Application and Inter-Application Tasks for GSoC and Debian Science/Med
Dear all,
Arthur is collecting tasks for Debian's Google Summer of Code run this summer. And I already have a series of ideas for it. Too
many, this is. Of those there is a series of ideas that I'd have that would fit nicely with some of the blends (Science and Med)
but not with the Debian infrastructure itself. Those ideas might (or might not) be finding a sufficient number of supporters with
Debian at large and rightously those tasks might indeed take too many of the number-limited Google-funded projects away from all
the other tasks that are closer to Debian and also important.
My suggestion hence is to come up with a Debian Blends GSoC. It shall aim at improving the overall user experience for the
application of Debian/Ubuntu-based technologies in their respective field. Examples:
Student project 1: Help the wet-lab routine
* bring PerlPrimer up to date
- the URLs for Ensembl for instance are outdated
- allow preparation of primer triplets
- better documentation
* bring GENtle up to date
- allow it to talk to PerlPrimer
- better icons
- better documentation
I'd have several ideas about who could help mentoring here. Charles obviously would be my prime candidate, but also myself and a
colleague of mine would help the student to find his/her limits. The aim is to have the tool used more in regular laboratories ...
also on Windows, sigh.
Student project 2: Bring the in silico screening for functional compounds to Debian
There are several tools provided but not yet in Debian that prepare for the large scale distributed docking of compound libraries
(like the freely available ZINC but also of others tremendously expensive ones) against single or a series of crystal structures
of proteins. Of course, big pharma already has such kind of things established. I am interested to bring this skill also to
smaller groups, say the a biochemistry institute where there has just been a new structure determined. It shall become easier for
them. Through us.
Student project 3-10:
You name it.
Those projects are important to me for at least two reasons. One of course is that we will have someone educated both torwards our
Linux distribution and to the respective biochemical domain. That person may then help to continue the development of our
distribution towards those educations more also after the end of the GSoC project. Secondly, with every extension of our blends,
we get closer to those who make their living with such things by applying those tools. And especially for the full-time employees
getting acquainted to us this way, some of their time may be prepared to give back to us - and if it is mostly on documentation.
What does the list think about this? If there is some positive feedback, then I'd go ahead and will also ask on Debian Science.
Many greetings
Steffen
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