GSoC/2020/Project Ideas

= Introduction =

This wiki page lists all GSoC project ideas and their related software projects under the umbrella of the XSF.

Please note that to assess students applying to GSoC for XSF projects we want them to have submitted some small patches to one of the XMPP projects in advance, as this gives us an idea of their general ability to interact with the projects and submit patches. These should only be a day or two's work, and shouldn't be onerous!

A list of teaser tasks is given in the projects section, but please join the chat rooms for the respective projects and discuss them there, where mentors will be able to help you and know what you're up to. There are different teasers for different codebases, and more projects with new teasers will be appearing here over the next few days.

More information about XMPP and the XSF at GSOC 2020 can be found here.

Please not that the student's final project proposals may, but are not required to, be for projects on the ideas list. Students with their own GSoC project ideas are encouraged to talk to the respective project contact persons about the feasibility of their idea.

= List of Project Ideas =

Openfire
Website: https://igniterealtime.org/projects/openfire/

Source Code: https://github.com/igniterealtime/Openfire/

Description:: Openfire is a real time collaboration (RTC) server licensed under the Open Source Apache License. It uses the only widely adopted open protocol for instant messaging, XMPP. Openfire is incredibly easy to setup and administer, but offers rock-solid security and performance.

Project Contact Person: Guus der Kinderen

List of Teaser Tasks: Openfire Teaser Tasks

Contact chat: [xmpp:open_chat@conference.igniterealtime.org?join open_chat@conference.igniterealtime.org]

Contact forum: https://discourse.igniterealtime.org/c/openfire

Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) support
Brief explanation: Add support for Efficient XML Interchange (EXI)-based connectivity to Openfire.

Involved Technologies: Java, EXI

Mentor(s): Guus der Kinderen

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Being able to accept connections to the XMPP services provided by Openfire using EXI.
 * A prototype XEP that specifies how EXI is applied in XMPP. This XEP either updates or replaces the existing XEP on this topic.

Smack
Website: https://igniterealtime.org/projects/smack/

Source Code: https://github.com/igniterealtime/Smack/

Description:: Ignite Realtime creates free and open source software with and around the XMPP ecosystem. Smack is an XMPP client library for Java/Android applications.

Project Contact Person: Florian Schmaus [mailto:flo@geekplace.eu ]

List of Teaser Tasks: Smack Teaser Tasks

Contact chat: [xmpp:open_chat@conference.igniterealtime.org?join open_chat@conference.igniterealtime.org]

Contact forum: https://discourse.igniterealtime.org/c/smack

WebSocket support
Brief explanation: Add support for XMPP over WebSocket (RFC 7395) to the XMPP Client Library Smack.

Involved Technologies: Android compatible Java 8, WebSockets

Mentor(s): Paul Schaub (vanitasvitae) [mailto:vanitasvitae@fsfe.org email: ]

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Being able to connect to XMPP services via WebSocket.
 * Definition of a WebSocket interface on top of the used WebSocket libraries, allowing for different WebSocket implementations (one implementation must be OkHttp for Android support).

Milestones:
 * 1) Design and implement WebSocket interface to use by XmppWebsocketconnection
 * 2) Implement automatic XMPP client to server transport discovery (Implicit TLS, TCP, WebSocket, BOSH)
 * 3) Interoperability tests against a different implementation
 * 4) Plug Smack with WebSocket into Spark, our FOSS XMPP client

Currently Smack can establish connections via TCP/IP and HTTP via BOSH. WebSockets are yet another way to connect to a server.

Smack Bot Framework
Brief explanation: Create a bot framework with Smack that enables the easy definition and creation of bots. Smack is currently mainly targeted towards client developers. It would be nice to make it more appealing to bot developers.

Involved Technologies: Android compatible Java 8

Mentor(s): Paul Schaub (vanitasvitae) [mailto:vanitasvitae@fsfe.org email: ]

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Being able to create a chat bot that does a simple task with only a few lines of code.
 * Implement a spam fighting bot for use in multi user chats. That bot should be invitable to a chat by admins and then monitor messages. It must ban spammers and remove their messages with the help of XEP-0425: Message Moderation. Configuration is per multi user chat and should be done via Data Forms or - if supported by the admins client - via XEP-0439: Quick Responses.

High Level Messaging API
Brief explanation: Smack provides APIs for sending and receiving messages (duh). What this project is about is to create a high level API that unifies the process of sending plaintext and e2ee encrypted messages.

Involved Technologies: Android compatible Java 8

Mentor(s): Paul Schaub (vanitasvitae) [mailto:vanitasvitae@fsfe.org email: ]

Deliverables / Expected Results: and that is easy to plug into as a client.
 * An intuitive, easy to use API for sending and receiving plain and encrypted messages using OMEMO and OX.
 * A framework that makes it easy to listen for incoming messages, message corrections, retractions and other updates

Dino
Website: https://dino.im/

Source Code: https://github.com/dino

Description:: Dino is a modern open-source chat client for the desktop.

Project Contact Person: Marvin W. (larma)

List of Teaser Tasks: Dino good first issues

Contact chat: [xmpp:chat@dino.im?join chat@dino.im]

Audio/Video Communication
Brief explanation: Add support for Audio/Video Communication via Jingle.

Involved Technologies: Vala, GTK+, GStreamer, WebRTC, Jingle

Mentor(s): Marvin W. (larma), fiaxh

Relevant readings: XEP-0167, XEP-0353

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Audio and video encoding and transfer using standard-compliant Jingle sessions
 * A user interface to start audio or video chats

The XMPP protocol includes a signaling system to set-up peer-to-peer connections, dubbed Jingle. Dino already supports Jingle for the purpose of file transfers. Another usecase for Jingle is to start an audio and/or video dual-link session. This project idea is about adding support for setting up such communication sessions as well as adding a basic user interface to do so. This project provides a lot of room for extensions like screen-sharing or encryption.

