Difference between revisions of "Google Summer of Code/Project Ideas"

From BRL-CAD
(→‎Project Categories: shuffle some tasks around)
(cleanup, add additional mentors, clarify slot dedications new this year)
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The projects below should serve as a good starting point for new developers that would like to work on BRL-CAD. The ideas range from very hard and math intense to very easy.  Each idea links to a page with more details.
+
The projects below serve as a starting point for new developers that would like to work on BRL-CAD. The ideas range from very simple to crazy hard with intense math.  Each idea links to a page with more details.
  
−
You are welcome to scale the scope of the project up or down as needed as the ideas suggested below ''are merely starting points''.  There are also several [http://brlcad.org/~sean/ideas.html other areas] of development that are of high-interest in addition to those below.
+
Remember that these are just initial ideas.  You must expand on these topics with more detail.  You're encouraged to scale the scope up, down, or completely change the goals to fit your experience level.  A higher or lower difficulty does not affect your chances of acceptance.  There are also several [http://brlcad.org/~sean/ideas.html other areas] of development that are of high-interest in addition to those below.
 +
 
 +
'''Unless there are no qualified applicants, we will be slotting at least one student in each of the three main categories below: High Visibility, STEP Conversion, and Infrastructure.'''
  
 
{|align="right"
 
{|align="right"
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  |}
 
  |}
  
−
Be sure to read up on our [[Summer_of_Code/Application_Guidelines|application process]] for getting started with your proposal submission if you have not done so already including our [[Summer_of_Code/Checklist|checklist]].
+
Be sure to follow our [[Summer_of_Code/Checklist|checklist]] for guidance getting started with your proposal submission if you have not done so already.
 +
 
  
 
= Project Categories =
 
= Project Categories =
  
−
== High Visibility Projects ==
+
== High Visibility ==
  
−
BRL-CAD as a project has a number of development areas that represent our "primary" efforts - functionality we are implementing that is fundamentally required to in turn implement a broad range of new features.
+
BRL-CAD as a project has a number of development areas that represent our "primary" efforts - functionality we are implementing that is fundamentally required to in turn implement a broad range of new features.  We will be allocating at least two students to a high visibility project proposal.  
  
−
=== NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) Projects===
+
=== NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) 3D Geometry ===
  
−
BRL-CAD has recently implemented raytracing support for NURBS-based boundary representation geometry.  It's one of our '''''hot-topic priority focus areas''''' with ''high'' impact and ''high'' visibility.  They are also pretty hard so be careful to have sufficient familiarity and lots of milestones.
+
BRL-CAD has recently implemented raytracing support for NURBS-based boundary representation geometry.  It's one of our '''''priority focus areas''''' with ''high'' impact and ''high'' visibility.  They are also pretty hard so be careful to have sufficient familiarity and lots of milestones.
  
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
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|C/C++
 
|C/C++
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Davisson, Yapp, Bowman, Rossberg]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[NURBS Editing Support]]:'''  BRL-CAD doesn't currently have support for editing NURBS primitives.  Fix that.
 
|'''[[NURBS Editing Support]]:'''  BRL-CAD doesn't currently have support for editing NURBS primitives.  Fix that.
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|C and/or C++
 
|C and/or C++
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Rossberg]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Rossberg]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Code Refactoring Projects ===
+
=== Code Refactoring ===
  
 
BRL-CAD has more than a million lines of code so we have to continually refactor and clean up code for maintainability.  Cruft happens.  These projects help reduce the complexity and make things better. They're not very hard at all, but exceedingly valuable to our project vitality.  
 
BRL-CAD has more than a million lines of code so we have to continually refactor and clean up code for maintainability.  Cruft happens.  These projects help reduce the complexity and make things better. They're not very hard at all, but exceedingly valuable to our project vitality.  
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|C and Tcl
 
|C and Tcl
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Hinesley, Yapp, Browder]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Graphical User Interface (GUI) Projects ===
+
=== Graphical User Interface (GUI) ===
 
Better cross platform support and improved GUI usability are high on BRL-CAD's priority list, but those developments require some fundamental work on our core display libraries.
 
