November 21, 2024: PostgreSQL 17.2, 16.6, 15.10, 14.15, 13.18, and 12.22 Released!

PostgreSQL and Google Summer of Code

The PostgreSQL Project is participating in the Google Summer of Code 2012 program. This program endeavors to fund students to contribute to an open source project over the summer break.

Example Proposal Ideas

The PostgreSQL Project has a wide range of opinions on what it feels are acceptable GSoC projects. The examples listed here are meant only as a suggestion of things we would likely find useful, but you should not feel obligated to pick from this list by any means. If you have just discovered a new algorithm as part of your thesis work, we would love to see a proposal implementing that in PostgreSQL. The point is that all proposals will be evaluated on their own merits, so be creative.

  • TODO Items: A number of the items on our TODO list have been marked as good projects for beginners who are new to the PostgreSQL code. Items on this list have the advantage of already having general community agreement that the feature is desirable. These items should also have some general discussion available in the mailing list archives to help get you started. You can find these items on the TODO list, they will be marked with an [E].
  • Other Ideas: are given on our GSOC2012 Wiki Page

Mentors

PostgreSQL follows an open community development model, so student projects are likely to be reviewed and commented on by any and all members of the PostgreSQL community. This also means that we may be able to find mentors for additional projects by reaching out to this community. If you are interested in working on a project not explicitly mentioned above, you may want to contact one of the Summer of Code liaisons below about writing a proposal.

  • Josh Berkus <josh @t postgresql.org>, PostgreSQL Experts, performance engineering
  • Thom Brown <thom @t linux.com>, EnterpriseDB, user groups
  • Selena Deckelmann <selenamarie @t gmail.com>, Emma.com, user groups and applications

A list of prospective mentors is available on our GSOC2012 Wiki Page.

If your project is not selected for funding by Google, but you still think you have a feasible project proposal, then please email our developers mailing list at pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org.

Proposal Guidelines

Apply to Summer of Code

Students are responsible for writing a proposal and submitting it to Google before the application deadline. The following outline was adapted from the Perl Foundation open source proposal HOWTO. A strong proposal will include:

  • Benefits to the PostgreSQL Community - a good project will not just be fun to work on, but also generally useful to others.
  • Deliverables - It is very important to list quantifiable results here
  • Project Schedule - How long will the project take? When can you begin work?
  • Bio - Who are you? What makes you the best person to work on this project?
  • Contact - How can we contact if we have questions about your project? Can you supply us with an email/IM/phone method for being contacted, in case of emergency?

Please also see our additional Advice to Students before submitting a proposal.

We would prefer that development discussion occur on our project mailing lists when possible, with special recognition being given to those students who vet their proposal with community developers before submitting their proposal to Google SoC. This is not required, but can have a large impact on the chances of your proposal being accepted, so please don't be shy. In any case, you will be required to keep open lines of communication with your mentor should you be accepted, so if you have circumstances that may affect this, please explain them up front in your proposal.

Previously Accepted Projects

  • Fast GiST index build
  • Enhancing FDW
  • New phpPgAdmin Plugin Architecture
  • Database Designer for pgAdmin
  • Extending pgTune
  • Indexing XML Data in PostgreSQL
  • Caching Results in pgPool-II

More information on these projects can be found on Google's PostgreSQL SoC pages: (2011 | 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Am I eligible?

    Please see the Google FAQ for all questions about eligibility.

  • When is the proposal deadline?

    According to the Summer of Code FAQ, the deadline for submitting student proposals is April 6th, 2012 (19:00 UTC). Please remember that proposals must submitted to Google themselves, although we are happy to discuss any proposals with you ahead of time.