Interview with a Fellow Developer !

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 22:52
hello there !

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 22:52
Hello!

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 22:54
So Kuba, tell me more about you

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 22:56
So, yeah my name is Kuba, I’m from Poland and I attend to technical school (let’s say it’s somewhat like colleague) in Warsaw. I’m 17 years old and I’m kinda geek.

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 22:57
so a technical school ? what all are the technologies covered there ?

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:01
It’s divided into 3 modules: computer fixing (generally it’s about hardware and systems), networking and programming. 1,5 year for each module (this school takes 4 years) in exactly this order

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:01
quite interesting ! so may i know the programming languages you are familiar with ?

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:05
Actually since it’s the last module and I’m in a second grade the answer should be: none But generally I’m in love with web development and I learn JavaScript. I was also learning a little bit of Python but only some very basics. I’m more of a front-end guy who’s also a little bit interested in web design

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:06
so javascript right ? how did you come to know about Google Codein ?

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:09
Yeah, from programming languages only JavaScript :smiley: Few years ago my cousin who’s a programmer mentioned me about it but I wasn’t really interested at that day. Last year I accidentally entered GCI website and I decided to check it out. I completed 3 tasks, just to know what’s going on and get free t-shirt 🙂

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:12
and what made you come to FOSSASIA as a organization ?

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:15
Quoting my article:

The main reasons were: comfortable technologies, big and helpful community (which I experienced last year) and many projects too choose from on GitHub with different difficulty level making it easier to start even for someone like me, who actually is just a freshman.

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:15
and how do you find this year’s task ?

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:18
I think there are the easy and the hard ones like every year. This time I decided to push myself to the limits so generally I’ll stick with the hard ones answer. Especially that I’m fighting right now with Hugo website to start working

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:39
any advice you’d give to a new programmar

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 Dec 14 23:42
Don’t give up, enjoy and always read full documentation before starting a project

Yash Kumar Verma @YashKumarVerma Dec 14 23:51
thanks a lot

Kuba Michalski @kubami9 00:05
You’re welcome!

How I fixed an Issue in a FOSSASIA project

Hello There! So, the core of open source development is that the code is available for everyone to use. And when it’s open for everyone to use, then obviously there are more eyes, more hands and more minds behind the logic, implementation, and support of the project. The same is the backbone of contributions in open source.

This year in Google Codein, the tasks are super fun. the reason is that we the students are wonrking on projects and software which are under use. So finding bugs and fixing them is a fun task, and more fun is working and discussing things with others.

So here’s how I fixed on the issues in the main FOSSASIA GOOGLE CODEIN SITE.

I have till date worked on about half a dozen of issues in the Google Code-In Site. The first issue was to add a template for pull request and issue. What the task needed was very simple. To create a GitHub specific directory named “.github” and create two files into the same. I did the needful and then pushed my changed to my own forked repository. Then I tested the changes if they were working fine in my fork. When I was sure that they were working fine, I made a pull request to the parent FOSSASIA branch and mentioned in the commit message that I have fixed that issue using the hashtag! The community members reviewed my work, then one by one approved the changes I made. Finally, one of them approved all the changes and merged my branch with the main parent branch and BAM! The main repository had the changed I’d made!

View Our Google Codein Site

View FOSSASIA Site

Interview with Anjali Sharma

ME : Hello Mam, I’m here to talk about Google Code-in with Fossasia.

ANJALI : Hi Yash, it’s always a great experience sharing views with you.

ME : What’s your name, Ma’am?

ANJALI : My name is Anjali Sharma.

ME : Where are you from?

ANJALI : I belong to Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

ME : Where do you teach?

ANJALI : Doon International School, Dehradun.

ME : Are you a Computer Enthusiast?

ANJALI : Yes, just like you kid.

ME : Which website is most used by you in daily tasks?

ANJALI : One and only, Google. A one-stop solution for every possible question.

ME : Your comments on Computer Literacy in Doon International School?

