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Projects for new developers: Difference between revisions

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{{GSOC}}
{{GSOC}}
==Getting started==
==Getting started==


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==Potential projects==
==Potential projects==


This evolving page lists possible Moodle projects for new developers derived from community suggestions.
This evolving page lists possible Moodle projects for new developers derived from community suggestions and lists projects together with experienced core developers willing to mentor new developers.


''If you have any ideas for new features in Moodle which might be suitable as projects for new developers, please see [[New feature ideas]].''
''If you have any ideas for new features in Moodle which might be suitable as projects for new developers, please see [[New feature ideas]].''


=== Ability to crop/resize/rotate an image in atto ===
=== Improve SCORM plugin ===
 
There are a number of areas of SCORM that could be improved as part of a GSOC project, some of these are bigger projects and others could be combined to form a single project.
Moodle comes with it's own HTML editor known as 'atto' (see https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Atto). The editor functions similarly to other editors out there, like TinyMCE, but is tailored to Moodle. It comes with multiple plugins that allow users to perform tasks, such as changing the font size, the alignment, adding links etc. One of these plugins allows the user to add an image to the text editor with the ability to specify the size and alignment of the image via text input. The idea of this project is to extend and improve this current plugin so the user can crop/resize/rotate the image via JS - making the whole experience easier and more aesthetically pleasing.
 
This project details/discussion can be located at MDL-52982.
 
:'''Skills required''': Javascript (YUI), PHP
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [https://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=1057750 Mark Nelson]
 
=== Improve Behat tests in SCORM plugin ===
The Moodle SCORM plugin does not contain very many behat tests and most tests are manual. The Claude Ostyn diagnostic SCO should be used to implement a range of new Behat tests to cover the functionality that the SCORM module provides.
 
Deliverables:
* Behat tests for all existing SCORM QA tests (where possible)
* Behat tests for all SCORM settings (eg standards mode, mastery score settings etc)
* The code should pass 100% of the Moodle codechecking tools to ensure the code meets with Moodle Guidelines.
 
Extra requirement for prospective students:
* We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered - on top of this you must also attempt to convert one existing QA test into a Behat test. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid. If you do not have time to do this before the submission deadline your application will not be considered.
 
:'''Skills required''': PHP
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=21591&course=5 Dan Marsden]
 
=== Advanced Grading in Forums ===
Finish the work required to add the advanced grading feature to the Moodle forum activity. This builds on some existing work available at MDL-31860


Deliverables:
These are just some examples, take a look at the open SCORM issues in the Moodle tracker for a list of other issues.
* Modify the forum grading so that it pushes 2 grade areas (or 3 including ratings) into the gradebook instead of a single grade.
* Improve Grading (MDL-51086, MDL-52871, MDL-37421)
* Improve interface that allows overall forum participation grading.
* Improve validation of SCORM packages (MDL-38060, MDL-24057)
* Behat tests for all new functionality.
* Convert YUI Treeview to use Jquery (Moodle is moving away from YUI and the existing Treeview has a few issues)
* The code should pass 100% of the Moodle codechecking tools to ensure the code meets with Moodle Guidelines.
* Choose where to send users after completing SCORM (MDL-61677)
 
Extra requirement for prospective students:
* We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered - on top of this you must also attempt to convert one existing QA test into a Behat test. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid. If you do not have time to do this before the submission deadline your application will not be considered.


Requirement for prospective students:
* We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid.
:'''Skills required''': PHP
:'''Skills required''': PHP
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=21591&course=5 Dan Marsden]
:'''Possible mentor''': [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=21591&course=5 Dan Marsden]


=== Add support to end-to-end testing in the Mobile app ===
=== Migrate end-to-end testing support in the Mobile app to Ionic 3 ===


[https://angular.github.io/protractor/#/ Protractor] is an end-to-end test framework for AngularJS applications. Protractor runs tests against your application running in a real browser, interacting with it as a user would.
[https://angular.github.io/protractor/#/ Protractor] is an end-to-end test framework for AngularJS applications. Protractor runs tests against your application running in a real browser, interacting with it as a user would.


