will I be able to do it??

[Adi]

Hi guys,
I know programming. I am good with C, C++, Java and python but I dont
have any experience with developing softwares. Do you think I should
take part in GSoC??
Also I would be greatful if you can post some lnks or name some books
which can provide me with the basics of development.

[Leslie Hawthorn]

Please check out the program wiki, advice for students section for a list of past participants in the program by technical area:

http://code.google.com/p/google-summer-of-code/wiki/AdviceforStudents

There's no reason not to apply - the worst you can do is not have your application accepted. Even if that happens, you will get a chance to get to know some projects better, see how you can contribute and be better prepared to apply to programs like Google Summer of Code in the future.

 As for recommended books, why not take a look at Producing Open Source Software by Karl Fogel:

http://producingoss.com

If you're looking for language/technical area specific books, this isn't the best list to ask questions on, but there's lots of folks in #gsoc on Freenode that may be able to help.

Cheers,
LH

--
Leslie Hawthorn
Program Manager - Open Source
Google Inc.

http://code.google.com/opensource/

I blog here:

http://google-opensource.blogspot.com - http://www.hawthornlandings.org

[Abhishek]

 As for recommended books, why not take a look at Producing Open Source Software by Karl Fogel:

http://producingoss.com

--
Leslie Hawthorn
Program Manager - Open Source
Google Inc.

Thanks book is very nice. i am also a beginner and havent contributed any thing yet but following some open source projects  from some time back. Is this is true that all companies prefers students who are already involved in Open source projects and contributing to them.



--
Abhishek Srivastava
MCA-2nd Yr
NIT Durgapur

(Myths of Open Source and Free Softwares : http://bit.ly/7oqsc)

(I blog at : http://nitabhi.wordpress.com)

[Leslie Hawthorn]

On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM, Abhishek <nit.a...@gmail.com> wrote:

 As for recommended books, why not take a look at Producing Open Source Software by Karl Fogel:

http://producingoss.com

--
Leslie Hawthorn
Program Manager - Open Source
Google Inc.

Thanks book is very nice. i am also a beginner and havent contributed any thing yet but following some open source projects  from some time back. Is this is true that all companies prefers students who are already involved in Open source projects and contributing to them.

So to be clear, most of the folks doing Open Source are working on projects, not necessarily at companies. And not all of the projects applying for Google Summer of Code expect you to have previous experience. To get a good answer to what a particular mentoring organization is looking for from contributors, ask them. :)

Remember, no organization is officially accepted into GSoC 2009 until we publish the list of accepted organizations at http://socghop.appspot.com on March 18th.

Cheers,
LH

--
Leslie Hawthorn
Program Manager - Open Source
Google Inc.