[SoC] Re: Request for views on the proposal on pgRouting project.

[Stephen Woodbridge]

Hello Jatin,

Thank you for your interesting proposal. I do not think I would be a 
good candidate to mentor this project because I do not know much about 
Java or integrating it with PostgreSQL.

There might be other potential mentors, and/or groups that are more Java 
focused and that might be interested in working with you on either this 
proposal or something similar to it that might would incorporate both 
Graph theory and Java.

I will forward your proposal and ask that other groups/mentors to 
contact you directly.

Thank you again for your thoughtful proposal and your interest in 
working with OSGeo for GSoC 2010.

Best regards,
   -Stephen Woodbridge

Jatin Puri wrote:
> To
> 
>  Respected Sir, 
> 
> 
> I am Jatin Puri,a 2nd year student , doing my dual degree undergraduate 
> course  in Computer Science with Masters in Mathematics from Birla 
> Institute of Technology and Science (BITS PILANI-GOA) India . I came 
> across the pgRouting project through the ideas list 
> at http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OpenRouter_2010_SOC_Ideas.I am interested 
> to work on the aforesaid proposal. I would like to present, before you, 
> my ideas on this proposal.
> 
> Now as we all are aware that pgRouting is completely based on C and 
> there is no library available in java. I propose that we can start 
> making new one in Java.  I agree with the fact that if  there is any 
> java application that wants to use pgRouting ,it can bridge itself to C 
> and then work. But as you would be aware of already, that there are many 
> problems which come with it like :-
> 
> 1)*An in-depth knowledge of the platforms*, languages, and sometimes an 
> independent model for bridge code must be understood by the 
> developer,which isnt our vision.We want pgRouter to be easy to use so 
> that anyone who needs it can use it easily,with out any clinches.  
> 
> 2) *Complexity*:Such bridges are difficult to maintain for large 
> systems. As the number of interfaces increases, the complexity also 
> increases, which leads to errors in initial development as well as 
> issues with tracking and reproducing changes across an entire system.
> 
> *New Implementation every time*:The general problem of integration 
> between languages is that to provide the binding between 
> environments,for each  bridge between languages, a new implementation 
> must be created . Worse, for each new application, even though the type 
> of bridge may be identical , specific interfaces used may be different, 
> resulting in a brand new implementation of the bridge even though the 
> general pattern remains the same.The general result is a sub-optimal 
> performance of a bridged system because tuning a large-scale complex 
> application across multiple languages or platforms is very difficult and 
> frequently is not attempted .
> 
> 
> Now having said that, our intention is to make  pgRouting  a very 
> flexible product so that it can be incorporated to any kind of 
> large/small application. But with so many disruptions, it will  be 
> difficult to apply it in large applications where already there is so 
> much complexity. Therefore i think the time has come that we start 
> making a new version in Java
> 
> 
> I request you to please give your view and guidance on it  so that i can 
> start working on it as soon as possible .And the concept also perfectly 
> matches with my interestes, i.e., Java,Topology,Graph theory,Linear 
> Algebra and Differential equations. I  have a strong background in 
> Mathematics and  have been actively working on graph theory for about 6 
> months now and i'm sure it will help me a lot in making more efficient 
> algorithms. I would be grateful if you could help and guide me on the 
> said proposal.
> 
> 
> I would also like to mention that I am participating in the Google 
> Summer of Code 2010 , and would be extremely obliged if you could guide 
> me, in case it is accepted for GSoC, so that I can take the correct 
> approach to the problem.
> 
>  However, I am  willing to work on this project outside the scope of 
> GSoC as well.
> 
> Thanking You
> 
> Jatin Puri
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jatin Puri
> BE Computer Science
> Msc(Hons) Mathematics
> Bits Pilani Goa Campus
> India
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>