 7.0. The interface is close to the QEMU-internal API and offers display, audio, inputs, chardev, usb... Among other projects using it, a gtk4 client is in development (qemu-rdw), helping some applications such as GNOME Boxes, to port their code.

It's also interesting to use the interface to export the display on the network, using existing protocols, like VNC, Spice, or RDP. For example, and as a starting point perhaps, there is already an experimental VNC server written 100% Rust.

RDP being the most supported protocol, with more features and efficiency, this project idea is to develop a RDP server to export `-display dbus` over the network. Ideally, the project should be written in Rust. Unfortunately, IronRDP, the RDP crate, is lacking some server support. Investments in IronRDP is thus required. Alternatively, the project could be written in C (or other languages) with FreeRDP.

Links:

Details:

  • Project size: 350 hours
  • Skill level: intermediate (familiarity with RDP would be a big plus)
  • Languages: C, Rust
  • Mentor: Marc-André Lureau - marcandre.lureau@redhat.com - elmarco
  • Suggested by: Marc-André Lureau

Project idea template

=== TITLE ===
 
 '''Summary:''' Short description of the project
 
 Detailed description of the project.
 
 '''Links:'''
 * Wiki links to relevant material
 * External links to mailing lists or web sites
 
 '''Details:'''
 * Skill level: beginner or intermediate or advanced
 * Language: C
 * Mentor: Email address and IRC nick
 * Suggested by: Person who suggested the idea

How to propose a custom project idea

Applicants are welcome to propose their own project ideas. The process is as follows:

  1. Email your project idea to qemu-devel@nongnu.org. CC Stefan Hajnoczi <stefanha@gmail.com> and regular QEMU contributors who you think might be interested in mentoring.
  2. If a mentor is willing to take on the project idea, work with them to fill out the "Project idea template" above and email Stefan Hajnoczi <stefanha@gmail.com>.
  3. Stefan will add the project idea to the wiki.

Note that other candidates can apply for newly added project ideas. This ensures that custom project ideas are fair and open.

How to get familiar with our software

See what people are developing and talking about on the mailing lists:

Grab the source code or browse it:

Build QEMU and run it: QEMU on Linux Hosts

Links

Information for mentors

Mentors are responsible for keeping in touch with their intern and assessing progress. GSoC has evaluations where both the mentor and intern assess each other.

The mentor typically gives advice, reviews the intern's code, and has regular communication with the intern to ensure progress is being made.

Being a mentor is a significant time commitment, plan for 5 hours per week. Make sure you can make this commitment because backing out during the summer will affect the intern's experience.

The mentor chooses their intern by reviewing application forms and conducting IRC interviews with applicants. Depending on the number of candidates, this can be time-consuming in itself. Choosing the right intern is critical so that both the mentor and the intern can have a successful experience.

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