Evaluating MediaWiki web API client libraries

This is a placeholder for Frances Hocutt's |Evaluating MediaWiki Web API Client Libraries project.

Evaluating MediaWiki web API client libraries

 * Public URL: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Evaluating_MediaWiki_web_API_client_libraries
 * Bugzilla report: (link to the related report at http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org )
 * Announcement: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.science.linguistics.wikipedia.technical/76046

Name and contact information

 * Name: Frances Hocutt
 * Email: franceshocutt@gmail.com
 * IRC or IM networks/handle(s): fhocutt
 * Web Page / Blog / Microblog / Portfolio: http://franceshocutt.com / http://twitter.com/franceshocutt
 * Resume (optional): http://franceshocutt.com/cv/
 * Location: Seattle, WA, USA
 * Typical working hours: between 1 pm and 2 am PDT (can move earlier if more convenient)

Synopsis

 * Possible mentors: Sumana Harihareswara, Co-mentor Tollef Fog Heen, Technical Advisers Merlijn van Deen and Brad Jorsch.

Deliverables
Please describe the details and the timeline of the work you plan to accomplish on the project you are most interested in (discuss these first with the mentor of the project):

Participation
How I plan to communicate progress:
 * Daily videochats with my mentor
 * Weekly updates detailing how I've made progress towards my goals (posted where?)

Where I plan to publish documents/source code:
 * My public github repo for code
 * Draft wiki pages for documentation

How I plan to ask for help:
 * Look at relevant documentation to find a starting point to ask from
 * For questions that don't need so much background information: ask on IRC, then on wikitech-l or other applicable mailing list if that doesn't work
 * For questions on personal progress, community norms, etc: email my mentors and ask
 * For questions that would benefit from more eyes and voices but aren't suitable for IRC: email wikitech-l

About you

 * Education completed or in progress:


 * University of Washington MS, Chemistry, 2012 – April 2014 (intended graduation date).
 * University of Washington MS, Materials Science and Engineering, 2010 – 2012.
 * Harvey Mudd College BS with distinction, Chemistry, 2003 – 2007.


 * How did you hear about this program?

I first heard about the OPW through Twitter—@callbackwomen and a handful of other friends who focus on women in tech. I wasn't convinced that it would be a good fit for me until Sumana Harihareswara reached out to me with encouragement and a few project suggestions. I realized that this project would be a good fit for my skills and goals, and was excited to get the chance to work with Sumana.


 * Will you have any other time commitments, such as school work, another job, planned vacation, etc., during the duration of the program?

I will be attending OSBridge June 24–27 and volunteering there. I will definitely be traveling June 19–22; I may leave as early as June 15.


 * We advise all candidates eligible to Google Summer of Code and FOSS Outreach Program for Women to apply for both programs. Are you planning to apply to both programs and, if so, with what organization(s)?

I plan to graduate at the end of the Spring 2014 quarter and will not be enrolled for the quarter, so I do not expect to be eligible for Google Summer of Code.

I've used wikis in the past (including Wikipedia!) and found them incredibly useful tools. I appreciate tools, no matter what the discipline. I make tools, I share them, I optimize them, and I teach other people how to use them. This project would allow me to do this. MediaWiki is a great tool, and I would make it easier for users and maintainers to access the data in these wikis and use it for their own purposes. I also value clarity of communication. In this project, I would clarify what resources are available to facilitate sharing data and would ensure that they were better documented.

Past experience

 * Please describe your experience with any other FOSS projects as a user and as a contributor:

User: Ubuntu and programs that run on it; Perl and Python; many others.

Contributor: Wikipedia, mostly anonymously, and am getting started on Dreamwidth development.


 * Please describe any relevant projects that you have worked on previously and what knowledge you gained from working on them (include links):


 * Dreamwidth (still getting started; have been learning Perl for it, have my first bug checked out but this application has priority!)
 * Seattle Attic policies/bylaws/community documentation. Writing clearly and persuasively for a community organization; clearly stating its values; describing expected behavior; bringing together many sources, taking what I need from each, and making them consistent.
 * Some of my work for chemistry patents and publications draws on relevant skills but is not F/OSS!


 * What project(s) are you interested in (these can be in the same or different organizations)?

I am most interested in the Evaluating MediaWiki web API client libraries project with the Wikimedia Foundation.