Meet the 2023 FreeBSD Google Summer of Code Students: Sudhanshu Mohan Kashyap

The FreeBSD Project is proud to have participated in the Google Summer of Code program since its inception in 2005. As we near the completion of the 2023 season, the Foundation asked a few of our GSoC students to share more about themselves and their experience working with the Project.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are in your education journey.

My name is Sudhanshu Mohan Kashyap, and I recently completed my majors in Electrical and Electronics from BITS Goa last year. Currently, I’m working as a Junior Analyst (SE1) at JP Morgan Chase & Co. I’m passionate about Linux and FreeBSD and spend a lot of my free time tinkering with VPS boxes. I’m excited to contribute to open-source projects like FreeBSD and enhance my skills further.

Q: Have you ever worked with Google Summer of Code before?

No, this is my first time participating in the Google Summer of Code program.

Q: Why did you want to work with FreeBSD?

I was introduced to FreeBSD by a close associate who contributed to FreeBSD ports. I’ve developed a strong interest in creating websites and server administration, and I’ve gained significant knowledge by hosting Minetest servers. With a background in Electrical & Electronics and experience in Infrastructure Engineering, I see FreeBSD as a great platform to combine my skills and contribute to a renowned open-source project.

Q: Please tell us a little about your Google Summer of Code project.

My project proposal is about creating a CI test harness for the boot loader in FreeBSD. The current script, full-test.sh, lacks comprehensive testing for all supported architectures and combinations. I plan to rewrite this script in Lua, enabling testing for multiple architecture combinations and generating reports for broken combinations and expected functionality. If time allows, I’ll integrate the script with existing build infrastructure like Jenkins or Github Actions to provide comprehensive test results.

Q: What have you learned from this experience so far?

Throughout this experience, under the mentorship of Warner Losh, I’ve acquired valuable technical skills, including deploying servers, Lua programming, and modular scripting. I’ve learned the importance of meticulous project planning, effective communication in collaborative coding environments, and the significance of systematic testing. With Warner’s guidance, I’ve successfully configured servers, resolved design issues, and enhanced code quality through in-depth testing. This journey has not only expanded my technical expertise but also improved my problem-solving abilities and attention to detail, making me a more proficient and adaptable software developer.

Q: How has working with the FreeBSD Project been?

Working with the FreeBSD Project has been an enlightening experience. The feedback and guidance from mentors like Warner Losh have been instrumental in refining my project proposal. The project aligns well with my interests and skills, and I’m excited to contribute to such a renowned open-source community.