GSOC2012 Application

This is the Application for the SUMO project by the Core Developement team of the DLR.

Describe your organization.
SUMO is a highly portable, microscopic road traffic simulation package designed to handle large road networks. It is mainly developed by employees of the Institute of Transportation Systems at the German Aerospace Center. SUMO is open source, licensed under the GNU GPL.

Using SUMO you can simulate how a given traffic demand which consists of single vehicles moves through a given road network. The Application suite consists of tool for preparing the road network, computing route choices and managing various simulation outputs. Thus, a large set of traffic management topics can be adressed (see our one-page overview).

Designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible, GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.

Why is your organization applying to participate in Google Summer of Code 2012? What do you hope to gain by participating?
The aim of the SUMO project lies in strengthening the microscop-traffic simulation community. Instead of multiple short-lived projects with low comparability we wish to establish a standard simulation package for everyone to use and improve. While the first goal has been met and SUMO is now widely used, the second goal remains open. There have been only a few contributions to the code base. In participating in the Google Summer of Code, we hope to engage new developers to the benefit of all our users.

Did your organization participate in past Google Summer of Codes? If so, please summarize your involvement and the successes and challenges of your participation.
No.

What license(s) does your project use?
GNU GPLv3

What is the URL for your Ideas page?
GSOC2012_ProjectIdeas

What is the main development mailing list for your organization?
The main development mailing list is [sumo-devel@lists.sourceforge.net] For details see our contact page

What is the main IRC channel for your organization?
We do not have an IRC channel

Does your organization have an application template you would like to see students use? If so, please provide it now.
Contact --- Student name: Location (Home town, country): Email: Phone number:

Background/Programming Information --- What programming experience do you have so far (languages, operating systems, compilers)? Have you worked on an open source project(s) before, and which one(s)? What is your connection the the traffic simulation community Have you ever built SUMO from source?

Who will be your backup organization administrator?
Daniel Krajzewicz

What criteria did you use to select the individuals who will act as mentors for your organization? Please be as specific as possible.
Our mentors are members of the core development team. They have in-depth knowledge of the code base and our processes. As experienced developers they all have mentoring experiences. Since the core team is small our mentors are self-selected.

What is your plan for dealing with disappearing students?
We are confident that careful initial selection and close communication will prevent students from disappearing.

What is your plan for dealing with disappearing mentors?
Our mentors have been given clearance from their employer to mentor during their work hours, thus we expect no disappearances. In case of sickness or other emergencies we have backup mentors.

What steps will you take to encourage students to interact with your project's community before, during and after the program?
We assume that our students already have some connections to the the traffic simulation community. Before the program we will encourage interested parties to discuss and refine project ideas via our mailing list, blog and personal communication. During the program we will seek to build a relationship based on our common interests which continues after the program.