The basements for this project are done, see MOBILE-1179, the only remaining work is to add more tests to the app and document the set-up process in the Moodle developers wiki.
There are almost 167 e2e tests in the Mobile app (see detailed information [https://magician03.github.io/2017/08/21/gsoc-moodle-final-phase/ here]).  


:'''Skills required: Javascript (AngularJS)
The aim of this project is to upgrade the existing end-to-end testing support in the Mobile app to Ionic 3 (the original tests were implemented for Ionic 1/AngularJS).  
:'''Difficulty level: Medium
:'''Possible mentor: [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=49568 Juan Leyva]


=== Create a desktop version of Moodle Mobile using Electron ===
Tasks:
* Upgrade the Node, Protractor and dependencies versions to be able to run tests in modern environments.
* Update all the tests so they can run in the new version of the framework (Ionic 3)
* Update Moodle Mobile documentation with new instructions for setting up both environments.


[http://electron.atom.io/ Electron] is a tool for creating cross platform desktop applications using web technologies.


[https://github.com/moodlehq/moodlemobile/ Moodle Mobile 1] (the previous version of Moodle Mobile) had an experimental desktop application using a similar tool ([http://nwjs.io/ Node-Webkit, now NW.js]), for Moodle Mobile 2 we’d like to see the application packaged for desktop using Electron.
Requirement for prospective students:


In this project you will implement some of the Cordova APIs to use the Node.js API provided by electron:
* We require prospective students to set-up and run in a local environment the existing tests following this documentation: [[Moodle Mobile End To End Testing]], student must record a video of the tests running on a local machine.
* FileSystem API - For browsing the local file system
* We also require students to create an additional test (detailed instructions for writing tests are available in the previous link)
* FileTransfer API - For downloads and uploads
* Camera and capture API - For taking photos, videos and audios using the webcam


Notice that these APIs are already implemented in the previous version of Moodle Mobile 1, this project is about migrating this old APIs from Node-Webkit to the new version of the application using Electron.


:'''Skills required: Javascript (Node.js)
:'''Skills required:''' Javascript (Angular and Ionic 3)
:'''Difficulty level: Medium
:'''Difficulty level:''' Medium
:'''Possible mentor: [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=49568 Juan Leyva]
:'''Possible mentor:''' [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=49568 Juan Leyva]


=== Generator of Moodle plugins scaffold code ===
=== Migrate Moodle Mobile publishing scripts to Gulp tasks ===


There are many [[Plugin types|plugin types]] in Moodle. There are [[Plugin files|files]] and code patterns that all plugins have in common. Also there are specific interfaces that individual plugin types are expected to implement. When developing a new plugin, Moodle contributors use some available templates for various plugin types as well as existing plugins as a reference.
Right now the Mobile app uses several scripts ([see here https://github.com/moodlehq/moodlemobile-scripts]) for common tasks related to publishing.


The goal of this project is to develop a tool that helps Moodle contributors to generate a scaffold code for a new Moodle plugin. Given parameters such as plugin type, plugin name, list of enabled/disabled features and other meta-data (such as author name etc), the tool should generate a scaffold code for that plugin that the developer can build on.
Those scripts should be migrated to Gulp tasks so they are available among the other tasks already implemented.


