Gsoc2020Ideas

Student Project Ideas for Google Summer of Code 2020

This page lists the suggested projects for students working on Mixxx as part of Google Summer of Code 2020. Each of these projects represents something that we think would make a really big difference to our users and that we as a development team are really excited about. If you are interested in applying to GSoC, read GSoC Advice before applying or getting involved.

A GSoC application that simply repeats the project description will NOT be accepted. We expect you to think about the feature and how it aligns with Mixxx's goals, describe potential use cases and propose a plan for implementing a solution. Only students that are active members of the Mixxx community are accepted. If this is not the case yet, just say hello at https://mixxx.zulipchat.com and discuss your Ideas and use cases with us.

Preferences Redesign

Mixxx's preferences window has grown with the many features added to Mixxx over the years. Sometimes the design of the preferences has been an afterthought compared to working on the feature that the preferences affect. As a result, the preferences window has become quite complex and can be overwhelming to new users.

The structure of the preferences code has sometimes been an afterthought too. Writing and editing code for Mixxx's preferences can be a hassle, as you may experience working on the GUI design. Some parts of the preferences have code that is over 10 years old which don't follow Mixxx's current coding conventions. One issue with the code is that there is no conventional way to specify the default values for preference options in a single place, so this can lead to subtle bugs when different default values are used in different places. Part of this project would involve cleaning up the code for every page of the preferences to use the same coding conventions that are easy to maintain and make it easy to add new preference options.

A strong applicant for working on this project would have links to GUI designs they have done before. Experience doing UX testing by observing people using software would be an advantage.

AutoDJ Improvements

Users have proposed many ideas for improving AutoDJ. Many users have suggested features to make it easier to plan the timing when tracks will play in AutoDJ:

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1293980
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1467156
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1568928
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1523252

Users have suggested ways to make AutoDJ more intuitive to use:

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1727747
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1095287
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1334279

There have also been suggestions for alternate ways to have AutoDJ mix the tracks:

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1766164
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1807647
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/1384873

Something Else!

As always with Summer of Code, you aren't limited to the suggestions we've made here. If you've got a great idea for a project involving Mixxx then we're looking forward to hearing about it. We recommend spending more than a few days using Mixxx and participating in the community to develop a better understanding of areas where Mixxx could use improvement. Our bug tracker is full of wishlist bugs and other ideas scattered throughout, so if you browse through it, you may find many more ideas for GSoC projects.

IMPORTANT: You should contact us first to get feedback if you're going to submit a proposal for your own project idea! We very rarely approve ideas students propose. If you're not already experienced with DJ equipment, we recommend sticking with one of the ideas above.