User:Inchikutty/OPW

OPW Project:Upload wizard-OSM Map Embedding

 * Public URL: (the page under your mediawiki.org user page where the full proposal can be found)
 * Bugzilla report: (link to the related report at http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org )
 * Announcement: (link to the announcement of your proposal at the wikitech-l mailing list.

Name and contact information
Name: Anu G Enchackal Email:inchikutty13@gmail.com IRC or IM networks/handle(s):inchikutty Location:Kerala,India Time zone:UTC+05:30  Typical working hours: 10PM - 5AM

Synopsis
This project is about enhancing the image upload process for Wikimedia Commons. Commons is an image hosting site which is used by Wikipedia and a bunch of other sites, as a central location to store free images, which can be resused anywhere without needing to worry about copyright.

Commons has millions of images and Wikipedia editors need to be able to find quickly the right ones for their articles, so it is important to store various metadata with the image which will help navigation - topic of the image, when it was made and so on. Location is one of these metadata: by storing the coordinates at which a photograph was created, editors are able to find images about a given location more easily, and we are also able to do some other cool stuff like suggesting you nearby images when you are browsing the site from a mobile phone.

This metadata is usually stored in a complex template language that is specific to MediaWiki, and the sight of which usually makes people to flee in terror. Since we cannot expect image authors to learn to write something like that, Commons has a tool called UploadWizard which creates all the code for you, after you fill out a bunch of forms. The main goal of the OSM map embedding project would be to integrate a map into these forms, where users can point to the location at which they took the photo. (OSM stands for OpenStreetMap - a free map application which is similar to Google Maps but not encumbered by restrictive copyright.)

The secondary goal is to integrate with some databases of locations and use that in various ways. One way would be checking if there are locations with requested images nearby (that is, someone put out a note that Commons needs good images about a certain place and doesn't currently have any), and warn the uploader about them. Another involves image competitions where people can participate with pictures taken at some predefined locations; UploadWizard could get a list of these locations and use it to help the participant in selecting where he took the photo.

Information Courtesy:Gergő Tisza

About you
I completed my B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from College of Engineering Chengannurin the year 2013.During my course at the college,I have been fortunate enough to be an active participant & manager in IEEE and various technical fests.I hope to pursue MBA in June 2014. As far as my programming edge is concerned I had a fair share of experience in PHP,C/C++,Java and also familiar with Javascript,HTML and CSS.But being frank OPW is the biggest challenge I have ever took with the knowledge I have in programming.My previous challenge was clearing Yahoo Open Hack Programming Challenge for Yahoo Open Hack India in 2013,which I was able to succeed and was awarded with official invitation to the event as a hacker. I have exhibited ability persevere in all my endeavors. I am willing to learn new things and I am sure there is lot for me to learn out there.By being part of this project, I know I could be part of something that could reach and benefit many people and it can also make me grow into a better professional than I am now.And that is the reason why I am applying for OPW.

As a user
I love wikipedia!From academic extracts to word meanings,movie plots to episode synopsis of my favorite television series Wikipedia answered all my queries and astounded me with details. Mozilla firefox,audacity,DevC++,VLC mediaplayer and other open source downloads have always been close to my heart.

As a developer
My first and only open source experience on a big platform is my participation and submission in Yahoo Open Hack India 2013.Participants were asked to submit their code in GitHub.That was the first time I even heard of git.Anyhow me along with my teammates were able to submit the hack in time and presented it on the big stage.