Deliverables:
Tasks:
* Research and analysis of existing tools and approaches used in other software projects.
* Migrate the prepare-release-version.sh script to gulp task
* Specification of the format/syntax of templates that will be used to generate the plugin code (consider Mustache as it is templating language that Moodle developers are most familiar with).
* Migrate the prepare-release-integration.sh script to gulp task
* Templates for all Moodle plugin types and specification of their storage, organisation and maintenance (so that it is possible to keep them up to date in further Moodle versions).
* Improve previous scripts to compile the resulting app via Phonegap Build API
* Software tool that makes use of these templates and actually generates the plugin scaffold code.
* Migrate the rest of scripts that synchronizes language translations


Requirements:
Requirement for prospective students:  
* The generated code should pass 100% of the Moodle codechecking tools to ensure it meets with Moodle Guidelines.
* We require prospective students to  set-up a local development environment of the Mobile app (and run it locally) following this documentation: [[Setting_up_your_development_environment_for_Moodle_Mobile_2]], students must provide a video or detailed screenshots including a detailed explanation of what they did to run the app locally.
* The generator itself should be written in either PHP or JavaScript (Node.js) and provide both CLI and GUI.


:'''Skills required:''' PHP / Node.js, experience with Moodle plugins development is a big plus.
:'''Skills required:''' Javascript
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Difficulty level:''' Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=1601&course=5 David Mudrák]
:'''Possible mentor:''' [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=49568 Juan Leyva]


=== Add search to more moodle components ===
=== Add Mobile app support to Attendance plugin ===
A new version of the Moodle Mobile app will be finished in May 2018 - This will provide a simpler way for plugins to add support for the Mobile app.
Draft spec is available here https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=361230


MDL-31989 is introducing global search to Moodle to index moodle data in an external source and to retrieve data back from that external source. There are some module components, like glossary or databases that can use the search engine to index their data on it, so moodle users with permissions can access them quickly. This project would be about implementing the search API in some moodle components, the number of components can vary depending on the time available, but ideally this should land into core.
Minimum requirements for this would involve the ability for teachers and students to take attendance, and for students to view their reports.


:'''Skills required:''' PHP
Requirement for prospective students:
* We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid.
:'''Skills required''': PHP
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=122326 David Monllao]
:'''Possible mentor''': [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=21591&course=5 Dan Marsden]
 
=== Elastic search ===
 
MDL-31989 is introducing global search to Moodle to index moodle data in an external source and to retrieve data back from that external source. The only search engine that will be initially supported will be solr, as elasticsearch has a good use base would be nice to write a search_elastic plugin implementing moodle's search engine API. This does not necessarily need to go into core.
 
:'''Skills required:''' PHP
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=122326 David Monllao]
 
===Clef | Two-Factor Authentication===
Create [https://getclef.com Clef two factor authentication] plugin, so user can login using there mobile to reduce login time. This will improve security and reduce login time for users.
 
:'''Skills required:''' PHP, Javascript
:'''Difficulty level''': Medium
:'''Possible mentor''': [https://moodle.org/user/profile.php?id=1328988 Rajesh Taneja]


==See also==
==See also==
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* [[GSOC]] - describing Moodle's involvement with Google in their Summer of Code program
* [[GSOC]] - describing Moodle's involvement with Google in their Summer of Code program
* [https://tracker.moodle.org/issues/?jql=type%20in%20%28%22New%20Feature%22%2C%20Improvement%29%20AND%20resolution%20%3D%20unresolved%20and%20labels%20in%20%28addon_candidate%29%20ORDER%20BY%20votes%20DESC Popular new feature and improvement requests in Tracker that can be implemented as plugins]
* [https://tracker.moodle.org/issues/?jql=type%20in%20%28%22New%20Feature%22%2C%20Improvement%29%20AND%20resolution%20%3D%20unresolved%20and%20labels%20in%20%28addon_candidate%29%20ORDER%20BY%20votes%20DESC Popular new feature and improvement requests in Tracker that can be implemented as plugins]
* [[Projects for new developers/Archive|Archive]] of outdated and/or inactive calls for projects
* [https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Moodle_Wishlist a Wishlist] by some Moodle users. Some of the good ideas here may be adopted.

Revision as of 19:42, 23 March 2018


Getting started

Moodle uses PHP, JavaScript, SQL and a number of other Web languages, so learning those is a good place to start.

When you have some basic PHP programming skills, you may wish to start learning about how the Moodle code is organised. It is recommended that you complete the Introduction to Moodle Programming course on dev.moodle.org. To access this you will need to have an account on moodle.org first.

