Google Code-in Haiku Task Ideas 2019

This is the Haiku task brainstorm page for the ​Google Code-In contest for 2019. As such, some or many of these may not end up being in our final released list of tasks that end up in Google Code-In. If you are a student, DO NOT start working on these ahead of time as they are ALL subject to change.

With the 2018 release of Haiku R1Beta1, our aim for this year will be to help bring Haiku closer to Beta 2 release. This will be a good chance for you to see your work end up in a released product! We hope to have a large number of fun tasks this year. Whether this is your first time learning about Haiku, or your second or third time competing in the Code-In, we will have tasks suited to a variety of skill levels.

Beginner tasks

• Install and run Haiku
• Compile Haiku and add your name to the about box

Code

• Fix an open issue for any application on ​HaikuArchives
• Write a ​HaikuPorter recipe to build application XYZ for Haiku
• Fix a recipe that has a pending pull request on ​HaikuPorts
• Fix open issue in Haiku
• Write part N of application XYZ for Haiku. In past years students have created a ​Weather application, a ​Maps application, a ​Solitaire game and more (rather focus on improving the existing apps, rather than creatting new ones)
• Write a screensaver for Haiku. In past years students have created a few different screensavers for Haiku (​http://www.complexification.net/gallery/ is a possible source of inspiration). We should review our existing screensavers and decide on some artistic direction on what we want here
• Write scripts to automate screenshot taking for the userguide
• Test and fix Haikuporter with Python 3.7

Documents and Training

• Update wiki page for ​HaikuPorts development model.
• Make a video showing feature XYZ on Haiku, for this task we require seeing a script before you start making the video. Examples of ​GCI Haiku tutorial videos from previous Google Code-In students. (this is split in multiple tasks, one to write the script, and one to record the video)
• Write documentation for the Haiku userguide or for other Haiku applications

Outreach and Research

• Give a Haiku lightning talk, this could be done for your high school computer club, class, etc. For this task we require seeing your slides and/or outline

Quality Assurance

• Test programs at ​HaikuArchives and report results, including filing of new bug reports and enhancement features
• Test Haiku on various hardware and report results
• Follow test cases on ​LeanTesting
• Write new test cases

Design

• Design a Haiku sticker (we have enough of these already, and we never use them)
• Assemble a set of wallpapers for Haiku (using existing appropriately licensed pictures)
• Assemble a set of system sounds (using existing appropriately licensed sounds)
• Draft a UI mock up of an application for Haiku that does XYZ.
• UI testing and/or redesign of existing applications (suggest improvements to the GUIs)
• Create a native-style icon for a ported application or a BeOS application that doesn't have one yet

More Ideas

For Haiku Users and Developers, this is your chance to suggest some task ideas that students would be able to complete in about 2-4 hours of work time spread out over a few days. You can suggest bigger tasks, but they should be ones such that they could be broken down into smaller parts that fit this 2-4 hour timeline.

Last year's tasks are archived in the GCITool repo and will be re-imported into the GCI web app: ​https://github.com/pulkomandy/gcitool