Wrapping up : Google Summer of Code 2016

Software development is challenging and developing a robust package for use in the real world is a completely different experience than writing code for yourself. Google Summer of Code 2016 was a valueable learning experience which introduced me to Free and Open Source Software. I learnt the importance of writing robust tested code which is easy to read and understand for other developers. GSoC also gave me an opportunity to interact with experienced mentors who were very patient in answering my doubts and suggesting good coding practices. With thorough code reviews and regular hangout sessions, my mentors went out of their way to help me with my project. The entire process of writing a proposal, getting involved with a new community, developing a package which will be used by a large number of users, testing the code and writing examples for it has given me the confidence to take up any project and work independently. I am sure this is the first of many more projects and contributions that I will get involved with in the FOSS world.

One of the most interesting part of GSoC for me was to get to know and work with people from different parts of the world. This introduced me to a completely new way of working in a team remotely and I am now looking to get involved in more such projects.

As someone who had very little previous experience in software developement one of the most difficut task was getting selected for the project but I am very grateful that I got a chance. I already had some experience with Mathematical Modelling and as a pre-final year student in Physics this project has helped me explore the topic thorougly. I am sure this will be a great help in deciding my final year thesis and whenever I develop code from now on, I will have the mindset of an open source developer and try to write code such that it can be used freely and developed further.