Add ideas for Summer of Code 2008 here.

Please put your name beside them (if you put your idea in the 'ideas with willing mentors' section and aren't the mentor, please specify who is).

1. Ideas with willing mentors

If you're willing to help the mentor for one of the ideas, feel free to add your name after the existing mentors.

• Scripting : Jon-Kare Hellan <hellan@acm.org>

  • Skills : Python or Mono or javascript + C.
    Gnumeric has an internal 'libspreadsheet' that is ready to be wrapped in either python via pygobject, or C# via mono, or javascript if desired. The object model should be something similar to MS Excel to simplify compatibility but it is not a requirement for python. Applicants would be familiar with the target language, and have some experience interfacing C/Glib with them.

• Multi-Dimensional data visualisation : JodyGoldberg

  • Skills : C, MS Excel.
    Slicing and visualising multi-dimensional data sets. The task can be broken into 3 elements

    1. Providing data structures to load and save the specification of the data set from OpenDocument (Data Pilots) and XLS/XLSX (Pivot Tables)

    2. Implement searches and aggregations from the data structures.
    3. Providing a Gtk based user interface to create and manipulate the data cubes.
    The binary and xml formats are well documented and in combination with plentiful write-ups of the feature should provide a good starting point.

• Additional Plot Types : JeanBrefort

  • Skills : C + Familiarity with charting and 3d graphics.
    Add support for 3d plots or use Gnumeric's architecture to provide a more convenient approach to parametric plots. GOffice currently supports only 2-dimensional plots. An applicant would add a new plot type that displayed surfaces. Alternatively developers could add other plot types. Such as those discussed here, or implement any graphical techinque as those described here.

• Customizable file formats : EmmanuelPacaud

  • Skills : C + XML.
    Implement framework for users to store custom variations for file import/export wizards. eg the parameters for text import.

• Audit trails : Prof J C Nash <nashjc@uottawa.ca>

  • Skills : C + XML.
    Adding a secure audit trail. The Sarbanes Oxley regulatory requirements have created enourmous interest in mechanisms to help ensure that spreadsheets are compliant. One suggestion is to add an audit trail to the spreadsheet itself, recording changes, and their authors. A partial, but awkward, solution exists in the TellTable project (www.telltable.com and telltable-s.sf.net), but a more efficient and easy-to-use tool is highly desirable." The project would require extending Gnumeric Undo/Redo interfaces to persist the details of the actions, and to provide optional xml signing of the results.

• Document Centric Widgets : JodyGoldberg

  • Skills : Familiarity with Gtk+.
    Document based applications have common operations that require widgets that are too specialised for widgets in libgtk itself. The candidate would be responsible for designing and writing widgets to support

  • Creating a document from a template
  • Selecting a zoom level
  • Selecting a themed colour

  • Extensions to the FileSave dialog to handle resolution, removing private data, and error handling.

• Or propose other ideas. The work would take place in libgoffice using gtk.