In-Band Real Time texting
Brief explanation: Add support for In-Band Real Time texting.

Involved Technologies: Vala, XMPP, GTK+

Mentor(s): Marvin W. (larma), fiaxh

Relevant readings: XEP-0301

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Allow users to exchange text as they type with other users and other compatible clients
 * Performant input and output (UI rendering wise and network wise)

Real-time text is text transmitted instantly while it is being typed or created. The recipient can immediately read the sender's text as it is written, without waiting. It allows text to be used as conversationally as a telephone conversation, including in situations where speech is not practical (e.g., environments that must be quiet, environments too noisy to hear, restrictions on phone use, situations where speaking is a privacy or security concern, and/or when participant(s) are deaf or hard of hearing).

Prosody IM
Website: https://prosody.im/

Source Code: https://hg.prosody.im/

Description:: Prosody is a lightweight XMPP server that aims to be easy to set up and configure, and efficient with system resources.

Project Contact Person: Matthew Wild [mailto:mwild1@gmail.com ]

List of Teaser Tasks: https://issues.prosody.im/?q=state%3Dopen+difficulty%3Deasy

Contact chat: [xmpp:prosody@conference.prosody.im prosody@conference.prosody.im] web client

Standalone mod_firewall
Brief explanation: This project would produce a version of mod_firewall that runs standalone and can be connected with any XEP-0114 compliant server.

Involved Technologies: Lua, XMPP

Mentor(s): Matthew Wild (MattJ) [mailto:mwild1@gmail.com ], Kim Alvefur (Zash)

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Standalone server-independent mod_firewall
 * Server-side implementation that uses external mod_firewall for determining whether/how to to route a stanza.

Milestones:
 * 1) Design and document server-independent protocol for communicating with external mod_firewall.
 * 2) Develop standalone mod_firewall process that connects to a XEP-0114 compliant server and implements above protocol.
 * 3) Develop server-side code to communicate with external mod_firewall and allow it to filter stanzas.

Prosody's mod_firewall is a rule-based XMPP-layer firewall that is useful for security and anti-spam purposes. However it currently only works with Prosody, and needs to be loaded into the main process.

This project would produce a version of mod_firewall that runs standalone and can be connected with any XEP-0114 compliant server.

The project would include:


 * Protocol design: develop and document (in XEP form) a protocol whereby a server may submit a stanza to the standalone mod_firewall and receive a decision.
 * Coding (Lua): adapt mod_firewall's core code to run standalone, and connect to servers as a component implementing this protocol.
 * Coding: Additionally add support for the new protocol to an XMPP server of your choice.

Implement MIX
Brief explanation: This project would add support for the MIX suite of XEPs to Prosody

Involved Technologies: Lua, XMPP

Mentor(s): Matthew Wild (MattJ) [mailto:mwild1@gmail.com ], Kim Alvefur (Zash)

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * A server with support for creating and joining MIX channels.
 * A suite of Scansion tests for testing correct MIX behaviour

Milestones:
 * 1) Implement support for creating, joining and exchanging messages with MIX rooms.
 * 2) Implement channel administration (XEP-406)

MIX is a new protocol for group chats in XMPP that provides a modern alternative to the existing MUC protocol. It is not currently widely implemented, but this project would provide a server-side implementation against which clients can be built and tested.

Basic support may be found in experimental branches of Conversations, but it is expected that this implementation may be tested through use of Scansion and/or other client-side testing tools and libraries.

= How to add your project idea =

If you do not have already an account on this wiki, then ask someone in the jdev@muc.xmpp.org chatroom for help (sorry, we don't allow open registration because we're trying to avoid the spammers).

Next, copy the template below to create a new entry and fill out all the required information.

Example Project Template
Website: https://example.org/

Source Code: https://example.org/source

Description:: This is just an example project which can be used as template.

Project Contact Person: John Doe [mailto:john.doe@example.org ]

List of Teaser Tasks: https://example.org/issues?tag=gsoc-teaser

Contact chat: chat@muc.example.org

Contact forum: https://discuss.example.org/

Idea A
Brief explanation: Add support for A to example project.

Involved Technologies: Smalltalk, FORTRAN77, COBOL

Mentor(s): Foo Bar (TheBatz) [mailto:foo.bar@example.org ]

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Foo
 * Bar
 * Baz

Milestones:
 * 1) Implement parser and unit tests for parsing
 * 2) Implement protocol logic
 * 3) Interoperability tests against a different implementation

A is a promising new XMPP protocol extension. Its specification includes a ton of buzzwords ranging from blockchain to machine learning. But since it is very young protocol, there are no existing implementations. The goal of this project is to change that situation.

Idea B
Brief explanation: Add support for A to example project.

Involved Technologies: Smalltalk, FORTRAN77, COBOL

Mentor(s): Foo Bar (TheBatz) [mailto:foo.bar@example.org ]

Deliverables / Expected Results:
 * Foo
 * Bar
 * Baz

Milestones:
 * 1) Implement parser and unit tests for parsing
 * 2) Implement protocol logic
 * 3) Interoperability tests against a different implementation

A is a promising new XMPP protocol extension. Its specification includes a ton of buzzwords ranging from blockchain to machine learning. But since it is very young protocol, there are no existing implementations. The goal of this project is to change that situation.