Better cross platform support and improved GUI usability are high on BRL-CAD's priority list, but those developments require some fundamental work on our core display libraries.
  
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|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Geometry Conversion Projects ===
+
=== Geometry Conversion ===
  
 
When it comes to geometry conversion, STEP is the priority.
 
When it comes to geometry conversion, STEP is the priority.
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|C/C++
 
|C/C++
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Bowman, Yapp, Morrison]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Geometry Processing Projects ===
+
=== Geometry Processing ===
  
 
As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library.  That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED.  A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications.  More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.
 
As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library.  That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED.  A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications.  More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.
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|}
 
|}
  
−
== Infrastructure Ideas ==
 
−
Although we have areas of primary focus, there are many other projects that would be very beneficial to BRL-CAD.
 
  
−
=== Web Development Projects ===
+
== STEP Conversion ==
 +
We are an invested heavily in the ISO 10303 STEP standard for geometry import and export.  Collaborating with the [http://stepcode.org STEPcode] community, we will be allocating one or more slots to a qualified capable student to specifically work on a STEP project.
 +
 
 +
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 +
!Idea
 +
!Languages
 +
!Impact
 +
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 +
|-
 +
|'''[[STEP Libraries]]:'''  We took over NIST's STEP Class Library (SCL) project during our development of a STEP importer.  SCL has since turned into a larger community collaboration.  The code needs cleanup.
 +
|C/C++
 +
|HUGE
 +
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 +
|-
 +
|'''[[STEP Viewer]]:'''  STEP is a common CAD file format supported by just about every major CAD system.  Given we have an importer and an interface for displaying geometry, a stand-alone STEP file viewer has some great potential.
 +
|C/C++
 +
|HUGE
 +
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Infrastructure ==
 +
Although we have areas of primary focus, there are many other projects that would be very beneficial to BRL-CAD.  We will be allocating at least one slot to a qualified and detailed infrastructure proposal from a capable student.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
=== Web Development ===
  
 
We have high expectations for web development projects because the developer often does not stick around after development is over.  We're not interested in web code, we're interested in people.  If you're willing to work on your project long after GSoC is over (i.e., joining the project) and are willing to make a long-term commitment to BRL-CAD, then we ''absolutely'' welcome your web development project idea.
 
We have high expectations for web development projects because the developer often does not stick around after development is over.  We're not interested in web code, we're interested in people.  If you're willing to work on your project long after GSoC is over (i.e., joining the project) and are willing to make a long-term commitment to BRL-CAD, then we ''absolutely'' welcome your web development project idea.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Yapp]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Benchmark Performance Database]]:'''  BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance  across configurations.  Build a database website.  
 
|'''[[Benchmark Performance Database]]:'''  BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance  across configurations.  Build a database website.  
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|}
 
|}
  
−
=== NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) Projects===
+
 
 +
=== NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) 3D Geometry ===
  
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Davisson, Morrison, Bowman]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[NURBS Optimization and Cleanup]]:'''  We have a fantastic implementation of NURBS evaluation but haven't gone back to clean up or speed it up.  Make it purdy.
 
|'''[[NURBS Optimization and Cleanup]]:'''  We have a fantastic implementation of NURBS evaluation but haven't gone back to clean up or speed it up.  Make it purdy.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Bowman, Morrison]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Collaborative Projects ===
 
−
 
−
BRL-CAD utilizes lots of 3rd party dependencies that requires active maintenance and development.  These projects aim to improve those dependencies directly so that they not only benefit BRL-CAD, but help improve other projects also using them.
 
−
 
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
−
!Idea
 
−
!Languages
 
−
!Impact
 
−
!Difficulty
 
−
!Contacts
 
−
|-
 
−
|'''[[STEP Libraries]]:'''  We took over NIST's STEP Class Library (SCL) project during our development of a STEP importer.  SCL has since turned into a larger community collaboration.  The code needs cleanup.
 
