[Bf-committers] GSOC - Math Library Project

[Wendy Langer]

Note: I've cross-posted this email to both the bf-committers list and the
bf-python list, as I'm not sure which is the most relevant. Please let me
know if I should only be posting to one or the other!

Hi there :)


I am a mature-age student from Melbourne, Australia. I am currently studying
the final year of an Advanced Diploma in Games Development (programming) at
the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. My particular area of interest is
3d graphics programming - geometry, texturing, shading, and lighting.

I am interested in the 'Math Library Overhaul' project described in the
ideas page. I have reproduced the summary below for easy reference.

Math Library

   - Make function names and argument order consistent.
   - Add missing functions and add operations commonly used in Blender
   into the API.
   - Profile/Optimize it, e.g. using sqrtf instead of sqrt,
   SSE/Altivec/.., while keeping things cross platform.
   - Document the functions in the math library.
   - Document Blender's matrix order convention, camera transformation,
   viewport transformations, armature bones transformations, quaternions and
   eulers, .. , for C and Python developers.


This project interests me since it seems that it would be very achievable
within the time-frame for a developer new to Blender, whilst at the same
time providing a useful service and a fantastic introduction to the Blender
code base.

I have a strong math background from the Physics degree, and I also have,
coincidentally, spent quite a bit of time in paid work doing something
similar to what parts of this project entails - documenting existing code
written by others.

This code was written in Python.  My job was to:
a) go through and document all modules, classes and methods, or to clean-up
and make consistent any existing documentation
b) Use these docstrings to automatically generate cross-linked html output
-  I used the epydoc documentation tool to do this part.

I have a lot of experience with Python. C++ I first learned a few years ago,
but have not used regularly until the Games Programming course this year.

I was wondering whether anyone has  'put up their hand' for this project
yet, as I think it would likely fit quite well with my back-ground. If
no-one else has asked for it, I would like to discuss it a little further
via email and then perhaps submit a proposal for GSOC.



Here is  little more background about myself:


I've been interested in open-source software since about 1997, when a friend
helped me to get my first installation of slackware linux running :)


Currently, when not studying or working,  I do programming work for an
open-source project at computerbank victoria ( a community organisation in
my local area.)

The programming language in which I have the most experience is Python , not
C++, but I am rapidly becoming acquainted with C++ as the diploma-course is
entirely based in it! The first language I ever learned was 'Microbee Basic'
sometime in the eighties. The first language I learned 'properly' was
Fortran, as part of a computational physics subject at university.

The area I specialized in for the honors part of my physics degree was
optics. I love applying this knowledge to graphics programming where
possible. I will be doing a research project about spherical harmonic
lighting as part of the diploma course this year.


Regards,

Wendy Langer
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