[or-cvs] r13928: three project ideas from karsten (website/trunk/en)

[arma at seul.org]

Author: arma
Date: 2008-03-10 03:06:52 -0400 (Mon, 10 Mar 2008)
New Revision: 13928

Modified:
   website/trunk/en/volunteer.wml
Log:
three project ideas from karsten


Modified: website/trunk/en/volunteer.wml
===================================================================
--- website/trunk/en/volunteer.wml	2008-03-10 06:59:11 UTC (rev 13927)
+++ website/trunk/en/volunteer.wml	2008-03-10 07:06:52 UTC (rev 13928)
@@ -87,11 +87,64 @@
 Farsi translations, for the many Tor users in censored areas.</li>
 </ol>
 
+<a id="Coding"></a>
 <a id="Summer"></a>
 <a id="Projects"></a>
-<h2><a class="anchor" href="#Projects">Good Summer Projects</a></h2>
+<h2><a class="anchor" href="#Projects">Good Coding Projects</a></h2>
 <ol>
 
+<li>
+Reanimate one of the approaches to implement a Tor client in Java,
+e.g. the <a href="http://onioncoffee.sourceforge.net/">OnionCoffee
+project</a>, and make it run on <a
+href="http://code.google.com/android/">Android</a>. The first step
+would be to port the existing code and execute it in an Android
+environment. Next, the code should be updated to support the newer Tor
+protocol versions like the <a href="<svnsandbox>doc/spec/dir-spec.txt">v3
+directory protocol</a>. Further, support for requesting or even
+providing Tor hidden services would be neat, but not required. The
+student should be able to understand and write new Java code, including
+a Java cryptography API. Being able to read C code would be helping,
+too. The student should be willing to read the existing documentation,
+implement code based on it, and, if required, refine the documentation
+if things are underdocumented. This project is mostly about coding and
+to a small degree about design.
+</li>
+
+<li>
+Write a tool that runs automatic system tests in addition
+to the existing unit tests. The Java-based Tor simulator <a
+href="https://tor-svn.freehaven.net/svn/puppetor/trunk/">PuppeTor</a>
+might be a good start for starting up a private Tor network, using it
+for a while, and verifying that at least parts of it are working. This
+project requires to conceive a blueprint for performing system tests
+of private Tor networks, before starting to code. Typical types of
+tests range from performing single requests over the private network to
+manipulating exchanged messages and see if nodes handle corrupt messages
+appropriately. The student should be able to obtain a good understanding
+of how Tor works and what problems and bugs could arise to design good
+test cases. Understanding the existing Tor code and documentation is
+vital. If PuppeTor is used, the student should also be able to understand
+and possibly extend an existing Java application. This project is partly
+about design and partly about coding.
+</li>
+
+<li>
+Implement a <a href="http://www.ss64.com/bash/top.html">top-like</a>
+management tool for Tor relays. The purpose of such a tool would be
+to monitor a local Tor relay via its control port and include useful
+system information of the underlying machine. When running this tool, it
+would dynamically update its content like top does for Linux processes.
+<a href="http://archives.seul.org/or/dev/Jan-2008/msg00005.html">This
+or-dev post</a> might be a good first read. The student should be familiar
+with or willing to learn about administering a Tor relay and configuring
+it via its control port. As an initial prototype is written in Python,
+some knowledge about writing Python code would be helpful, too. This
+project is for the one part about identifying requirements to such a
+tool and designing its interface; but on the other part, the project
+also requires a lot of coding.
+</li>
+
 <li>Help Mike Perry on his <a
 href="https://www.torproject.org/svn/torflow/">TorFlow</a>
 library (<a href="https://www.torproject.org/svn/torflow/TODO">TODO</a>):
@@ -121,7 +174,6 @@
 us and find out.</li>
 </ol>
 
-<a id="Coding"></a>
 <h2><a class="anchor" href="#Coding">Coding and Design</a></h2>
 <ol>
 <li>Tor relays don't work well on Windows XP. On