−
|C/C++
 
−
|HUGE
 
−
|EASY
 
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Gillich, Yapp]]
 
−
|-
 
−
|'''[[STEP Viewer]]:'''  STEP is a common CAD file format supported by just about every major CAD system.  Given we have an importer and an interface for displaying geometry, a stand-alone STEP file viewer has some great potential.
 
−
|C/C++
 
−
|HUGE
 
−
|MEDIUM
 
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
−
|}
 
  
−
=== Code Refactoring Projects ===
+
=== Code Refactoring ===
  
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Hinesley, Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[General Tree Walker]]:'''  We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways.  There only needs to be one.
 
|'''[[General Tree Walker]]:'''  We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways.  There only needs to be one.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Yapp, Hinesley, Morrison]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl]]:'''  Tcl's '''''C API''''' is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone.
 
|'''[[Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl]]:'''  Tcl's '''''C API''''' is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Hinesley]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Fix Bugs]]:'''  We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability.  We still have bugs.  Identify some and fix 'em!
 
|'''[[Fix Bugs]]:'''  We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability.  We still have bugs.  Identify some and fix 'em!
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|DEPENDS
 
|DEPENDS
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Hinesley, Gillich, Weiss]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|TBD]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Mesh library cleanup]]:'''  BRL-CAD has an extensive n-manifold polygonal mesh library that needs some refactoring, testing, and optimization rework.
 
|'''[[Mesh library cleanup]]:'''  BRL-CAD has an extensive n-manifold polygonal mesh library that needs some refactoring, testing, and optimization rework.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Weiss, Browder, Rossberg]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Graphical User Interface (GUI) Projects ===
+
 
 +
=== Graphical User Interface (GUI) ===
  
 
The primary environment in which users interact with BRL-CAD geometry is the MGED geometry editor.  The "next generation" interface for MGED, dubbed ''Archer'', has been under development for some time but there is a lot of  functionality that still needs to be migrated and new features needed by MGED, Archer, or both.
 
The primary environment in which users interact with BRL-CAD geometry is the MGED geometry editor.  The "next generation" interface for MGED, dubbed ''Archer'', has been under development for some time but there is a lot of  functionality that still needs to be migrated and new features needed by MGED, Archer, or both.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Rossberg, Gillich]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[NMG Editing]]:'''  Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent.  We need something.
 
|'''[[NMG Editing]]:'''  Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent.  We need something.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Weiss, Morrison, Rossberg]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG)]]:'''  CSG forms a directed acyclic graph.  Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better.
 
|'''[[Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG)]]:'''  CSG forms a directed acyclic graph.  Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Browder]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Geometry Conversion Projects ===
+
 
 +
=== Geometry Conversion ===
  
 
STEP is an absurdly complicated format, but we're one of the first open source projects to implement a working importer.  IGES is a much older standard, but more time-tested too.  Both have a variety of potential high-priority projects associated with the.
 
STEP is an absurdly complicated format, but we're one of the first open source projects to implement a working importer.  IGES is a much older standard, but more time-tested too.  Both have a variety of potential high-priority projects associated with the.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Bowman, Yapp]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Convert BoT to Pipe]]:'''  Command line interface to convert facetted fluid/electrical line geometry into BRL-CAD native pipe solids.
 
|'''[[Convert BoT to Pipe]]:'''  Command line interface to convert facetted fluid/electrical line geometry into BRL-CAD native pipe solids.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Anderson]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[IGES import improvements]]:'''  We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating.
 
|'''[[IGES import improvements]]:'''  We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg, Hinesley]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Voxelize]] command:'''  Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays.  The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you.
 
|'''[[Voxelize]] command:'''  Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays.  The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Hinesley, Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich, Rossberg]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
=== Geometry Processing Projects ===
+
=== Geometry Processing ===
  
 
As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library.  That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED.  A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications.  More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.
 
