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Welcome, accepted Summer of Code students! This post contains important information about prerequisites for starting your project. Please read it carefully.
Google has awarded Drupal 18 slots for the 2009 Google Summer of Code. This year there were many strong applications, and narrowing the field to the top 18 was not an easy task. Thanks to all the mentors who helped out with the evaluating, and congratulations to all of the students. We look forward to working with you this summer! :)
Although coding doesn't formally kick off until May 23, according to Google's program timeline, there are a few things that need to get sorted out first. If you have questions about how to do any of these things, don't be shy! :) Post to the http://groups.drupal.org/soc-2009 or ask in #drupal on irc.freenode.net, and we'll get you hooked up.

1. Create a central wiki page for your project at the SoC 2009 group. This wiki page should basically be a single location that anyone can read over the course of SoC in order to get a good sense of what your project is about, and where it is currently in terms of completion. There's a template you can copy and paste available at http://groups.drupal.org/node/21558. Add a link to your project in here
   This page should be updated when you and your mentors reach a major design decision about your project, or if your schedule and/or deliverables need to be adjusted. Use the SoC 2008 group as a tool to help you achieve your goals. Ask questions. Find people to help you test. Discuss design decisions. Post mockups. Be creative.

2. Obtain a CVS account. The code that you produce during Summer of Code will ultimately reside at cvs.drupal.org, and you need to apply for a CVS account if you don't already have one. In your application, please mention that you are a Google Summer of Code student, so that your account will get approved quickly.
   If you're new to CVS (or revision control systems in general), you might find our CVS handbook helpful, particularly the CVS introduction. Additionally, the CVS quickstart guide is handy to have around as a reference.

3. Create a "project" on drupal.org for your project (even if your delivery is an improvement to an existing module). Once you have CVS access, describe your project briefly in a README.txt and add a sub-folder for it to the contribution repository's modules/ directory, then create a "project" for it on drupal.org, following the instructions at Step-by-step: Create a CVS project. This will give you several tools at your disposal, including:
   • a central project page, which you can use to document your project and its current state.
   • an issue tracker, which you can use to break your project apart into sub-tasks and track their completion status. Using the issue tracker allows your mentors (or any other community members) to provide input on your development process.
   • the ability to create project releases, which testers can download and try out on their own Drupal installations.

   There is helpful information about working with these tools available in the Maintaining d.o projects with CVS guide. Note that issue tracker and CVS commit activity will be primary methods of evaluating projects, and we require you to create an issue every week to report . These show us that you're making progress each week, and should be titled "Milestone X" and tagged with "SoC 2009 Weekly Update".

4. Meet your mentors and discuss your project. Please investigate which means of communication your mentors prefer. Communication is a crucial element of success, and you are encouraged to use email, Skype, IRC (http://drupal.org/node/108355), the SoC 2009 group (http://groups.drupal.org/soc-2009), the devel list (http://drupal.org/mailing-lists), and any other resources that are available to make sure that the lines of communication between you and your mentor are well established and open for the duration of the summer.
   Ensure sure that any broad or project management-related changes are documented in your wiki page, and any code-related decisions/feedback is reflected in your project's issue queue, for the benefit of those who didn't have a chance to take part in your personal communication.

5. Refine the scope of your project. Discuss with your mentors whether they feel the scope of the project described in your application is realistic and clear. If there are ambiguities, try to iron them out. We're looking for clearly stated deliverables that you feel confident you can produce by the end of the summer. Update your project's wiki page with the result.
6. Plan on testing. It is a requirement for this year's Summer of Code projects to include test scripts. For most people the simpletest framework will be the best solution. See documentation at http://drupal.org/simpletest.

If you have any questions to one of the points above, your mentor will be able to help you (or ask here).
We're looking forward to working with you.
Happy Coding,
Drupal's Google Summer of Code team
SoC 2009