Kendrick on Tux4Kids and the Google Summer of Code (GSoC)

Are you involved in the Tux4Kids projectt?

Sam Hart, who originally wrote Tux Typing, and created the Tux4Kids organisation, came to me in late 2001 and asked if I'd be willing to write a "Missile Command"-inspired math-quizzing arcade game. I had done a vector-graphics 3D variation on the game, and had since done a lot of SDL-based games. I was able to whip something together very quickly, but it soon fell to the wayside, as did Tux Typing. I focused very heavily on Tux Paint, and in the meantime, the other two projects were picked up by some very bright volunteers, most notably Tim Holy and David Bruce.

How much response has it had in the GSoC?

In the end we received over 130 applications from about 90 students. (Google extended the student application deadline by a week.) Picking was tougher than expected, and in the end Google gave us 11 slots (we got one more after the fact, I suppose when another ORG had to drop one).

To summarize, we've got the following in the GSoC pipeline:

Selection tools; file (open/save) dialogs; new Magic tools; an enhanced text tool for Tux Paint; improved Indic language support and some student performance analysis stuff in Tux Typing; a couple new games in TuxMath; and some work on handwriting training, which will either become part of Tux Paint and/or its own, separate application.

How will the GSoC impact the development of Tux4Kids?

It's already had an impact. Some bugs were already fixed by students, while they were applying to participate. A number of students who weren't selected to participate as students in the Summer of Code program are going ahead and contributing to the projects anyway. I'm also guessing we'll have an easy time signing up to participate in Google's Highly Open Participation (GHOP) program (a non-coding-related program for high school students) if Google decides to run it again this year.