As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library.  That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED.  A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications.  More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Hinesley]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Add exec option to search]]:'''  Our LIBGED library provides a ''search'' command very similar to the UNIX ''find'' command for scanning through geometry.  Implement the -exec option.
 
|'''[[Add exec option to search]]:'''  Our LIBGED library provides a ''search'' command very similar to the UNIX ''find'' command for scanning through geometry.  Implement the -exec option.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Hinesley, Morrison]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Space Partitioning for Tessellation]]:'''  Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation.
 
|'''[[Space Partitioning for Tessellation]]:'''  Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation.
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|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Yapp, Morrison, Greenwald]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Morrison, Greenwald]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Rendering & Analysis Projects ===
+
 
 +
=== Rendering & Analysis ===
  
 
Raytracing is at the heart of all that is BRL-CAD.  The 'rt' application was the world's first distributed parallel ray tracer, implemented in early 80's, and it's backed by our powerful LIBRT library.  We're the best as full path shotlines (shooting all the way through geometry, not just first hit) and can handle crazy big geometry very efficiently, very fast.  It's how we perform geometric analysis, generate images, perform simulations, and more.
 
Raytracing is at the heart of all that is BRL-CAD.  The 'rt' application was the world's first distributed parallel ray tracer, implemented in early 80's, and it's backed by our powerful LIBRT library.  We're the best as full path shotlines (shooting all the way through geometry, not just first hit) and can handle crazy big geometry very efficiently, very fast.  It's how we perform geometric analysis, generate images, perform simulations, and more.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Greenwald, Bowman]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability]]:''' Need more be said?  If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you.
 
|'''[[Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability]]:''' Need more be said?  If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you.
Line 403: Line 413:
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Scientific Projects ===
+
 
 +
=== Scientific ===
  
 
BRL-CAD has been used to visualize Hubble up in orbit (before it was launched), simulate light transport (multispectral analyses), model Earth's interior layers (education), and much more but there are lots of coding projects that would really help make BRL-CAD more useful for general science a work.
 
BRL-CAD has been used to visualize Hubble up in orbit (before it was launched), simulate light transport (multispectral analyses), model Earth's interior layers (education), and much more but there are lots of coding projects that would really help make BRL-CAD more useful for general science a work.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Greenwald, Morrison, Yapp]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Polarization]]:'''  We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects.  Implement ray splitting and filtering.
 
|'''[[Polarization]]:'''  We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects.  Implement ray splitting and filtering.
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|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
−
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Rossberg, Morrison, Davsisson]]
+
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Rossberg, Morrison]]
 
|}  
 
|}  
  
  
−
=== Networking Projects ===
+
=== Networking ===
  
 
BRL-CAD includes a variety of tools that utilize networking.  Our LIBPKG networking library predates pervasive TCP/IP availability and is time-tested.  As BRL-CAD becomes more of an operation-oriented modular infrastructure, improvements to our networking underpinnings become necessary.
 
BRL-CAD includes a variety of tools that utilize networking.  Our LIBPKG networking library predates pervasive TCP/IP availability and is time-tested.  As BRL-CAD becomes more of an operation-oriented modular infrastructure, improvements to our networking underpinnings become necessary.
Line 510: Line 521:
 
** d_rossberg on irc.freenode.net
 
** d_rossberg on irc.freenode.net
 
** Mentor, core dev, math expert
 
** Mentor, core dev, math expert
 +
 +
* H.S. Rai
 +
** hsrai on irc.freenode.net
 +
** Mentor, math expert
 +
 +
* Mark Pictor
 +
** mpictor on irc.freenode.net
 +
** STEP Mentor
 +
 +
* Charlie Stirk
 +
** cstirk
 +
** STEP Mentor

Revision as of 23:03, 23 April 2013

The projects below serve as a starting point for new developers that would like to work on BRL-CAD. The ideas range from very simple to crazy hard with intense math. Each idea links to a page with more details.

Remember that these are just initial ideas. You must expand on these topics with more detail. You're encouraged to scale the scope up, down, or completely change the goals to fit your experience level. A higher or lower difficulty does not affect your chances of acceptance. There are also several other areas of development that are of high-interest in addition to those below.