ANJALI : Before your active participation in the Computer Awareness and Literacy, there was nothing special in this school. Only regular classes and laboratories were a part of the curriculum. Basically, the textbook was considered to be the bible and no “Out-of-Box” ideas were discussed ever. But then, the Computer Club formed by you came as a savior for the Computer Enthusiasts, who were otherwise just sitting in a corner silently due to lack of focus on this area. The seminars conducted by you on IT Awareness, Cyber Security, Basic Computing, Machine Learning, FossAsia were the inception of Computer Literacy in the school. Kids got to know about coding, algorithms, machine learning, automation, programming and other coding events like Hour of Code and Google Code-In.

ME : You just mentioned Google Code-In in your last answer. Would you like to say anything about it?

ANJALI : Yes, for sure. Google Code-in is a global online contest open for all school students to Class XII. The sole purpose is to get them introduced to Open Source Development. To begin with Google Code-In, nothing except a “Desire” is required. There is no need to have any prerequisite skills, if you have a computer and a burning desire to code, to the program, go for it.

ME : What is Open Source Development?

ANJALI : Open Source Development is working upon the software and product, whose source code is publicly available for interpretation, learning, and modification.

ME : Any idea about the type of Tasks allotted in Google Code-In?

ANJALI : Yes, they are quite easy. They are easy enough to motivate a beginner to participate and keep participating. Tasks include Coding, Research, Promotion, Improvement and Documentation etc.

ME : Do you motivate your students to participate in Google Code-In and How?

ANJALI : Yes, I do. In fact, we both do. We’ve done this through seminars and one to one interaction. Also, the rewards from their side are a huge motivation for anyone to participate. Who doesn’t want a Google T-Shirt and look a geek on the campus?

ME : Thanks, Anjali Mam, that was nice talking to you.

ANJALI : God Bless You Yash, Good Luck !!!

Me and Code !

Hello there! So here’ the first post explaining my relation with google code-In. I have been a programming addict since class 9 and now I’m in class 12 ! in the past 4 years or so I have taught myself from the internet, tried learning about a dozen of languages, and have somehow managed to get myself comfortable in about half of them.

When I was in class 9, programming used to be kind of a dream to me. Actually, the word programming was too hyped and everyone used to share their opinions on how difficult it was. I still remember that I download a drag and drop website maker in which all I had to do was drag and drop components in the area and the result was a beautiful HTML site.

Then was a got a bit familiar with HTML, then is started using some CSS frameworks like bootstrap and got to know about javascript. As my first scripting language, php was my choice. Later on, I went about discovering the power of other languages and practiced them too.

It was in class 10 that I participated in Google Code-in and so this is my third year in the event and perhaps the last one too. I still remember the organization that I chose to work was, FOSSASIA. the sole reason for that was because the tasks were bit sized and easy to follow up (the main reason 😛 ). I recall sitting at my dining table with my old Acer laptop and trying to use GitHub using the GitHub desktop application. What a pain it was! The first year was what I call, um, satisfactory.

Next year too, I worked with FOSSASIA and did about 15 tasks. The best thing about FOSSASIA is that the tasks are so easy and fun that it’s actually a game that you’re playing and not programming!

This year too, I’m working with FOSSASIA and the community is really supportive. All problems are readily discussed and new ideas are appreciated too! One can easily judge the community nature by the fact that since the day I got to know about Google Code-in, of all the reviews I read of organizations, their tasks, and their mentors, I was pulled to FOSSASIA in the very first year when I knew almost nothing. The Mentors helped me then, and the mentors help me even today. I have never ever met any member of FOSSASIA personally or had a casual chat with anyone, but still, even only by formal conversations, i’ve become kind of so comfortable with them. Actually feels like home! A big developer Family!

In my own PC too, prefer using open source software now. The main reason being customizations and cost 😉 ! During Google Codein, the main mode that i used to communicate is, Gitter ! It has awesome interaction with Github and has all modern features too!

I have even put up posters of FOSSASIA and Google Code-In in my school and as the School Captain, and the head of Trojan HOrses Club (Our computer science club), I have recommended FOSSASIA in the meetup we had. Because there’s no other organization to start with! Especially for beginners who want to try their hand out into open source and programming.

This year, I’m facing a lot of problems as I have two preboards during the competition. So,

Study the day, Code the Night !

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