If you are looking for projects suggested in the tracker, look for issues with the 'addon_candidate' label.

If you are looking to make a quick contribution, look for tracker issues with marked as easy.

Please consider adopting a plugin seeking a new maintainer. See the Plugins adoption programme.

As you become more involved in Moodle development, you might like to learn more about the coding conventions used and how changes to Moodle core code are processed.

Potential projects

This evolving page lists possible Moodle projects for new developers derived from community suggestions and lists projects together with experienced core developers willing to mentor new developers.

If you have any ideas for new features in Moodle which might be suitable as projects for new developers, please see New feature ideas.

Improve SCORM plugin

There are a number of areas of SCORM that could be improved as part of a GSOC project, some of these are bigger projects and others could be combined to form a single project.

These are just some examples, take a look at the open SCORM issues in the Moodle tracker for a list of other issues.

  • Improve Grading (MDL-51086, MDL-52871, MDL-37421)
  • Improve validation of SCORM packages (MDL-38060, MDL-24057)
  • Convert YUI Treeview to use Jquery (Moodle is moving away from YUI and the existing Treeview has a few issues)
  • Choose where to send users after completing SCORM (MDL-61677)

Requirement for prospective students:

  • We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid.
Skills required: PHP
Difficulty level: Medium
Possible mentor: Dan Marsden

Migrate end-to-end testing support in the Mobile app to Ionic 3

Protractor is an end-to-end test framework for AngularJS applications. Protractor runs tests against your application running in a real browser, interacting with it as a user would.

There are almost 167 e2e tests in the Mobile app (see detailed information here).

The aim of this project is to upgrade the existing end-to-end testing support in the Mobile app to Ionic 3 (the original tests were implemented for Ionic 1/AngularJS).

Tasks:

  • Upgrade the Node, Protractor and dependencies versions to be able to run tests in modern environments.
  • Update all the tests so they can run in the new version of the framework (Ionic 3)
  • Update Moodle Mobile documentation with new instructions for setting up both environments.


Requirement for prospective students:

  • We require prospective students to set-up and run in a local environment the existing tests following this documentation: Moodle Mobile End To End Testing, student must record a video of the tests running on a local machine.
  • We also require students to create an additional test (detailed instructions for writing tests are available in the previous link)


Skills required: Javascript (Angular and Ionic 3)
Difficulty level: Medium
Possible mentor: Juan Leyva

Migrate Moodle Mobile publishing scripts to Gulp tasks

Right now the Mobile app uses several scripts ([see here https://github.com/moodlehq/moodlemobile-scripts]) for common tasks related to publishing.

Those scripts should be migrated to Gulp tasks so they are available among the other tasks already implemented.

Tasks:

  • Migrate the prepare-release-version.sh script to gulp task
  • Migrate the prepare-release-integration.sh script to gulp task
  • Improve previous scripts to compile the resulting app via Phonegap Build API
  • Migrate the rest of scripts that synchronizes language translations

Requirement for prospective students:

  • We require prospective students to set-up a local development environment of the Mobile app (and run it locally) following this documentation: Setting_up_your_development_environment_for_Moodle_Mobile_2, students must provide a video or detailed screenshots including a detailed explanation of what they did to run the app locally.
Skills required: Javascript
Difficulty level: Medium
Possible mentor: Juan Leyva

Add Mobile app support to Attendance plugin

A new version of the Moodle Mobile app will be finished in May 2018 - This will provide a simpler way for plugins to add support for the Mobile app. Draft spec is available here https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=361230

Minimum requirements for this would involve the ability for teachers and students to take attendance, and for students to view their reports.

Requirement for prospective students:

  • We require prospective students to make an attempt at fixing at least 1 issue in the Moodle tracker before their proposal can be considered. This MUST be completed before your application can be considered valid.
Skills required: PHP
Difficulty level: Medium
Possible mentor: Dan Marsden

See also