Unless there are no qualified applicants, we will be slotting at least one student in each of the three main categories below: High Visibility, STEP Conversion, and Infrastructure.

BRL-CAD Priorities

Be sure to follow our checklist for guidance getting started with your proposal submission if you have not done so already.


Project Categories

High Visibility

BRL-CAD as a project has a number of development areas that represent our "primary" efforts - functionality we are implementing that is fundamentally required to in turn implement a broad range of new features. We will be allocating at least two students to a high visibility project proposal.

NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) 3D Geometry

BRL-CAD has recently implemented raytracing support for NURBS-based boundary representation geometry. It's one of our priority focus areas with high impact and high visibility. They are also pretty hard so be careful to have sufficient familiarity and lots of milestones.

Idea Languages Difficulty Contacts
NURBS Intersections: Evaluate the intersection of two NURBS surfaces. You'll get a 3D curve or a point, line segment, or even a plane depending how the surfaces overlap. C/C++ HARD Yapp, Rossberg
NURBS Editing Support: BRL-CAD doesn't currently have support for editing NURBS primitives. Fix that. C/Tcl MEDIUM Yapp
Vector Drawings from NURBS: Huge impact here if you can update one or more of our raytracers to provide vector output instead of raster. Perhaps render directly to PDF or SVG. C and/or C++ EASY Rossberg

Code Refactoring

BRL-CAD has more than a million lines of code so we have to continually refactor and clean up code for maintainability. Cruft happens. These projects help reduce the complexity and make things better. They're not very hard at all, but exceedingly valuable to our project vitality.

Idea Languages Difficulty Contacts
MGED to Archer Command Migration: Our next-generation editor (Archer) needs to have the same (700+) commands that are in MGED. Help make our next CAD interface awesome. C and Tcl EASY Yapp

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Better cross platform support and improved GUI usability are high on BRL-CAD's priority list, but those developments require some fundamental work on our core display libraries.

Idea Languages Difficulty Contacts
New Cross-Platform 3D Display Manager: BRL-CAD uses display managers for visualizing 3D geometry in a window. We want one that uses a cross-platform toolkit such as Qt + OGRE. C/C++ MEDIUM Morrison

Geometry Conversion

When it comes to geometry conversion, STEP is the priority.

Idea Languages Difficulty Contacts
STEP exporter: We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry. C/C++ EASY Yapp, Morrison

Geometry Processing

As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library. That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED. A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications. More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.

Idea Languages Difficulty Contacts
Add exec option to search: Our LIBGED library provides a search command very similar to the UNIX find command for scanning through geometry. Implement the -exec option. C EASY Yapp
Geometric Constraint Solver: Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships. C/C++ HARD Morrison


STEP Conversion

We are an invested heavily in the ISO 10303 STEP standard for geometry import and export. Collaborating with the STEPcode community, we will be allocating one or more slots to a qualified capable student to specifically work on a STEP project.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
STEP Libraries: We took over NIST's STEP Class Library (SCL) project during our development of a STEP importer. SCL has since turned into a larger community collaboration. The code needs cleanup. C/C++ HUGE EASY Yapp
STEP Viewer: STEP is a common CAD file format supported by just about every major CAD system. Given we have an importer and an interface for displaying geometry, a stand-alone STEP file viewer has some great potential. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Yapp


Infrastructure

Although we have areas of primary focus, there are many other projects that would be very beneficial to BRL-CAD. We will be allocating at least one slot to a qualified and detailed infrastructure proposal from a capable student.


Web Development

We have high expectations for web development projects because the developer often does not stick around after development is over. We're not interested in web code, we're interested in people. If you're willing to work on your project long after GSoC is over (i.e., joining the project) and are willing to make a long-term commitment to BRL-CAD, then we absolutely welcome your web development project idea.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Synchronize Wiki with Docbook: We use Docbook for most of our user documentation but find editing a wiki page much easier to use. Set up a system so the two are always in sync. Depends (likely PHP or Python) HUGE MEDIUM Yapp
Benchmark Performance Database: BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance across configurations. Build a database website. Depends (likely PHP or Python) BIG MEDIUM Morrison
Materials Database: Create a Materials Database web site for collecting, managing, and providing programmatic interfaces to material properties. Depends (likely PHP or Python) BIG MEDIUM Morrison, Yapp


NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) 3D Geometry

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Plate Mode NURBS raytracing: Imported NURBS geometry often does NOT enclose space (i.e., not solid), so add support for specifying an implicit thickness. C/C++ HUGE HARD Morrison
NURBS Optimization and Cleanup: We have a fantastic implementation of NURBS evaluation but haven't gone back to clean up or speed it up. Make it purdy. C/C++ BIG MEDIUM Yapp, Morrison


Code Refactoring

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Code Reduction: BRL-CAD is more than 1M lines of code. Approximately 10% of that is duplication. Help reduce that percentage. C BIG EASY Greenwald, Morrison
General Tree Walker: We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways. There only needs to be one. C HUGE EASY Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison
Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl: Tcl's C API is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone. C HUGE EASY Morrison, Yapp, Greenwald
Consolidate image processing: We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data. Needs much reuse love. C HUGE EASY Greenwald
Fix Bugs: We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability. We still have bugs. Identify some and fix 'em! C DEPENDS EASY TBD
Mesh library cleanup: BRL-CAD has an extensive n-manifold polygonal mesh library that needs some refactoring, testing, and optimization rework. C HUGE MEDIUM Morrison, Rossberg


Graphical User Interface (GUI)

The primary environment in which users interact with BRL-CAD geometry is the MGED geometry editor. The "next generation" interface for MGED, dubbed Archer, has been under development for some time but there is a lot of functionality that still needs to be migrated and new features needed by MGED, Archer, or both.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
New Cross-Platform 2D Framebuffer: BRL-CAD uses framebuffers to display 2D imagery. The merits of having a single interface for most platforms is self-evident. C/C++ HUGE EASY Morrison, Yapp
GUI Integration of Analysis Tools: There are a lot of visualization tools in BRL-CAD, but most aren't integrated with the GUI. Visualizing directly within the GUI would improve usability. C BIG MEDIUM Rossberg
NMG Editing: Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent. We need something. C HUGE HARD Morrison, Rossberg
Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG): CSG forms a directed acyclic graph. Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better. C/C++ HUGE EASY Morrison


Geometry Conversion

STEP is an absurdly complicated format, but we're one of the first open source projects to implement a working importer. IGES is a much older standard, but more time-tested too. Both have a variety of potential high-priority projects associated with the.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
STEP importer improvements: We have an importer, but it's preliminary. Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Yapp
Convert BoT to Pipe: Command line interface to convert facetted fluid/electrical line geometry into BRL-CAD native pipe solids. C/C++/Tcl HUGE MEDIUM Morrison
IGES import improvements: We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating. C HUGE MEDIUM Morrison
Geometry Conversion Library: Probably our biggest open source asset is our extensive collection of importers and exporters. Turn them all into a universal conversion library. C/C++ HUGE EASY Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg
Voxelize command: Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays. The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you. C BIG EASY Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg


Geometry Processing

As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library. That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED. A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications. More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
GED Transactions: Migrating functionality from our MGED geometry editor into our LIBGED library provided excellent code reuse, but now we need transactions so that actions can be undone. C HUGE EASY Morrison
Add exec option to search: Our LIBGED library provides a search command very similar to the UNIX find command for scanning through geometry. Implement the -exec option. C HUGE EASY Yapp
Geometry Selection Functionality: Implement a new selection command that lets you temporarily group objects based on spatial, attribute, or geometric properties. C HUGE EASY Morrison
Space Partitioning for Tessellation: Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation. C BIG HARD Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison
Overlap tool: Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity. Design an awesome interface for resolving conflicts. Tcl HUGE EASY Yapp, Morrison, Greenwald


Rendering & Analysis

Raytracing is at the heart of all that is BRL-CAD. The 'rt' application was the world's first distributed parallel ray tracer, implemented in early 80's, and it's backed by our powerful LIBRT library. We're the best as full path shotlines (shooting all the way through geometry, not just first hit) and can handle crazy big geometry very efficiently, very fast. It's how we perform geometric analysis, generate images, perform simulations, and more.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Shader Enhancements: We have a functioning custom shader system in BRL-CAD, but there are now folks that specialize and there's lot of room for improvements. C BIG EASY Morrison, Greenwald
Material and Shader Objects: This one is a biggie but easy. Implement new object entities for describing shaders and material properties, use them during ray tracing. C HUGE EASY Morrison
NMG Raytracing Performance Improvement: BRL-CAD's structured mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) needs some time in a profiler. Malloc during raytracing is bad. C BIG HARD Morrison, Greenwald
Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability: Need more be said? If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you. C HUGE HARD Greenwald, Morrison
High Dynamic Range Support: We don't have displays supporting this yet, but that's never stopped us before. Implement support for images with more than 8-bits per channel. C and/or C++ BIG EASY Greenwald, Yapp
Analysis Library: There are various tools in BRL-CAD for calculating weights, moments of inertia, and more. They're stand-alone applications. Turn them into a library. C HUGE HARD Yapp, Morrison


Scientific

BRL-CAD has been used to visualize Hubble up in orbit (before it was launched), simulate light transport (multispectral analyses), model Earth's interior layers (education), and much more but there are lots of coding projects that would really help make BRL-CAD more useful for general science a work.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Astronomical units: We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion... C BIG EASY Morrison, Greenwald
Bending light: Think gravity wells and satellite cameras. C BIG MEDIUM Morrison
Celestial mechanics particle system: Simulate solar systems and galaxies. C/C++ BIG MEDIUM Greenwald
Non-vacuum gravity simulator: Simulate falling to earth. C/C++ BIG MEDIUM Greenwald, Morrison, Yapp
Polarization: We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects. Implement ray splitting and filtering. C BIG HARD Morrison, Rossberg
Density functions: Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone. Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials. C BIG HARD Rossberg, Morrison


Networking

BRL-CAD includes a variety of tools that utilize networking. Our LIBPKG networking library predates pervasive TCP/IP availability and is time-tested. As BRL-CAD becomes more of an operation-oriented modular infrastructure, improvements to our networking underpinnings become necessary.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Package Library Extensions: Our network "package" library is old but solid. As decades tick by, though, some implementation assumptions need revisiting. C BIG EASY Morrison


Other Tool Projects

Some of these project ideas aren't as detailed or elaborate as the ones above, but would be interesting and useful nonetheless. Please discuss with us before proposing one of these ideas.

<AN IDEA OF YOUR OWN>

Do you have an idea of your own? Let us know and maybe we'll like it too. We're very open to new ideas, areas of academic research, industry applications, and any other ways that may help get you hooked on BRL-CAD development. Just remember that BRL-CAD is a solid modeling CAD suite so keep that in mind when scoping your project.

Requirements:

  • Passion for the task being suggested
  • Buy-in from one of the existing developers

Mentors

BRL-CAD operates under group mentorship. That means you can contact anyone, not just the person assigned to you, for assistance. The mailing list and IRC channel are the preferred communication methods.

  • Christopher Sean Morrison
    • brlcad on irc.freenode.net
    • Org admin, core dev, open source project lead
  • Erik Greenwald
    • ``Erik on irc.freenode.net
    • Org admin, core dev
  • Cliff Yapp
    • starseeker on irc.freenode.net
    • Mentor, core dev
  • Daniel Rossberg
    • d_rossberg on irc.freenode.net
    • Mentor, core dev, math expert
  • H.S. Rai
    • hsrai on irc.freenode.net
    • Mentor, math expert
  • Mark Pictor
    • mpictor on irc.freenode.net
    • STEP Mentor
  • Charlie Stirk
    • cstirk
    • STEP Mentor
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